Checkers online

How do you play checkers with Brazilian rules?

Brazilian checkers is a game for two on a 64-square board, with 12 pieces per player. Capturing is mandatory, and you must take the capture that removes the most pieces. You win by capturing every enemy piece or leaving your opponent with no move. On this page you play with a friend or against the computer.

How to play

1. Each player starts with 12 men on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them. Blue sits at the bottom and moves first.
2. A man moves one square diagonally, always forward, and only on dark squares.
3. To capture, a man jumps over an enemy piece next to it and lands on the empty square right behind. Men capture both forward and backward.
4. Capturing is mandatory. If the same piece can capture again after landing, it keeps going in the same turn.
5. Majority rule: when there is more than one capture, you must choose the sequence that takes the most pieces.
6. Captured pieces leave the board only when the turn ends. No piece can be jumped twice in the same sequence.
7. A man that ends its turn on the far row becomes a king. If it only passes through that row during a capture and keeps capturing, it stays a man.
8. A king moves any number of empty squares diagonally, forward or backward. It captures from a distance and may land on any empty square behind the captured piece.
9. You win by capturing every enemy piece or by leaving your opponent with no move.
10. The game is a draw after 20 moves in a row made only by kings, with no capture and no man moved.

How to use the board on screen

• Tap the piece you want to move. Only pieces that have a move respond.
• Dots show where the piece can land. Tap one of them to play.
• When a capture is mandatory, a dashed ring marks the pieces that can capture.
• A king is drawn with a crown. Yellow squares show the last move.

How it differs from American checkers

• Men capture backward as well as forward. In American checkers, men capture only forward.
• Kings are flying kings: they move and capture along the whole diagonal, not just one square.
• You must take the capture that removes the most pieces. American checkers lets you pick any capture.
• A man that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture and can keep capturing is not crowned.

Tips to play better

• Keep the men on your back row in place as long as you can. They stop your opponent from getting a king.
• Hold the center of the board. A piece in the center has two paths; a piece on the edge has only one.
• Advance your men in groups. A man with another right behind it cannot be captured from that side.
• Before every move, check which capture you leave for your opponent, since they are forced to take it.
• Use mandatory captures to your advantage: giving up one piece to take two in a row is a good trade.
• The first king often decides the game. Open a path along one side.

Frequently asked questions