How to play
International draughts (also called Polish draughts) is played on the dark squares of a 10 × 10 board. Each side starts with 20 men on the four rows nearest to them. White sits at the bottom and moves first.
Moving. A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty square. A king (a man that has reached the far side) moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal, forwards or backwards.
Capturing. Capturing is compulsory. A man captures by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square directly behind it, and unlike in checkers it may jump backwards as well as forwards. A king captures from a distance: it may slide along the diagonal, jump the enemy piece and land on any empty square beyond it. If the piece that landed can capture again, it must continue, changing direction as needed.
The majority rule. When several captures are possible you must play the one that takes the most pieces; a king counts the same as a man. Tap a piece to see where it can land. When one landing square belongs to several routes, the game asks you to tap the intermediate squares one at a time.
Captured pieces stay until the jump ends. Pieces you have jumped are removed only after your whole sequence is complete. Until then they remain on the board: you cannot jump the same piece twice, and it still blocks the diagonal behind it.
Promotion. A man becomes a king only if it finishes its move on the far row. A man that passes through the far row in the middle of a multiple capture keeps going as a man.
End of the game. You lose when you have no pieces left or no legal move. If 50 moves pass without a capture and without a man moving, the game is a draw.
At the top, choose your Opponent. Against the Computer you play White and can pick Easy, Medium or Hard. Choose Friend to play two people on one device; the strip of the player to move lights up. Hint shows a good move, and Undo takes back one move against a friend, or your move together with the computer’s answer.
Strategy
- Count before you offer. Because capturing is compulsory, you can force your opponent to take a piece and so drag their man onto a square where you take two or three back. Look for these “shots” every move.
- Backward captures change everything. A man behind an enemy piece is a threat, not a straggler. Keep your back men as guards against pieces that break through.
- Keep the centre. Men on the central squares control the most diagonals and reach the far side faster. Edge men are safe but passive.
- Kings are strong but not invincible. A flying king dominates an open board, yet a single king usually cannot beat three well-placed men. Promote early when the position is open, trade men when you are ahead.
- Mind the majority rule. Sometimes you can decide which capture your opponent must play by making one route longer than another.
The computer values men by how far they have advanced and kings at three men, and searches deeper on harder levels. In our tests the hard level beat the easy level in every game between them.
For the Turkish variant with straight-line moves, play Turkish Draughts; for the 8 × 8 game, try Checkers.
If you enjoy International Draughts, try Kızma Birader or Liar’s Dice next.
