Portugues
Draughts Variants
Saved games stay in this browser only.
About the game
Draughts, called checkers in North America, is not one game but a whole family. The pieces move diagonally and capture by jumping, but how far a king can fly, whether men may capture backwards and whether you must take the most pieces changes from country to country, and so does the size of the board. This page gathers eleven of them in one place, each with a computer opponent, so you can move from the game you know to the one your neighbour across the world plays.
| Game | What sets it apart |
|---|---|
| International draughts | 10x10 board, men capture backwards, kings fly along any diagonal, and you must take the line that captures the most pieces. |
| English draughts (checkers) | 8x8, men move and capture only forwards, and kings move one square at a time. |
| Brazilian draughts | The international rules on an 8x8 board. |
| Spanish draughts | 8x8, men capture only forwards, kings fly, and the longest capture is compulsory. |
| German draughts | 8x8, kings fly; of several capture sequences you may choose any that runs to its end. |
| Thai draughts | 8x8, kings move along diagonals but must stop right after the piece they capture. |
| Turkish draughts | Played on all 64 squares: men step forward or sideways, kings run along rows and columns, and you take the most pieces. |
| Suicide draughts | English rules with the goal turned around: whoever loses all pieces, or cannot move, wins. |
| Kids draughts | A friendlier version of the game with its own look. |
| Alquerque (Roman and Arabic boards) | The ancestor of draughts: pieces move along the lines of the board, forwards or sideways. |
Pick one in the Game menu and the board changes to match. Capturing is compulsory in all of them, a man that reaches the far row becomes a king, and whoever cannot move loses (apart from suicide draughts, where it is the other way round). The Rules button shows the exact rules of the game you chose.
Playing it here
This page runs Jocly, a free library of board games with a computer opponent that thinks in the background while you wait. Pick a game in the Game menu at the top; You play chooses first, second or both sides (to play against a friend on the same screen), Computer level sets how hard the computer thinks, and New game starts again. Take back undoes your last move together with the reply, and Rules opens the rules of the game you picked. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. Your choices (game, side, level and board) are kept in this browser; clearing the site's data erases them. The game is in English and has no sound.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Click or tap a piece, then a marked square | move the piece |
| Game menu | choose the variant |
| You play | first, second or both sides |
| Computer level | from the fastest, almost random replies to the longest search |
| Board | switch between the flat boards the game offers |
| Take back | undo your last move and the reply |
Tips
Capture is not optional. In every one of these games you must capture when you can, which means you can force the opponent's piece to a square of your choosing. Look for a sacrifice that makes the opponent jump into a double capture.
Know your variant before you play it. A move that is safe in English draughts can lose a piece in international draughts, where men capture backwards and kings fly. Open Rules the first time you try a new one.
Use the levels. The lowest level answers at once and plays loosely, which is good for learning the rules; raise it when you start winning easily.
Credits
Jocly was made by Michel Gutierrez, who wrote the games and the computer player, and Jérôme Choain, who did the graphic design, and it is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License. Only the flat boards of the library are used here, not its 3D views, and its sound files are left out.
FAQ
Are these the same as the draughts or checkers I grew up with? Probably one of them is. English draughts is the checkers of the United States and the UK, Brazilian draughts is the common game in Brazil, and international draughts is the one played at world championships.
Can I play against a friend? Yes: set You play to both sides and take turns on the same screen.