Play Checkers Online
The Free Classic Draughts Game
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Play the classic game of Checkers (also known as 'Draughts') against our resident friendly checkers computer "Albert". Playpager's Checkers is a free-to-play browser game. There's no log-in or registration required.
How to play
Start a new game by clicking the play icon on the startup screen. Then select game mode: Play against a friend (2 player game) or play against the computer (1 player game).
The aim of the game is to remove your opponent's 12 disc-shaped game pieces by jumping over them with your own pieces, all while avoiding getting jumped yourself. There are plenty of opportunities to use advanced tactics and strategies to defend yourself and to attack.
The startup position.
The opponents face each other on opposite sides of the checkers gameboard. One of the players has the dark-colored pieces, and the other one has the light-colored pieces.
The two players alternate turns in the game. It is not legal to move an opponent’s piece. A player may move a piece diagonally to an adjacent, unoccupied square. If one of the opponent’s pieces occupy that adjacent square, and the square immediately beyond it is vacant, the opponent’s piece may be captured and removed from the game by jumping over it.
When one of the pieces reaches the other side of the board (the row farthest from the player), called the 'king's row' or 'crownhead,' the piece becomes a 'king' and is marked by adding an additional piece on top of it. In this online game, the kings are marked with a crown. Kings have the ability to move and capture backwards as well as forwards.
King: A black piece has travelled to the kings’ row and turned into a king.
Game Rules
Checkers Rules
It is only legal to move pieces on the dark squares of the checkers board. A piece may move only diagonally into an unoccupied square and capturing an opponent’s piece is mandatory in most official rules. The player without remaining pieces, or the one who cannot move, loses the game.
Checkers rules: Mandatory jump. It’s white's turn, and due to the black piece laying next to the marked white piece with a vacant square immediately beyond it, white is forced to jump over it and capture it.
Checkers Strategy Tips
Game Tactics
- Just like in chess, control of the center is a critical aspect in Checkers and Draughts.
- Develop your pieces towards the center. Avoid moving your pieces to the edges of the board where they have fewer options and are more easily trapped.
- Sometimes, sacrificing a piece can lead to a better position or even set up a chain of jumps.
- Prioritize Getting Kings.
- Form a Strong Defense by keeping your pieces in pairs or close to each other to prevent your opponent from jumping.
- Try to position your pieces so that you can make multiple jumps or threaten more than one piece at a time.
- If you’re ahead, there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.
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About this game app
Playpager's Checkers is a H5 web game programmed in lightweight html5/Js, optimized to run smoothly with low resource consumption. No flash player needed. The game is also available in our free Android app in the Play Store and the free iOS app in the App Store. You can play against our built-in computer player, 'Albert', or against a friend in 2-player mode. The game was updated 2.October 2026.
A brief video presentation of the game
