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Russian checkers rules in plain words
Russian checkers is played on an 8×8 board with 12 pieces each. White starts. Here are all the rules you need to play with confidence.
Set-up
Pieces stand only on dark squares. White fills the three bottom rows, Black the three top rows. White's bottom-left corner, a1, is dark.
How a man moves
One square diagonally forward. A man never moves backwards, but it can capture backwards.
Capturing
- Capturing is compulsory. If a capture is possible, other moves are not allowed.
- A man captures forwards and backwards by jumping an enemy piece to the empty square behind it.
- If another capture is possible after a jump, you must continue.
- With several capture options you may choose any — not necessarily the one that takes the most pieces.
Kings
A man that reaches the last row becomes a king. A king moves and captures diagonally over any distance. If a man is crowned during a capture, it continues capturing as a king at once.
The Turkish strike
Captured pieces are removed only after the move ends. You cannot jump the same piece twice.
End of the game
You lose if you have no pieces or no legal moves. A draw happens by agreement or when the position repeats.