International Draughts Rules

The complete rules on a 10×10 board · Updated August 9, 2026

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This is the complete rule set for international draughts (10×10) as played on Checkers Arena. The rules are the same as Brazilian draughts — men capture backward, kings fly, and you must take the maximum capture — but on a larger board with more pieces. When you are ready, play free vs the computer.

Objective

International draughts is a game for two players, each starting with twenty pieces. You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces, or by leaving them with no legal move.

The board and setup

The game is played on a 10×10 board of 100 squares, using the dark squares only — every move is diagonal. Each player places twenty pieces on the dark squares of their four nearest rows; the two middle rows start empty.

The starting position for international draughts on a 10×10 board: twenty pieces per side on the dark squares of the four nearest rows, with the two centre rows empty. — The starting position — twenty pieces per side on the dark squares of the four nearest rows.

Moving the pieces

An ordinary piece (a man) moves one square diagonally forward to an empty dark square.
Men move forward only (they may capture backward — see below).
A king moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal — see flying kings.

Capturing — and backward captures

You capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece onto the empty square immediately beyond it. The jumped piece is removed.
A man may capture in any diagonal direction — forward or backward.
Captures are compulsory, and a capture that can continue must continue — the same piece keeps jumping in one turn until no further jump is possible.
Captured pieces are removed only at the end of the move, and a piece may not be jumped twice in the same sequence.

On a 10×10 board a red man on d2 jumps up-right over a black man on e3 and then up-left over a black man on e5, taking two pieces in one zig-zag move. — A multi-capture follows a zig-zag path: the red man jumps one way, then turns and jumps again, taking two pieces in a single move.

The maximum-capture rule

When more than one capturing sequence is available, you must play the one that captures the greatest number of pieces. You cannot choose a shorter capture. On the big 10×10 board this rule produces the long, dramatic combinations international draughts is famous for. (If two lines each take the maximum, you may choose between them.)

Flying kings

When a man reaches the far row it is crowned a king. A king flies: it moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal, in all four directions, and captures the same way — jumping an enemy from a distance and landing on any empty square beyond it. On the 10×10 board a flying king can sweep the length of the diagonal.

A red flying king on a1 jumps a distant black man on e5 on a 10×10 board and may land on any empty square beyond it — f6, g7, h8, i9 or j10. — A flying king on a1 captures the man on e5 from afar and may land on any empty square beyond it.

Promotion

A man is crowned when it finishes its move on the far row. If a man only passes across the far row in the middle of a capture and continues on, it is not crowned — promotion happens only when the last row is the final landing square.

Winning and draws

You win if your opponent has no pieces left, or still has pieces but cannot make a legal move. A game can end in a draw by agreement, by threefold repetition, or after a long run with no capture and no man advancing.

Start playing

The board on Checkers Arena enforces every one of these rules for you — try a game and the 10×10 board quickly starts to feel natural.

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Next: see how it compares on the differences page, or read the FAQ. Back to the international draughts hub.

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