International Checkers

About this board game

International Checkers is a two-player checkers game played on a 10×10 board with 20 pieces per player and a listed play time of 40 minutes.

A member of the Checkers family, it is distinct from American Checkers and British Draughts because of its different movement and capture rules. The game is popular in countries including France, The Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Belgium, Congo, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, with strong players also found in the United States, Italy, Israel, and Brazil.

Each player begins with the board’s double corner on their right. Men move forward to an empty square diagonally to the left or right. When a man reaches the opponent’s last line, it becomes a King, gaining the ability to move across multiple open squares along either diagonal in the distinctive “Flying Kings” rule.

• Captures are compulsory, and the path taking the greatest number of pieces must be chosen.
• Men may capture forward or backward by jumping over an adjacent opposing piece onto an empty square.
• Kings can capture across a diagonal when the intervening squares are empty, then land on any open square beyond the captured piece.
• A multiple capture must continue whenever another capture is available.

If a man reaches the King row during a capture sequence, it continues jumping backward if possible and is promoted only after the complete move ends on that row. These rules make International Checkers a game where selecting the correct capture route is central to every turn.

A player wins when the opponent cannot move any piece. Draws may result from agreement, repeated positions, or specific endgame and move-count conditions involving Kings and uncaptured pieces. First recorded in 1600, International Checkers offers a firmly traditional ruleset with a broad international following.