Draughts rules: movement, captures and kings
Understand the 10×10 draughts board, compulsory captures, maximum capture chains and flying kings before your next game.
The board and objective
International draughts uses a 10×10 board. Each player begins with 20 pieces on the playable diagonal squares. You win by leaving your opponent with no pieces or no legal move. A draw is also possible; you do not automatically win just because you have more pieces.
Moving an ordinary piece
An ordinary piece, often called a man, moves one empty diagonal square forward. A piece on the promotion row becomes a king after its move is completed. Ordinary movement and capture movement are different: a man can capture both forward and backward.
Captures are compulsory
If any of your pieces can capture, you must capture rather than make an ordinary move. Jump over an opponent's piece to an empty landing square. When a capture continues, complete the whole legal sequence. Captured pieces are removed at the end of the sequence, and the same opposing piece cannot be captured twice in that sequence.
Choose the longest capture
When several capture sequences are available, choose one that takes the largest number of pieces. If two sequences capture the same maximum number, either is allowed. Count pieces, not how far the moving piece travels. This is a common reason that a tempting shorter capture is unavailable.
Flying kings
A king can move along an unobstructed diagonal over multiple empty squares. To capture, it passes over an opposing piece and lands on an empty square beyond it. Landing-square choice can affect the rest of a capture chain, so look at the whole sequence before selecting a destination.
From rules to practice
Try these ideas against the computer before entering a timed match. DraffMaster uses international 10×10 draughts rules; familiar 8×8 checkers games and local variants may behave differently. Tournament formats also differ: a league can score draws while a knockout event needs a decisive outcome under that event's rules.