Turkish Draughts Rules

The complete rules of dama on an 8×8 board · Updated August 9, 2026

Bu sayfanın Türkçesi: Türk daması kuralları

This is the complete rule set for Turkish draughts (dama) as played on Checkers Arena. The big thing to unlearn from ordinary checkers: movement is orthogonal, not diagonal, and the game uses all 64 squares. When you are ready, play free vs the computer.

Objective

Turkish draughts is a game for two players, each starting with sixteen 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 an 8×8 board, and unlike ordinary checkers it uses all 64 squares. Each player places sixteen pieces on the second and third rows from their side, filling every square of those two rows. The back row and the four middle rows start empty.

The Turkish draughts starting position: sixteen pieces per side filling every square of the second and third rows, on an 8×8 board. — The starting position — sixteen pieces per side on every square of the second and third rows.

Moving the pieces

An ordinary piece (a man) moves one square forward or sideways — up, left or right — to an empty square.
Men never move backward and never move diagonally.
A king moves any number of empty squares in a straight orthogonal line — see rook-like kings.

Capturing

You capture by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece in a straight line — forward or sideways — onto the empty square immediately beyond it. The jumped piece is removed.
Men capture forward and sideways, never backward.
Captures are compulsory, and a capture that can continue must continue — the same piece keeps jumping (turning corners) until no further jump is possible.
A piece may not be jumped twice in the same sequence.

A red man on c3 jumps straight up over a black man on c4, then turns and jumps right over a black man on d5 — an orthogonal double capture. — An orthogonal capture turns right angles: the red man jumps up, then sideways, taking two pieces in one 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. (If two lines each take the maximum, you may choose between them.)

Rook-like kings

When a man reaches the far row it is crowned a king (a dama). A Turkish king moves like a rook: any number of empty squares in a straight orthogonal line, in all four directions. It captures the same way — jumping an enemy from a distance and landing on any empty square beyond it. A single king can sweep an entire rank or file.

A red king on a1 captures a black man up the a-file and may land on any empty square beyond it — a5, a6, a7 or a8. — A rook-like king on a1 captures up the file and may land on any empty square beyond the piece it takes.

Promotion

A man is crowned when it finishes its move on the far row (the opponent's back rank). A man that reaches that row during a capture keeps capturing as a man and is crowned only once the move is over — it does not become a king mid-sequence and start taking pieces at a king's range.

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 progress.

Start playing

The board on Checkers Arena enforces every one of these rules for you — the fastest way to get the feel of orthogonal play is simply to play.

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

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