International vs Brazilian vs American Draughts

The differences, side by side · Updated August 20, 2026

The short version: international draughts is the biggest and deepest of the three — the full international rules on a 10×10 board. Brazilian draughts is the same rules on a smaller 8×8 board, and American checkers is the simpler 8×8 game. Here is the full comparison.

"International draughts vs checkers" — are they the same game?

This is where the terminology trips people up, so it is worth settling first. "Draughts" and "checkers" are two words for the same family of games — draughts is British, checkers is American. Neither word names one specific game on its own.

In practice each has drifted towards a default meaning. When an American says "checkers" they nearly always mean American checkers: 8×8, forward-only captures, kings that move one square. When a European says "draughts" without qualification they often mean this game, the 10×10 international one. So "international draughts vs checkers" is not a comparison of two families — it is a comparison of the largest and the smallest member of one family, and the differences are substantial.

The rules side by side

International vs Brazilian draughts

This is the key comparison, because the rules are identical — backward captures, flying kings and compulsory maximum capture apply to both. The difference is the board: international draughts is played on a 10×10 board with 20 pieces per side, while Brazilian draughts uses 8×8 with 12. The bigger board means more room to manoeuvre, longer combinations and longer games. If you enjoy Brazilian draughts and want more depth, international is the natural step up; if you want the same ideas in a quicker game, Brazilian is the compact version.

International vs American checkers

These two are the furthest apart. American checkers is the gentle 8×8 game where men capture forward only and kings move one square. International draughts is nearly double the material on a 10×10 board, with backward captures, flying kings and the compulsory maximum-capture rule. If American checkers is a quick tactical duel, international draughts is a deep strategic marathon.

If you are making that jump directly, three habits from American checkers will actively work against you. First, a man that has passed an enemy piece is no longer safe from it — men here capture in all four directions, and this is what catches out newcomers more than anything else. Second, "any capture will do" is gone: with several captures available, the longest one is your only legal move, so counting before you commit stops being optional. Third, trading down when ahead is far less reliable, because a single flying king can hold off several men — the simplification that wins American checkers endgames can throw away a won international position.

What the extra rows actually do

"A bigger board" undersells the change. Going from 8×8 to 10×10 takes the playable squares from 32 to 50 and the pieces from 24 to 40 — and because both grow together, the board does not simply feel roomier. It stays crowded for much longer.

Three consequences follow, and they are what give the game its character:

• A real opening phase. With forty pieces on the board there is a long manoeuvring stage before contact becomes decisive — closer to chess than to a quick checkers duel, and the reason international draughts has a published opening theory at all.
• Much longer combinations. Captures of five, six and seven pieces are ordinary here rather than remarkable. Combined with compulsory maximum capture, that means a player who calculates one step further can force the opponent's replies a long way ahead.
• More valuable kings. The long diagonal runs ten squares instead of eight, and in a thinned-out endgame a single flying king controls an enormous share of the board.

There is a fourth branch of the family that this table does not cover at all: Turkish draughts moves pieces orthogonally across every square rather than diagonally across half of them. It differs not in how much pieces may do, but in which directions they move — a separate branch from the same alquerque ancestry.

Which should you play?

• New to draughts? Start with American checkers.
• Want the international rules without a bigger board? Brazilian draughts (8×8) is the sweet spot.
• Want the deepest, tournament-standard game? International draughts (10×10) is it.

If you are heading for the 10×10 game, the efficient route is through Brazilian draughts rather than straight at it. The rules are identical, so nothing you learn is wasted, and the games are short enough that you meet backward captures and flying kings dozens of times in an evening instead of a handful.

All four variants are playable on Checkers Arena, free and without an account: American checkers, Brazilian, international and Turkish draughts.

Read the full international draughts rules, the history, or the FAQ.