International Draughts

How to play

Win by removing all opposing pieces or leaving the opponent without a legal move; repeated positions and the fixed non-progress limit end a balanced game as a draw.

• Twenty men per side occupy the dark squares of the nearest four rows on a ten-by-ten board, leaving the central two rows empty and creating the standard fifty playable-square position.
• Men step diagonally forward but may capture forward or backward. Kings slide any unobstructed diagonal distance and, when capturing, jump one opposing piece and may land on any empty square beyond it. Capturing is mandatory, and among all available sequences the player must choose one taking the greatest number of pieces; promotion is determined at the completed turn's destination.
• Win by removing all opposing pieces or leaving the opponent without a legal move; repeated positions and the fixed non-progress limit end a balanced game as a draw.

Strategy tips

• Control the long diagonals before trading into a king race, calculate every branch of a flying-king capture, and use sacrificial contact to force a maximum sequence that lands the opponent on an unfavorable square.
• Selecting the first visible jump can be illegal when another piece has a longer capture sequence, and a man that only passes through the promotion row does not remain crowned if its sequence ends elsewhere.
• Keep kings separated enough to cover several diagonals, drive opposing pieces toward restricted edges, and count both captures and landing choices throughout every compulsory maximum sequence.