| National variant |
Board size |
Pieces per side |
Flying kings? |
Can men capture backwards? |
Who moves first? |
Capture constraints |
Notes |
| International draughts (or Polish draughts) |
10×10 |
20 |
yes |
yes |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. |
Pieces only promote when they land on the final rank, not when they pass through it. It is mainly played in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, some eastern European countries, some parts of Africa, some parts of the former USSR, and other European countries |
| English draughts |
8×8 |
12 |
no |
no |
black |
Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. |
Also called American checkers or "straight checkers", since it is also played in the USA. |
| Brazilian draughts |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
yes |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. |
Played in Brazil. The rules come from international draughts, but board size and number of pieces come from English draughts.
In the Philippines, it is known as "derecha" and is played on a mirrored board, often replaced by a crossed lined board (only diagonals are represented).
|
| Ghanaian checkers |
10×10 |
20 |
yes |
yes |
White |
Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. Accidentally passing up a king's capture opportunity leads to forfeiture of the king. |
Played in Ghana. The board is mirrored (the left side is flipped to the right side and vice versa). You lose if you are left with a single piece (man or king). |
| Canadian checkers |
12×12 |
30 |
yes |
yes |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. |
International rules, on a 12x12 board. Mainly played in Canada. |
| Frisian checkers |
10×10 |
20 |
yes |
yes |
White |
A sequence of capture must give the maximum "value" to the capture, and the king has a value of slightly less than 2 men. If a sequence with a capturing king and a sequence with a capturing man have the same value, the king must capture. The main difference with the other games is that the captures can be made diagonally, but also straight forward and sideways. |
Only played in Netherlands. |
| Pool checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
yes |
Black |
Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. |
It is mainly played in the southeastern United States. In many games at the end one adversary has three kings while the other one has just one king. In such a case the first adversary must win in thirteen moves or the game is declared a draw. |
| Spanish checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
no |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces, and the maximum possible number of kings from all such sequences. |
Also called Spanish pool checkers. The board is mirrored (the left side is flipped to the right side and vice versa). It is mainly played in Portugal and in some parts in South America and some Northern African countries. |
| Russian checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
yes |
White |
Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. |
Also called shashki or Russian shashki checkers. If a man touches the kings row from a jump and it can continue to jump backwards, it jumps backwards as a king, not as a man. It is mainly played in some parts in Russia, some parts of the former USSR, and Israel. In many games at the end one adversary has three kings while the other one has just one king. In such a case the first adversary normally wins if (s)he occupies the main diagonal first and then builds the so-called Petrov's triangle. 2 variants must be signaled : the 10x8 variant(wide 10, high 8), and the poddavki, which is the give away variant of shashki (it has official championships). |
| Italian checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
no |
no |
White |
If there are many sequences to capture, one has to capture the sequence that has the most pieces. If there are still more sequences, one has to capture with a king instead of a man. If there are still more sequences, one has to capture the sequence that has the most kings. If there are still more sequences, one has to capture the sequence that has a king first. |
Men cannot jump kings. The board is mirrored (the left side is flipped to the right side and vice versa). It is mainly played in Italy, and some Northern African countries. |
| Czech checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
no |
White |
If there are sequences of captures with a man and other ones with a king, it is necessary to capture with a king. After that, any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made in the chosen sequence. |
This game is from the family of Spanish game. |
| Argentinian checkers |
8×8 |
12 |
yes |
no |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces, and the maximum possible number of kings from all such sequences. |
The rules are similar to Spanish game, but the king, when it captures, must stop after the captured piece, and may begin a new capture movement from there.
With this rule, there is no draw with 2 pieces against 1. The board is mirrored.
|
| Thai checkers |
8×8 |
8 |
yes |
no |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces, and the maximum possible number of kings from all such sequences. |
The rules are similar to Spanish game (but with 8 pieces on each side), but every piece is taken away from the board at each jump, and the king, when it captures, must stop after the captured piece, and may begin a new capture movement from there, even in the direction where it comes from. |
| Turkish draughts |
8×8 |
16 |
yes |
no |
White |
A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. |
In this form of the game (also known as Dama), men move straight forward or sideways, instead of diagonally. When a man reaches the last row it promotes to a flying king (Dama) which moves like a rook. The pieces are placed on the second and third rows. It is played in Turkey, Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Greece and several other locations of the Middle-East, as well as the same locations as Russian checkers. There are several variants in these countries, with the Armenian variant (called tama) also allowing some form of diagonal movement. |