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Copyright 1999, Jim Loy
You may print this and show it to others. But, this article will eventually be part of a book that I am writing. So, please do not distribute it widely.
My WWW checkers (also called draughts (pronounced drahfts) in England and elsewhere) pages are about the form of the game played mostly in English speaking countries. See my articles, The Basic Rules of Checkers, and The Standard Laws of Checkers, with my comments. There are other forms of checkers or draughts. Here is how some of them differ from the checkers that I play:
Italian Checkers (Dama):The board is rotated 90 degrees, so a double corner is to the left of each player. A king cannot be captured by an ordinary piece; kings can only be captured by kings. If you have a choice of jumps, you must capture the greatest number of pieces, or (if the number of captured pieces is equal) you must capture a king rather than an ordinary piece.
Spanish Checkers (Dama):The board is rotated 90 degrees, so a double corner is to the left of each player. A king cannot be captured by an ordinary piece; kings can only be captured by kings. If you have a choice of jumps, you must capture the greatest number of pieces, or (if the number of captured pieces is equal) you must capture a king rather than an ordinary piece. A king can move any distance along a diagonal, if not blocked. A king can make long jumps over a piece, any distance beyond the captured piece, if the way is clear of pieces.
International Checkers or Draughts (Polish Checkers): Played on a 10x10 board, oriented as in our English version. Each player has 20 pieces, which begin in the first four rows. Ordinary pieces move only forward, but may capture backward (in short leaps as in the English version). A king can make long jumps (or a series of such jumps) when capturing.A king can make long jumps over a piece (or a series of such jumps over pieces), any distance in front of, or beyond the captured piece, if the way is clear of pieces. An ordinary piece which jumps onto the back row, must continue jumping off the back row, if possible; and it does not become a king until it lands on the back row at the end of a move (or jump).
Canadien Checkers (Grand jeu de dames): Exactly like International Checkers, but on a 12x12 board.
Damenspiel/German Checkers/Spanish Pool Checkers: Exactly like International Checkers, but on an 8x8 board. A promoted piece is called a queen (dame).
Russian Checkers (Shashki): Like Damenspiel, except that capturing is not forced. And a piece becomes a queen when it touches the king row, even if it continues to jump off the king row on that move.
Giveaway Checkers (Losing Game): Like our English version, except the object is to give away all of your pieces.