Checkers guide
Checkers best practices
Tips for playing well, the most useful first.
- Before each move, look at what it lets your opponent jump. Capturing is forced, so a careless move can cost you a man.
- Keep men on your back row as long as you can. They stop the other side from getting a king.
- Play toward the center of the board. A man there has more squares to go to than one on the edge.
- Move your men together. A man backed up by your own pieces is hard to jump, because the square a jumper would land on is taken.
- Use the forced capture. Giving up one man so the other side must jump into a spot where you take two is a classic trick.
- When you are ahead, trade men one for one. When you are behind, avoid trades.
- A king is powerful, but a lone man dashing for the last row can get trapped. Bring help.