Turkish checkers — Dama — is the variant that feels most unlike checkers. Pieces move straight rather than diagonally, they use every square on the board instead of just the dark ones, and kings sweep across ranks and files like a rook. If you want a board game that's recognizably in the checkers family but plays completely differently, this is it.
What is Turkish checkers?
Turkish checkers (Dama) is a two-player game on an 8×8 board where pieces move and capture orthogonally — forward and sideways, never diagonally — across all 64 squares. Each player has 16 pieces, kings move any distance in straight lines, and captures are mandatory with a maximum-capture rule.
How is it set up?
Each player places 16 pieces filling the second and third rows from their edge — every square in those two rows, since Turkish checkers uses the whole board, not just the dark squares. The first (back) row and the two center rows start empty. This produces the game's distinctive look: solid ranks of pieces facing each other, not the staggered diagonal pattern of standard checkers.
How do the pieces move and capture?
Regular pieces move one square forward or sideways (left or right) — never backward, and never diagonally. They capture by jumping straight over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square directly beyond, in any of those non-backward directions. Captures are mandatory and chain into multi-jumps, and you must take the maximum capture available. Captured pieces are removed as you go.
How do kings work?
A piece that reaches the far row is crowned a king. A Turkish king moves like a rook in chess — any number of empty squares along a rank or file — and captures from a distance, landing anywhere beyond the piece it takes. Kings are extremely powerful given the open, all-squares board.
How do you win?
Capture all of the opponent's pieces, or reduce them so they cannot move. There's a practical wrinkle unique to the straight-line game: because pieces advance in solid ranks, the opening develops very differently from diagonal checkers, and control of files matters as much as ranks.
Strategy notes
Think in straight lines, not diagonals — threats come down files and across ranks. The maximum-capture rule means forced sequences dominate, so calculate the longest capture for both sides before moving. Promote toward a rook-like king and use its range to control open lines. Because there are no backward moves for men, advancing commits you, so don't push pieces forward without support behind them.
Play Turkish checkers
Play Dama here against the computer with full orthogonal rules and rook-like kings — every rule above enforced. Coming from standard checkers? Read How to Play Checkers first — then notice how different straight-line play feels. See every variant.