International Checkers

What is International Checkers?

International Checkers, also known as International Draughts, is the big-board version of the game: 10×10 instead of 8×8, with 20 pieces per player instead of 12. It's the most widely played form of checkers in the world, with tournament play in more than 60 countries, and its governing body is the FMJD, the World Draughts Federation. The board above runs the full FMJD rule set, so what you play here is the real thing.

You can play it two ways: hand the device back and forth with a friend, or take on the computer at easy, medium, or hard. If you'd rather start on the classic 8×8 game, regular checkers lives on our homepage.

The 10×10 rules at a glance

Board	10×10, played on the 50 dark squares
Pieces per player	20, filling your four nearest rows
Who moves first	White
How men move	One square diagonally forward
How men capture	By jumping, forward or backward
Is capturing required?	Yes, and you must play the line that captures the most pieces
Kings	"Flying": they slide any distance along a diagonal, and after a jump they may land on any empty square beyond the captured piece
Becoming a king	Your jump or move must end on the far row. A man that jumps across it mid-capture keeps going as a man
How you win	Capture every enemy piece, or leave your opponent with no legal move

The rules that surprise checkers players

• Men capture backward. They still move forward one square at a time, but a jump can go in any of the four diagonal directions.
• You must take the most. When several capture routes exist, the one that removes the most enemy pieces is forced. In regular checkers you'd get to pick.
• Kings fly. A king covers a whole diagonal in one move. When it jumps, it can stop on any empty square past its victim, which sets up long chain captures.
• Crowning is stricter. Passing over the back row during a multi-jump doesn't make a king. The capture sequence has to finish there.
• Each piece is jumped once per turn. A capture chain can't cross the same enemy piece twice, and captured pieces come off the board only after the whole sequence ends.

How games end

Wins work the same as regular checkers: take everything, or block every move. Draws follow the FMJD's codified rules, and the game applies all of them automatically:

• The same position occurs three times with the same player to move.
• 25 moves in a row from each player pass with only king moves and no captures.
• A lone king holds out against three pieces (including at least one king) for 16 moves each, or against two such pieces for 5 moves each.

International checkers vs regular checkers

Rule	Checkers (8×8)	International (10×10)
Board / pieces	8×8, 12 each	10×10, 20 each
First move	Black	White
Men capture backward	No	Yes
Kings	One square at a time	Fly the whole diagonal
Choice of captures	Any available jump	Must take the most pieces
Crowning mid-jump	Turn ends, man is crowned	Man keeps jumping, no crown

Want the longer comparison, including which one to learn first? Read checkers vs international checkers.

Play it online

The game on this page is built for two people at one screen, or one person against the computer. When you want a live opponent on the 10×10 board, head to International Draughts at Checkers Online, our sister site with real players and matchmaking.