Play Checkers Online | Free Strategy Games at Coolmath Games (2024)

Play vs. the computer, or against an online opponent!

The goal of Checkers, or "Draughts", is to remove all your opponent's pieces from the board. Use your finger to move your pieces around the board. Your pieces can only move forward one tile diagonally (they always stay on the brown tiles).

To capture an opponent's piece and remove it from the board, you need to "jump" over their piece with one of yours. If after jumping, your piece could make another jump, it is allowed to make additional jumps. If one of your pieces gets to the opposite side of the board (your opponent's back row), it will turn into a King. Kings can move and jump diagonally in any direction. They can even combine jumps forward and backward on the same turn!

You win by removing all of your opponent's pieces from the board, or if your opponent can't make a move.

CHECKERS TIPS & TRICKS

While Checkers is not quite as popular as a game like Chess, there is still a lot of strategy involved. Not to worry though, there are a few key strategies that you can use to win some games.

Don’t hug the sides

Rookie players sometimes rely on the sides of the board for safety, since pieces on the sides cannot be jumped. However, it’s best to advance your pieces toward the center. It may seem like you’re more vulnerable to attacks from this position, but ultimately, claiming the center will give you more mobility.

Save the last row for later

The back row of checkers on either side is called the “home row.” It’s best to keep this row in reserve until you need the pieces most. Keeping your home row occupied will prevent your opponent from making Kings and gives you an opportunity to jump and capture any opposing pieces that come too close.

Focus on the endgame

At the start of the game, you should put all your focus on moving as many pieces as you can to the other side of the board to build a team of Kings. In Checkers, the player with more kinged pieces on the table is the one most likely to win the match, so it’s best to start early!

Set up a blockade

Your opponent loses when you capture all of their pieces orif they can no longer make any moves. It may be a bit tricky, but as you move your pieces across the board, look for opportunities to create a wall around your opponent’s checkers. Blocking the enemy will automatically hand you the victory.

Make a trade

If you’re ahead in the game, it may be beneficial to sacrifice or trade some of your pieces if it means obtaining more opposing pieces and advancing further across the board.

WHAT YOU LEARN FROM PLAYING CHECKERS

Playing Checkers teaches basic spatial awareness and boosts problem-solving skills and memory recall.

Which game is easier – Chess or Checkers?

While they are played on the same board, Chess and Checkers are extremely different. It’s really the case of apples and oranges. While Chess does have more variables to consider, it’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges. They’re so different, so unique to one another, so there’s not much point in even trying to decide which is easier.

We can say for certain that they are both tons of fun to play! You can find both of them on our Classic Games Playlist.

Can you double jump in Checkers?

Of course you can! As long as you can take out another piece after jumping, it is completely legal to double jump. You can even make a triple jump if the pieces are lined up properly for it. Make sure to be on the lookout for double and triple jumps, they are extremely important to execute if you want to win.

How old is Checkers?

Checkers goes back an incredibly long way. In fact, most historians think that it goes back thousands of years, all the way back to the predynastic period.

How many pieces are there in Checkers?

There are 24 pieces in Checkers, with 12 on the white side and 12 on the black side. Each team has its pieces divided equally among 3 rows, which means that there are 4 pieces on each row.

What is the best first move in Checkers?

The best first move in Chess is to immediately move your piece in the front row to the edge of the board and establish the outside attack. This is useful because pieces that are on the very edge are unable to get taken by your opponent, making this a very powerful position to move to.

How to play Checkers on your phone

To play Checkers easily any time, you can add it directly to your phone as an app. It’s a great way to play without worrying about losing your game save data.

For iOS devices, simply tap the "Share" icon Play Checkers Online | Free Strategy Games at Coolmath Games (1) in Safari and select "Add to Home Screen". For Android devices, tap the “Menu” icon Play Checkers Online | Free Strategy Games at Coolmath Games (2) and select "Install App".

The goal of Checkers, or "Draughts" is to remove all your opponent's pieces from the board. Use your mouse to move your pieces around the board. Your pieces can only move forward one tile diagonally (they always stay on the brown tiles).

To capture an opponent's piece and remove it from the board, you need to "jump" over their piece with one of yours. If after jumping, your piece could make another jump, it is allowed to make additional jumps. If one of your pieces gets to the opposite side of the board (your opponent's back row), it will turn into a King. Kings can move and jump diagonally in any direction. They can even combine jumps forward and backward on the same turn!

You win by removing all of your opponent's pieces from the board, or if your opponent can't make a move.

CHECKERS TIPS & TRICKS

While Checkers is not quite as popular as a game like Chess, there is still a lot of strategy involved. Not to worry though, there are a few key strategies that you can use to win some games.

Don’t hug the sides

Rookie players sometimes rely on the sides of the board for safety, since pieces on the sides cannot be jumped. However, it’s best to advance your pieces toward the center. It may seem like you’re more vulnerable to attacks from this position, but ultimately, claiming the center will give you more mobility.

Save the last row for later

The back row of checkers on either side is called the “home row.” It’s best to keep this row in reserve until you need the pieces most. Keeping your home row occupied will prevent your opponent from making Kings and gives you an opportunity to jump and capture any opposing pieces that come too close.

Focus on the endgame

At the start of the game, you should put all your focus on moving as many pieces as you can to the other side of the board to build a team of Kings. In Checkers, the player with more kinged pieces on the table is the one most likely to win the match, so it’s best to start early!

Set up a blockade

Your opponent loses when you capture all of their pieces orif they can no longer make any moves. It may be a bit tricky, but as you move your pieces across the board, look for opportunities to create a wall around your opponent’s checkers. Blocking the enemy will automatically hand you the victory.

Make a trade

If you’re ahead in the game, it may be beneficial to sacrifice or trade some of your pieces if it means obtaining more opposing pieces and advancing further across the board.

WHAT YOU LEARN FROM PLAYING CHECKERS

Playing Checkers teaches basic spatial awareness and boosts problem-solving skills and memory recall.

Play Checkers Online | Free Strategy Games at Coolmath Games (2024)

FAQs

Is checkers harder than chess? ›

If we consider the difficulty level of chess and checkers, most observers would say the former is the tougher one out of the two. This is because chess has more variant pieces to begin with, and chess pieces can also move more than one way.

What are the top 10 Coolmath Games? ›

Top 10 Games
  • Run 3. Run, skate and jump through a brand new galaxy! ...
  • Papa's Freezeria. Mix up a frozen concoction! ...
  • Chess. Play Chess against the computer or your friends! ...
  • Tiny Fishing. 20 new deep sea fishes have dropped! ...
  • Suika Watermelon Game. ...
  • Clicker Heroes. ...
  • Slice Master. ...
  • Fireboy and Watergirl in the Forest Temple.

Is Coolmath Games OK for kids? ›

We love cool math!

Our family loves cool math games! My daughter is 6 and does many extracurricular activities which makes it hard to find some time to do math. Cool math games is fun, exciting, and educational. Which makes it perfect for kids and teens!

Is force jump a rule in checkers? ›

All jumps are forced in checkers, including jumps capturing more than one piece (Figure 4), though if more than one jump is possible a player may choose which jump to take.

Is checkers luck or skill? ›

According to a 2020 survey, 77% of adults in the U.S. think checkers is a game of skill rather than luck. So do you need to be a master of strategy to win a checkers game? Most would say "yes." Here are some tips on how to play and win.

Why do schools block Coolmath Games? ›

Coolmath is an old website filled with malware and spyware. Students previously used this website on the school equipment and it caused 70 laptops to crash. Equipment invested with viruses must be completely wiped and reformatted.

Why did Coolmath shut down? ›

We've seen a crazy rumor flying around that Coolmath Games is shutting down, but don't worry: There's no truth to it. The concern seemed to be about Flash games, because Flash has no longer been supported since the end of 2020. However, we've been totally focused on HTML5 games for years now.

What is the most funnest math game? ›

We have great whole class math games to enjoy:
  • Addition and Subtraction Bingo. To play this game, create bingo cards with the answers to simple addition and/or subtraction problems. ...
  • 101 Points. ...
  • Action Addition and Subtraction. ...
  • Math Twister. ...
  • Shape Scavenger Hunt. ...
  • Guess My Number. ...
  • Multiplication and Division Bingo. ...
  • Sign My Sheet.

Is Coolmath Games actually math? ›

The site is also linked to a math games site (Coolmath Games) where some of the games could be used to teach strategy or practice concepts. However, many of the games aren't really math-focused -- they're described as "brain-training" -- and may be more useful as a reward or break for students.

Who owns Coolmath Games? ›

Last year, Internet Safety Labs (ISL) observed that CoolMathGames.com website (from CoolMath.com, LLC [referred to as “Cool Math”], owned by Sandbox Group) contained location-based behavioral advertisem*nts.

Why is Coolmath so laggy? ›

Ever been playing a game on Coolmath and seen it suddenly slow down or go to 1 frame per second? That's because Coolmath puts its power to the ads before its games. With this neat trick, you can completely remove the ads from the website entirely, making your game run much more smoothly.

What are the illegal moves in checkers? ›

A piece can move one space sideways, forward, or diagonally towards the opposing home space. It CANNOT move backwards towards it own home space. (Kings can, as you'll see.) A piece can move forwards and sideways but never backwards towards its home space.

How to king in checkers? ›

KINGS. If a player's piece moves into the kings row on the opposing player's side of the board, that piece is said to be "crowned" (or "kinged"), becoming a "king" and gaining the ability to move both forwards and backwards.

What requires more skill chess or checkers? ›

Chess is definitely harder. There are more pieces, terms, skills/techniques, and numbers to learn. Anyone can play checkers easily whether they win or lose .

Which is harder than chess? ›

On this basis, go is the hardest followed by shogi, xiangqi, then chess, and finally checkers. Games like bridge, dominos and snap are usually classed as games of chance because much depend on the cards or dominos you are dealt. They are not complex so much as based on luck.

Is checkers a difficult game? ›

Checkers is no easier to play well than chess. The game may seem more monotonous, less interesting than chess but playing it really well is still challenging.. Checkers has fewer rules and is less arbitrary in piece initial arrangement than chess.

Is checkers strongly solved? ›

It's not necessary to examine every possible game. Checkers has been solved (it's a draw), but not every possible checkers game has been computed.

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