Board games
Draughts
- players
- 2
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 6+
In the box
1 board of 100 squares · 40 pieces: 20 white and 20 black
Official rules (federation's site)
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Grid MovementPattern MovementSquare GridCapture
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
The aim is to capture all your opponent’s pieces or block them. In international draughts, on 100 squares, a man moves one square diagonally forward and captures by jumping over a neighbouring piece, forwards or backwards; capturing is compulsory and you must take as many pieces as possible. A man that stops on the far row becomes a king and travels the whole diagonal. In English draughts, on 64 squares, you choose your capture and the king only moves one square. In Marquoir, one line per game: 1 for the winner, 0 for the loser, ½ each for a draw.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
100 squares, 20 men, Dark squares only, White starts
- International draughts, the game of the World Draughts Federation and of the French federation, the one played in France: a 100-square board, 20 men per side on their first four rows.
- English draughts (checkers): a 64-square board, 12 men per side on their first three rows.
- Play only on the dark squares; the board is placed with a dark square in the corner on each player’s left.
- In international draughts, White makes the first move; in English draughts, the dark pieces do, and players swap colours each game.
How to play
Men move diagonally, Capturing compulsory, Flying king
- A man moves one square diagonally forwards, onto an empty square.
- You capture by jumping over an opposing piece onto the empty square just beyond it, chaining jumps as long as you can: this is a multiple capture. In international draughts, a man captures forwards and backwards; in English draughts, a plain man captures forwards only.
- Capturing is compulsory in both games. In international draughts, you must capture the greatest possible number of pieces, a king counting as one piece; with equal numbers, you choose. In English draughts, you choose your capture, but you must complete the sequence you start.
- During a multiple capture, you never jump the same piece twice, and captured pieces are only removed once the capture is over.
- In international draughts, a man becomes a king by stopping on the last row: one that crosses it without stopping during a multiple capture remains a plain man. In English draughts, a man that reaches it, even while capturing, is crowned and its move ends there.
- The international king is a flying king: it travels the whole of its diagonal, captures from a distance and stops wherever it likes beyond the captured piece. The English king moves and captures one square at a time, forwards and backwards.
Scoring
No points for pieces, Count the games, Win 1, draw ½
- No points for pieces: count the games. In competition, the World Federation and the French federation give 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.
- In Marquoir, enter 1 for a win and ½ each for a draw: the ranking is the same as with the official scale. The counter ends the match when someone reaches 3.
End of the game
No pieces or blocked, Draw by agreement, Draw on 3rd repetition
- You win when your opponent has no pieces left, cannot move on their turn, or resigns.
- The game is drawn by mutual agreement, or when the same position occurs for the third time, with the same player to move in international draughts.
- In international draughts, it is also drawn after 25 successive moves in which only kings have moved, without a capture or a man moving; with three kings, two kings and a man, or a king and two men against one king, after at most 16 moves by each player; with two kings, a king and a man, or a single king against one king, after at most 5 moves by each player.
- In English draughts, it is drawn when, over each player’s last 40 moves, no man has advanced and no piece has been captured.
House rules and pitfalls
“Polish draughts” is an old name for international draughts: in eighteenth-century France…
- “Polish draughts” is an old name for international draughts: in eighteenth-century France, the 100-square game was said to be played “the Polish way”. It was also once called “French draughts”. Turkish draughts is another game, on 64 squares with 16 men each: pieces move and capture in straight lines, never diagonally.
- Huffing exists neither in the World Federation’s rules nor in the WCDF’s. In international draughts, the opponent of a player who misses a capture chooses whether to have the move corrected or let it stand; in English draughts, a first illegal move is taken back with a warning, and the next one loses the game.
- In competition, the World Federation only allows a player to offer a draw after having played at least 40 moves.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Variants
Variant
International draughts
10×10 board, 20 men each, flying kings, majority capture: the World Draughts Federation’s rules, the game played in France.
English draughts
8×8 board, 12 pieces, kings move one square.
Polish draughts
An old name for international draughts: the same game, on 10×10.
Turkish draughts
Pieces move and capture orthogonally.
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
Is capturing really compulsory?
Yes, in both games. In international draughts, you must also capture as many pieces as possible: this is the majority capture rule, where a king counts as one piece. In English draughts, you choose your capture, but you finish the sequence you start.
Can a plain man capture backwards?
In international draughts, yes. In English draughts, no: only a man crowned king captures backwards.
What can a king do?
In international draughts, it is a flying king: it travels the whole diagonal, captures from a distance and can switch diagonals during a multiple capture. In English draughts, it moves and captures one square at a time, forwards and backwards.
Can you still huff a piece?
No. Huffing — removing the piece of an opponent who forgot to capture — exists neither in the World Federation’s rules nor in the WCDF’s. In international draughts, the opponent decides whether to have the move corrected or let it stand; in English draughts, the move is taken back with a warning, and a second offence loses the game.
When is a game drawn?
By mutual agreement, on the third repetition of the same position, or for lack of progress: 25 successive moves without a capture or a man moving in international draughts, 40 moves without a man advancing or a capture in English draughts. A few king endings are also declared drawn after 16 or 5 moves.
What happens when a man reaches the last row in the middle of a capture?
In international draughts, it only becomes a king if it stops there: a man that crosses it without stopping during a multiple capture remains a plain man. In English draughts, it is crowned and the capture ends there; it will only capture as a king on the next move.
How do you record a game in the counter?
One line per game: 1 for the winner, 0 for the loser, ½ each for a draw. The counter stops at the first player to reach 3 points; the score to reach can be changed before you start the game.