How to Play American Checkers
American Checkers (also called English Draughts) is the classic 8×8 form of checkers familiar to many players. Men move diagonally forward and capture forward only, kings move one square diagonally in any direction (short kings), and captures are mandatory when available. The simplicity of movement creates rich tactics and endgames.
Objective
Win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces or blocking them so they have no legal moves. If a capture is available, you must take a capture.
Setup
American Checkers is played on an 8×8 board using only the dark squares. Each player starts with 12 men on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them.
Gameplay
Men move diagonally forward one square to an adjacent empty dark square. Captures are made by jumping diagonally forward over an adjacent opponent piece to the empty square beyond, removing the jumped piece. If multiple captures are available, you may choose which capture sequence to play. Multiple captures in a single turn are possible and must be continued while captures remain available. When a man reaches the farthest row, it is crowned and becomes a King. Kings move and capture one square diagonally in any direction.
Winning
You win by capturing all opponent pieces or leaving them with no legal moves.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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