About Alquerque
Alquerque is the thousand year old capture game that draughts and checkers descend from. If you want to play Alquerque online, the board is a 25 point lattice of 5 rows and 5 columns laced with diagonals, and each side lines up 12 stones with only the centre point left empty.
The mechanic will feel instantly familiar and still play like nothing else. You jump an adjacent enemy stone to the empty point beyond it and take it, jumps chain, and capturing is compulsory, but stones move along the lattice in every direction and never promote. Play Alquerque online against the computer and learn to see the double jumps before your opponent does.
Play Alquerque vs AI
Play Alquerque online against the computer and practise at your own pace. Pick a difficulty that matches your level, then work on spotting the chains and on reading which leaps your move forces on your opponent.
The computer will punish loose formations, so use your games to learn how to advance in pairs, hold the strong intersections, and set up the forced captures that pull your opponent apart.
How to play Alquerque
The goal of Alquerque is to capture all 12 of your opponent's stones on the 5 by 5 point board.
Move one step along a line to an empty point, or jump straight over an adjacent enemy stone to the empty point beyond it and remove it. Captures are compulsory and chain together, and diagonal moves are only available from the strong intersections where all eight lines meet.
Improve by learning strategy
Alquerque strategy is about spacing and timing. Strong players look for landing points that keep a chain alive and think about which capture their move forces on the opponent.
Hold the strong intersections where all eight lines meet, keep a stone behind any piece that could be jumped, and fight for the empty centre without walking into the first exchange. Learn practical Alquerque strategy tips you can use straight away and watch your results improve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Alquerque is a two player abstract strategy game from the medieval Middle East and Spain, played on a 25 point board of 5 rows and 5 columns with 12 stones per side. It is the direct ancestor of draughts and checkers, and the goal is to capture all of the opponent's stones by jumping over them.
Similar games you might like
If you enjoy Alquerque, you will probably like these other abstract strategy board games.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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