This table uses Russian draughts (Shashki): play on the dark squares of an 8×8 board, White moves first, men step diagonally forward and may capture in any diagonal direction, captures are mandatory but you may choose the path, and kings fly along open diagonals. A man that hits the last rank during a jump becomes a king at once and may keep capturing. It is not English draughts, not 10×10 international draughts, and not Chinese checkers. Read the sections once, then try a local computer game and force yourself to take every capture that exists.
How you move a piece here
Select one of your men that can actually move, then select the empty square it is allowed to reach. If nothing happens, that piece has no legal step, or a capture somewhere on the board is still waiting to be taken.
Uncrowned men advance one diagonal square toward the far side. They capture in all four diagonal directions, including backward.
Dark squares and the first move
Sixty-four squares, but pieces sit only on the dark ones. Each side begins with twelve men on the three dark ranks nearest them. White moves, then Black, and so on.
Stepping forward, hopping in four directions
An uncrowned man steps one square diagonally forward. To capture, it hops an adjacent enemy piece in any diagonal direction and lands on the empty square immediately beyond. Captured pieces stay until the jumping run ends. If that same man can hop again from the new square, the turn continues.
Before you look two captures ahead, ask the shorter question: can any of your men hop something right now? If yes, the next section applies. If not, pick a man that either advances or still guards the last rank.
When a quiet step is illegal
If any legal hop exists, you must play a hopping move. When several captures are available, you may choose among them. Once a multi-jump has started, that piece keeps hopping while another hop is available from the square it just reached.
What crowning grants
A man that reaches the farthest rank becomes a king. A king slides any number of empty squares diagonally, and captures by jumping an enemy piece any distance away along a clear line, landing on any empty square beyond it.
Against the computer you hold White by default; on a shared device or in a room, the two players simply alternate. The rules do not change between those modes.
When the game is over
You win when the other side has no men left, or when it is their turn and they have no legal move. You may also agree a draw. This board records a draw after a long stretch with neither a capture nor a crowning.
For a first sitting, ignore the score. Stay on the dark squares, take every capture you are required to take, and notice when a man reaches the last rank and continues as a king. That is already a complete game of Russian draughts.
Questions people ask before the first game
Is this the same game as Chinese checkers?
No. Chinese checkers is played on a star, and pieces hop along lines of empty holes to race home. This board is 8×8 Russian draughts. You are trying to take the other side’s men or leave them with nowhere to go.
Can I ignore a jump and move a different man?
No. If a legal hop exists, you have to hop. When more than one hopping line is available you may pick any of them; you cannot answer with a quiet step instead.
Does a king fly along a clear line?
Yes. A Russian king slides and captures along open diagonals. That is different from English draughts, where kings still step one square.
Who starts, and can a piece sit on any square?
White starts. Pieces rest only on dark squares. Men step diagonally forward and may capture backward.