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How to play checkers? Checkers rules

Is your preschooler already old enough and at the same time quite assiduous for playing board games? Tell him how to play checkers. A new hobby will help develop intellectual abilities, which will contribute to the upcoming good studies.

Checkers - an exciting board game

Everyone knows that sports are not only mobile, but also board games - checkers and their origins are rooted in the distant past. Some historians believe that they were invented by the Greek warrior Palamedes during the ten-year siege of Troy, while others believe in the Egyptian origin of this ancient fun. As a result of excavations, archaeologists found sets of boards with cells or squares and round chips, similar in appearance, in the territory of Kievan Rus, Sweden, Norway and many other countries. This means that checkers has been very popular for a very long time due to its simplicity and at the same time the need to have a rather sharp mind in order to master this, one might say, science. And in our time, this board game captivates everyone - from young to old. It is noteworthy that even small-sized mini-checkers are produced, designed for useful pastime while traveling, while the chips have special legs for strong fastening on the playing field.

Checkers types

Historically, in each country this hobby acquired its own distinctive features over time. How to play checkers, for example, in Armenian or Brazilian? Let's get acquainted with the rules of some countries:

International. The rules are similar to the Russian game, but the playing field consists of one hundred cells (10 by 10). Only the checker that finished the battle on one square can become a queen (which, for example, is impossible with a long set of moves when beating the enemy).

English. The game is in many ways similar to Russian checkers. The differences are in the prohibition to beat in the opposite direction and the requirement to find queens in only one playing field.

Armenian. Checkers move not diagonally, but in a perpendicular direction, crossing cells of different colors. Just like the English ones, there is a ban on destroying opponent's pieces in a backward move.

Brazilian. The rules are the same as those of international ones, and the playing field is like that of Russians: 8 by 8 cells with 12 chips for each opponent.

Spanish. Brazilian rules apply, but the checkers are placed on white cells with the playing field rotated 90 degrees. You can't hit back.

Basic rules for playing checkers (Russian) for simple pawns

Let's get acquainted with the basic principles that should be followed when moving chips around the field, hitting the enemy and turning into kings. Pay special attention to the distinctive features of the game when the status of a checker changes. The rules of the final stage (after the appearance of queens) acquire other conditions and are described later in the article.

The game board is the same as the chess board and consists of 64 squares alternating in color (8 horizontally, 8 vertically).
Each opponent has 12 checkers, which are initially arranged in three rows on black cells.
The fold on the board is the dividing line of the players' fields.
Moves are made alternately in the diagonal direction only along the dark-colored cells.
In one move, you can simultaneously beat (remove from the board) several enemy checkers, if they are located so that there are free cells between them for moves.
The direction of movement can change (right, left). The reverse move can only be in case of beating the opponent.
All hit pieces are removed from the board only after the end of the move.

Rules for the final stage of the game

Transformation into a queen is possible upon reaching the opposite row (initial for the enemy). Usually the chip is turned over, but sometimes there are specially marked elements of the corresponding color in the game set.
The king has the right to move any number of cells in any diagonal direction.
There should be no refusal to beat the enemy from the king, therefore, thanks to this rule, “crowned persons” often fall into traps.
The winner is the player who takes all the checkers of the opponent or creates a situation in which he cannot make a single move.
A draw is determined after three repetitions of the same moves and the impossibility of making others.
The recording of the game is carried out by determining the location of the cells by drawing on the board near each square numbers along the left vertical line of the board and letters along the bottom horizontal line.

Rule Options

But our people love to deviate from the standards, so in simple everyday life there are often some interesting interpretations of the unified rules for playing Russian checkers. Children are especially imaginative. Surely, many will remember the eccentric “giveaway”, when the goal of the game is not to beat the enemy, but to lose as quickly as possible, substituting your chips for battle. How to play checkers following these "rules"? Options - a lot! Here are some of them:

Stavropol. In the game, a participant can, in turn, make a move not with his own chips, but with the opponent.

Pillar. Checkers are moving across the field, under which there is a padded trophy of the enemy.

Samoyeds. According to the rules, it is required to beat not only the opponent's checkers, but also your own.

How to play

This board game is significantly different from the traditional one, both in terms of rules and content. First, the appearance of the board, which has the shape of a six-pointed star, immediately catches the eye. Secondly, checkers are replaced by chips. At the same time, from two to six players can participate in the game (maximum - according to the number of colors used). What are the rules of the game? Checkers are located on the tops of the star, their number depends on the size of the field and ranges from six to ten. The most "bright" player starts the movement. The order then changes clockwise. The goal is to reach the opposite end of the star. According to the rules, you can move in any direction, while jumping over other people's chips, behind which there is a free cell. Whoever reaches the required goal first wins.