Last updated: June 2026
Most people mean one game when they say "checkers" — the 8×8 American version. But checkers, or draughts, is a whole family of games played across the world, on different board sizes and with different king rules. This page is the map: what each variant is, how it differs, and where to play or learn it.
Every type of checkers in one place — pick a rule set, board size, or just an unfamiliar style. Each variant gets its own page with the full rules.
See the full breakdown on the variants hub or the how-to-play guide.
They're the same game with different names. "Checkers" is what it's called in North America; "draughts" is the name used in the UK and much of the rest of the world. When you see "draughts," read it as checkers — though some regions also play larger-board variants under that name.
The standard game: 8×8 board, 12 pieces per side, regular pieces move and capture forward only, kings move both directions one square at a time, and captures are mandatory. This is the version playable on the homepage and the one the rules guide covers in full.
→ Play it on the home page. Learn it in How to Play Checkers.
Played on a larger 10×10 board with 20 pieces per side. Two big rule changes make it deeper: regular pieces can capture backward, and kings are "flying kings" that slide any number of empty squares along a diagonal and capture from a distance. It's the version favored at the highest competitive level.
→ Play International draughts.
An 8×8 board like the American game, but using international rules — backward captures for regular pieces and flying kings. A popular middle ground: the familiar small board with the richer international ruleset.
→ Play Brazilian checkers.
Also 8×8 with flying kings and backward captures. A distinctive rule: a piece that reaches the king's row mid-jump is crowned immediately and continues jumping as a king in the same turn. Fast, sharp, and tactical.
→ Play Russian checkers.
A different feel entirely — pieces move and capture orthogonally (straight, not diagonally), across all squares of the 8×8 board rather than just the dark ones. Kings slide like a rook. If you want checkers that doesn't feel like checkers, this is it.
→ Turkish checkers (coming soon).
The big one: a 12×12 board with 30 pieces per side, using international rules. The largest board of the mainstream variants, with the longest games and the deepest calculation.
→ Play Canadian checkers.
Not actually checkers, and not Chinese — it's a German game (Stern-Halma), a variant of Halma. Played on a six-pointed star board by 2 to 6 players, you race your marbles across to the opposite point by stepping and hopping. There's no capturing; first to fill the opposite triangle wins.
→ Chinese checkers (coming soon).
If you're new, start with American checkers — it's the simplest and everything else builds on it. For more depth on the familiar small board, try Brazilian or Russian rules. For the full competitive game, International draughts on the 10×10 board is the deepest. And if you want something that feels genuinely different, Turkish checkers or Chinese checkers each change the game in their own way.
They are the same game. "Checkers" is the North American name and "draughts" is used in the UK and much of the world. Some regions also play larger-board variants such as International draughts under the draughts name.
American checkers uses an 8×8 board with 12 pieces per side, and regular pieces capture forward only. International draughts uses a 10×10 board with 20 pieces, lets regular pieces capture backward, and uses flying kings that slide and capture from a distance.
A flying king is a king that can move any number of empty squares along a diagonal and capture an opponent's piece from a distance, landing on any empty square beyond it. Flying kings are used in International, Brazilian, and Russian variants, but not in standard American checkers.
No. Despite the name, Chinese checkers is a separate game with no capturing — players race marbles across a star-shaped board to the opposite point. It's German in origin (Stern-Halma), not Chinese, and unrelated to standard checkers.
American, Brazilian, Russian, and Italian checkers use an 8×8 board; International (Polish) draughts uses 10×10; and Canadian draughts uses a 12×12 board.