A little history...............Draughts,
also known as
checkers, is a group of mental sport board games between two players
which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by
jumping over the enemy's pieces. The most popular forms are international
draughts, played on a 10x10 board, but there are many other variants. Though
many authorities believe the game of draughts originated around 1100 AD,
probably in southern France, other authorities disagree. It has been generally
held that the inventor created the board game by combining a chessboard with
the rules of Alquerque. Earlier evidence has been found of a similar game
played in ancient Egypt of which origins can be traced as far back as 1600 BC.
The name "Checkers" originated with European settlers in the United States.
The version of checkers most often played in the United States is identical to
the English variant of draughts, though there are some regional variants of
checkers, such as pool. In the 18th century an anonymous Pole invented the
variant of draughts that is played on a 10x10 board with 2x20 pieces. This
variant was called Polish Draughts and was later called international
draughts.
General Set up and Rules of
Checkers: Checkers is played on a board made up of squares and is a game
for two players on opposite sides of a playing board, alternating moves. They
are laid out in eight columns and eight rows. Each player receives twelve,
flat disk-like pieces, which are placed on the black squares. Be sure that a
light colored square appears in the lower right hand corner of the board. The
darker colored checkers are usually designated black, and the lighter color is
designated white.Set up your board and you are ready to begin play! First,
determine who is to be "black". Black always moves first and play proceeds
alternately. There is some advantage to moving first, but on the beginner
level it is very slight. You can use any method you wish to designate who will
be "black" -- flip a coin, alternate, etc. The most common method for amateurs
is for a player to take one color checker in each hand, hold both hands out,
palms down, toward the other player who chooses a hand. The color of the
checker in the hand he choses is the color with which that player plays.
Checkers may only move forward from their initial positions.
There are two types of moves:
capturing moves and non-capturing moves. Non-capturing moves are
simply a diagonal move forward from one square to an adjacent square. (Note:
White squares are never used.) A capturing move occurs when a player "jumps"
an opposing player's piece. This can also take place diagonally and can only
happen when the square behind (on the same diagonal) is also open. (Note: You
may not jump an opposing piece around a corner.) A piece that is captured is
removed from the board. Of course, the object of checkers is to eliminate all
opposing checkers or create a situation where it is impossible for your
opponent to make any move. In all variants, the player who has no pieces left
or cannot move anymore has lost the game, unless otherwise stated and agreed
upon at the beginning of play. In a capturing move, a player's piece may make
multiple jumps. After the first jump, if a player is in position to make
another jump, then he may do so. Therefore, a player may make several jumps in
succession, capturing several pieces on a single turn. Forced Captures:
When a player is in position to make a capturing move, he must make a
capturing move. When he has more than one capturing move to choose from, he
may take whichever move suits him.
When a checker achieves its
opponent's edge of the board (called the "king's row"), it is crowned with
another checker signifying that the checker has been made a king. Once
a checker is a king, it can now move backward. In addition, a king
can now also jump in either direction or even in both directions in one turn,
if executing multiple jumps. If a player gets an uncrowned checker onto the
king's row because of a capturing move, then he must stop to be crowned even
if another capture seems to be available. He may then use his new king on his
next move. While playing, you may record your game by using checker notation.
The black squares are numbered. To record a move, simply write down the square
the move is from and also the number of the square to where the piece was
moved. This is seldom done in friendly games, but recording your game by
checker notation is essential in tournament play. It is also
convenient for discussing games and strategies.
Checkers is generally a
straight-forward game in many ways, however, play can unfold in intricate
layers. Every move opens untold possibilities, and closes down untold more. It
is good to keep a few strategies in mind when playing, even when it is just
for fun: 1st, always bear in mind the possibility of utilizing a forced
capture rule to maneuver your opponent into a position where he gives up two
pieces for one of your own. A one-piece advantage has great potential to make
all the difference in the end result. 2nd, try to keep the lanes to
your own king's row blocked to your opponent. Once either side gets a king,
any uncrowned checkers in the open are highly vulnerable. 3rd, attempt
to move between your own pieces and your opponent in order to move adjacent to
an opposing checker without loss. Of course, the ideas presented in this
writing are elementary to the tournament player. In order to play beyond the
beginner stage, one may want to acquire a book on checkers and checker
strategy. An excellent source to start with is a book titled "How to
Win at Checkers" by Fred Reinfeld, which can be found at most retail and
online retail bookstores.
Halma and Chinese Checkers:
Halma is a game in which pieces can move in any direction and jump over any
other piece, friend or enemy. Pieces are not captured. Each player starts with
19 (2-player) or 13 (4-player) pieces all in one corner and tries to move them
all into the opposite corner. Halma is actually a very different game than
checkers.
Chinese Checkers is a board game that can be played with two to six
people. The object of the game is to place one's pieces in the corner opposite
their starting position by moving them through jumps over other pieces. The
game does not actually originate from China (nor is it a variation on checkers
of Chinese Chess), but was given that name in the United States to make it
sound more exotic. When it was first released in Germany, it was called
Stern-Halma, as it is exactly like the older game of Halma except that the
board is star (stern) shaped. The Chinese checkers board is laid out in a
six-pointed star like the Star of David. (The game is unrelated to Judaism.)
The game pieces are usually six sets of colored marbles, ten of each color.
The ten marbles are arranged as a triangle in the starting position in one of
the corners of the star.
There are basically two games
played on the game set. Each of the games has an original and a fast-paced
variant. Each player puts his or her own colored marbles on one corner of the
star, and attempts to relocate them all to the opposite corner. Players take
turns moving one marble, either a single step or a chain of one or more hops.
A step consists of moving a marble to an adjacent unoccupied space in any of
the six directions. A hop consists of jumping over a single adjacent marble,
either one's own or an opponent's, to an unoccupied space directly opposite.
The basic strategy is to find the longest hopping path instead of
moving step by step. However, since your opponent or opponents can make use of
whatever hopping ladders you create, more advanced strategy requires hindering
your opponent as well as helping yourself. Of equal importance is the players'
strategy or algorithm for emptying and filling their origin and destination
triangles. Games between experts are rarely decided by more than a couple of
moves.
In the fast-paced variant, which
is played mainly in Hong Kong, game pieces may hop over non-adjacent
pieces. A hop consists of jumping over a distant marble to a symmetrical
position on the opposite side. For example, if there are two empty spaces
between the moving marble and the marble over which it is hopping, it lands on
the opposite side with a gap of two empty spaces. As before, a single move may
be a chain of hops. Usually, in the fast-paced version, a marble is allowed to
enter into an empty corner in the middle of a series of hops, but must hop out
again before the move is considered over. Jumping over two marbles in a single
hop is now allowed, therefore, in this fast-paced variant, even more than in
the original version, it is sometimes strategically important to keep one's
marbles bunched in order to prevent a long opposing hop.
The game layout varies
according to how many players are involved. In a six-player game, each
player plays with one set of marbles. The pieces move into one of the
opponents' corner. If an opponent refuses to move a piece out of the starting
corner, you are out of luck to win the game, because if he doesn't come out,
you can not finish. In a five-player game, the situation is the same as
the six-player game, except that one player moves the pieces into an empty
corner. Because this player is in an advantageous position, usually a less
experienced player (possibly a younger child) would take that position. The
four-player game is the same as the six player, except two opposite
corners are unused. In a three-player game, the players can play one
set or two sets of marbles each. If one set is used, the game pieces are moved
across the field into an empty corner. If two sets are used, each player
starts with two color sets at opposite corners. In a two-player game,
each player can play one, two, or three sets of marbles. If one set is played,
the pieces usually go into the opponent's corner. If two sets are played, the
pieces can either go into the player's own opposite corners or into an
opponent's corner. If three sets are played, the pieces usually go to the
opponent's corner. Each layout takes different game strategy. For example, if
your pieces go to your own corner, you can arrange your own pieces to serve as
bridges between the two opposite ends. On the contrary, if your opponent
occupies your target corner, you might have to play a waiting game until all
the pieces are moved out.
Have hours of great fun
playing board games like this with your family and friends!