Funskool's Checkers Plus 5 (item 9415000), the set our link goes toPhoto: Funskool
What's in the box: the board and 24 coinsPhoto: Funskool
The start: 12 pieces each on the dark squaresPhoto: Jud McCranie, CC BY 3.0
Passing the time with a game of checkers in ChicagoPhoto: John H. White (US National Archives, DOCUMERICA), public domain
A wooden set: the same game, a different feelPhoto: TaurusEmerald, CC BY-SA 4.0
Checkers at a club in Nashville, about 1930Photo: Wiles, photographer (Center for Jewish History, NYC), no known copyright restrictions
Funskool's Travel Chess & Draughts, our other good setPhoto: Funskool
Video

Traditional game

Checkers

Jump, capture and crown kings in the classic two-player duel

2players · best with 2
15–30 minplaying time
7+recommended age
Learning curve
Easy2 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Pure skill, no luck
LuckSkill
Interaction
High
Set-up
Under a minute
Reading
None

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Two players who want a quick game of pure skill: no dice, no cards

Think twice if More than two people want to play at once: it's strictly one against one

How we rate it

Learning curve. The rules take five minutes, but forced captures create traps and combinations that take years to master; the five extra games in Funskool's set are simpler still.

Luck & skill. No dice and no cards: the better player usually wins, and with perfect play the game is a draw.

Interaction. Every move is a direct contest: you capture each other's pieces, force jumps and block each other's path to the far row.

Set-up. Twelve pieces each on the dark squares of your three nearest rows; under a minute.

Reading. Nothing to read during play; the English rules sheet is only needed to learn the extra games.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Another good set: Funskool Travel Chess & Draughts

Is Checkers right for you?

Great if

  • Two players who want a quick game of pure skill: no dice, no cards
  • Children from about 7 taking their first step towards chess-style planning
  • Grandparents who grew up with draughts and want to teach it to the next generation
  • Families who like variety: Funskool's set has rules for five more games on the same board

Skip it if

  • More than two people want to play at once: it's strictly one against one
  • You want a game where luck lets a beginner beat an expert now and then
  • You'd rather go straight to chess: it uses the same board and offers more variety at a high level

How Checkers plays

Checkers, called draughts in British English, grew out of Alquerque, an old jumping game played on a grid of lines that the Moors brought to Spain; a Spanish book of games from 1283 explains how to play it. In Europe the game moved onto the chessboard, with pieces moving only diagonally, and a French chronicle of 1243 already mentions crowning a piece that reaches the far side, in a game then called fierges. The rule that you must capture whenever you can came from France. The 8 x 8 game with 12 pieces each became the standard in Britain and America, while countries such as the Netherlands mostly play international draughts on a 10 x 10 board. South Asia has a jumping-and-capturing cousin of its own, sixteen soldiers, known in Bangladesh as sholo guti and often drawn on the ground and played with stones.

  • Time to teach: about 5 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Nothing to read while you play. Funskool's rules sheet is in English; the moves are easy to show on the board, so it works in any language.
Passing the time with a game of checkers in Chicago · Photo: John H. White (US National Archives, DOCUMERICA), public domain

How to play Checkers · Triple S Games

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Set

    Place 12 pieces each on the dark squares of your three nearest rows; the darker side moves first.

  2. 2
    Move

    Move one piece one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.

  3. 3
    Jump

    Jump over an enemy piece next to yours into the empty square beyond and remove it; keep jumping if you can.

  4. 4
    Win

    Crown pieces that reach the far row, and win by taking all your rival's pieces or leaving them no move.

Read the rules (PDF)Checkers +5 instructions (Beginner's Checkers and 5 Checker Board Games) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Checkers goes

Put the board between you so that each player has a light square in the right-hand corner. Each player sets 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them; the darker side moves first, which is Black in Funskool's set. Pieces move one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square, so only the dark squares are ever used.

To capture, jump diagonally over an enemy piece next to yours into the empty square just beyond it, and take the jumped piece off the board. If the same piece can then jump again, it carries on, even changing direction, until no jump is left. Under the official rules of the World Checkers Draughts Federation and its member bodies, jumping is compulsory: if you can capture, you must, though you may choose which capture to make. Funskool's sheet also describes the older 'huffing' rule, where a player who misses a capture can have the piece that should have jumped taken away. Many families play with optional jumps instead, so agree before you start.

A piece that reaches the far row is crowned: a second piece of the same colour goes on top, and the king can now move and jump backwards as well as forwards, one square at a time. You win by capturing all your opponent's pieces or by leaving them with no legal move. A friendly game takes 15 to 30 minutes. Between strong players many games are drawn: in 2007 a team of Canadian computer scientists showed that perfect play from the opening position always ends in a draw.

Funskool's Checkers Plus 5 adds five more games for the same board and coins. In Give Away Checkers you try to lose all your pieces first. In Corner Checkers each player has nine pieces that move forward or sideways, and a piece is crowned in the far corner. Gobang is a race to place five pieces in a row on any squares. A Chinese-checkers-style game has you rebuild a triangle of ten pieces in the opposite corner, hopping over pieces without capturing them. In Fox and Hounds, one fox tries to slip past four hounds that can only move forward. They are a good way to keep younger children interested between games of checkers.

What's in the box

What's in the box: the board and 24 coins · Photo: Funskool
  • 1Checkerboard
    8 x 8 squares in black and red; some of the extra games use the red squares too
  • 12Black coins
  • 12Red coins
  • 1Rules sheet
    English, one page: checkers plus five other games

Box: 40 × 20.5 cm. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

From the contents panel in Funskool's own photo of the box (gameboard, 12 black coins, 12 red coins, instructions) and Funskool's rules sheet. No die is included, and none of the six games needs one. Kings are made by stacking a second coin on top, so keep all 24 coins. Funskool's Travel Chess & Draughts, the other good set we show, has 24 draughts discs (12 white, 12 black) and 32 chess pieces instead.

Where to buy

Check price on Amazon.in

Another good set

Funskool Travel Chess & Draughts

Funskool's compact two-in-one travel set: one small pegged board for chess and draughts, with 32 chess pieces and 24 draughts discs that peg in and stay put on journeys, for 2 players aged 7 and up.

Good for: car and train journeys, and players who want chess and draughts in one small box

Check price on Amazon.in
How to pick a good setSize, pieces and the details worth checking.

Choosing a set

Nobody owns checkers and good sets are made in India, so there's no need to import one. Our main Amazon.in link goes to Funskool's Checkers Plus 5 (item 9415000), which Funskool says is made in India: a standard 8 x 8 board, 12 black and 12 red coins, and rules for checkers plus five more games. For journeys, Funskool's Travel Chess & Draughts, shown below as another good set, puts both games on one small pegged board.

Before you choose

  • Board size: checkers needs an 8 x 8 board of 64 squares, set with a light square at each player's right. A 10 x 10 board is for international draughts, a different game, so check before you buy. Our main Amazon.in link goes to Funskool's Checkers Plus 5, a standard 8 x 8 board.
  • Pieces: you need 24, 12 of each colour, flat enough to stack, because a king is two pieces on top of each other. Spares help because pieces go missing; Funskool's set has exactly 24, so keep them together in the box.
  • Fit: each piece should sit inside a square with a little room around it, and a stacked king shouldn't wobble. Very small travel boards are fiddlier for young children.
  • Material: folding cardboard boards are light and easy to store; wooden boards and pieces feel better and last longer; pegged or magnetic travel sets keep pieces in place in a car or train, like Funskool's Travel Chess & Draughts, our other good set.
  • Two games in one: a chess-and-draughts set covers both games, since they share the same 64-square board.
  • Rules sheet: see whether it makes jumping compulsory (the official rule) or describes 'huffing', and agree your house rule before the first game.
  • Safety: toys sold in India must carry the ISI mark with a BIS licence number, so check the box. Funskool's box warns that the small parts aren't suitable for children under 3 (36 months).

What reviewers and players say

Checkers is respected as a game with one page of rules and a lot of depth. Experienced players on a games forum describe real strategy beyond tactics, such as controlling the long diagonal and guarding the double corner, and computer scientists showed in 2007 that perfect play from the opening position always ends in a draw. Families value that it's quick to teach, needs no luck and gives children a first taste of chess-style thinking. The common disputes are over house rules, especially whether jumping is compulsory, and between strong players draws are frequent; one chess player on the forum found checkers books full of openings and tactics but short on strategy.

What people love

  • Rules a seven-year-old can learn in five minutes
  • No dice or cards, so the better player wins
  • Compulsory jumps make for neat traps and multi-piece combinations
  • It uses the same board as chess, and many sets do both

Common complaints

  • Arguments over house rules: compulsory jumps, huffing and how far kings may move
  • Between evenly matched experienced players, many games end in a draw
  • Some chess players find it narrower than chess once the openings are learned
Based on 5 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Players22–622
Best with22-422
Play time15–30 min10–30 min10–60 min15–30 min
Age7+6+7+7+
RulesEasyEasyMediumEasy
Indian editionAvailableAvailableAvailableAvailable
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Questions people ask about Checkers

Are checkers and draughts the same game?

Yes. English draughts and American checkers are the same 8 x 8 game with 12 pieces each, and Funskool's set uses those rules. 'Draughts' is also the name of a wider family of games, the best known being international draughts, played on a 10 x 10 board with 20 pieces each and kings that move any distance.

Do you have to jump in checkers?

Under the official rules, yes: if you can capture, you must, and you must finish a multiple jump, though you may choose between different captures. Many families grew up with optional jumps or the old 'huffing' penalty, which Funskool's rules sheet still describes, so agree which rule you're using before you start.

Which games come with Funskool Checkers Plus 5?

Standard checkers plus five more on the same board: Give Away Checkers, Corner Checkers, Gobang (five in a row), a Chinese-checkers-style corner race and Fox and Hounds. The box has the board, 12 black and 12 red coins, and one rules sheet for all six. Our main Amazon.in link goes to this set.

Who goes first in checkers?

The darker pieces move first; in Funskool's set that's Black against Red. If you play several games, swap colours each time so that both players get to start.

Can a king move more than one square in checkers?

Not in English draughts or American checkers: a king moves one square at a time, but in any diagonal direction, and can jump backwards. 'Flying' kings that glide any distance along a diagonal belong to international draughts and some other versions.

Game facts

Publisher
Funskool
In India
Funskool (India) Ltd, Chennai
Players
2
Language
No reading – Nothing to read while you play. Funskool's rules sheet is in English; the moves are easy to show on the board, so it works in any language.
Box size and weight
40 × 20.5 cm
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.