About Brazilian Checkers
Brazilian Checkers, or Brazilian Draughts, is an 8×8 checkers variant with flying kings and a mandatory longest-capture rule. Men may capture forward and backward, which creates sharp tactics.
Because you must choose the capture sequence that takes the most pieces, planning is about reading the entire forced line and steering the ending square to your advantage.
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Play Brazilian Checkers vs AI
Brazilian Checkers uses the international rules on a small 8x8 board: men capture backwards, kings fly, and you must take the longest capture available. The computer calculates those forced sequences well, which makes it good training for reading them yourself.
Before every move, ask what captures you are allowing. Many losses come from offering an opponent a long forced sequence that wins a king or clears a diagonal.
How to play Brazilian Checkers
Captures are mandatory. If multiple capture sequences exist, you must play the sequence that captures the maximum number of opponent pieces.
Kings are flying. They move diagonally any distance and capture by jumping an enemy piece, landing on any empty square beyond it on the same diagonal.
Improve by learning strategy
Brazilian Checkers strategy is about forcing lines. Use sacrifices to deflect pieces onto vulnerable squares at the end of a forced capture sequence.
Value flying kings highly and fight for open diagonals. One active king can dominate the board if lines are open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brazilian Checkers uses flying kings and allows men to capture both forward and backward. Captures are mandatory and you must choose a sequence that captures the most pieces. American Checkers has short kings, men capture forward only, and you may usually choose among captures without a longest-capture requirement.
Yes. If you have a capture you must take it. If there are multiple captures, you must choose a sequence that captures the maximum number of opponent pieces.
A flying king moves diagonally any number of empty squares. When capturing, it jumps over an opponent piece on a diagonal and may land on any empty square beyond it on that same diagonal, continuing to capture if possible.
Yes. In Brazilian Checkers, men capture both forward and backward, although they still move (non-capturing) forward only.
A man is never crowned in the middle of a capture. If it reaches the last row and can still capture, it continues the sequence as a man, and it is crowned only if the sequence ends on the last row.
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If you enjoy Brazilian Checkers, you will probably like these other abstract strategy board games.
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