Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 05:28 pm
*This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 05:28 pm
We all love a good, ole, classic game of checkers; there is sure nothing like it. The nostalgia those red and black checker pieces bring and the competitiveness you feel flow through you, it sure is a blast.
I remember the goal I used to have of trying to get ALL my pieces into kings; but, of course, that never happened; it sure was a great goal to have though.
A question that would pop into my mind from time to time though is: “What would happen if neither my opponent or I could make a move anymore?”
Does the game end in a tie? Do you start over? What happens?
If you or your opponent are put in a position to the point that you cannot move anymore of your checker pieces, you have lost the game. If neither of you are able to make a move then the winner is the one with the most checker pieces on the board.
What!?!?! Yup, and on top of that, if you both have the same amount of pieces, the one with more double stacks (kings) wins. Even on top of that though, if both players have the same amount of pieces and double stacks, the game is a draw.
These rules were definitely a huge shock to me! Who knew that there could be a draw in checkers, let alone a situation where you couldn’t make a move.
Now this is the actual rules, but I have heard of others playing that if you cannot move, then you just simply pass and the opponent moves until you are able to move again.
This will allow more time for you to stall and possibly make a comeback to win the game but it is not a part of the official moves.
You may also be thinking of how there could be no more moves in a checkers game, I have never heard of such a thing.
Well, here is a quick example, say there are three pieces left, a double stack and two single stacks that the opponent has, if the two singles are right next to each other in a diagonal, and the king is also in that diagonal line, there are no more possible moves.
Another time when this can happen is if neither play moves their back row until the end. However, if you are playing the game the proper way and always jump when one is available (yes this is another actual rule) then being unable to move will happen far less often.
How Many Times Can You Repeat A Move In Checkers?
Do you have an older sibling, like I do, that always has to win; and not just win, but destroy you. Welp, that is how life goes I guess.
What I finally learned to do after so many times of getting beat when we would play checkers is just keep making the same move so that they could not win the game and it would just be a draw or I could wait until they made a mistake and beat them.
I mean that’s better than losing to them over and over; and it was kind of funny watching them get mad and storm off.
But later I learned that doing what I did is not actually legal in checkers.
The official checker rules state that you are not allowed to repeat a single move more than 3 times before doing something different. So if you have a king stuck in the corner and just keep moving it back and forth… you are breaking the rules.
The actual rules for checkers are not as gracious, as someone has to win or at least have a chance to win. If you keep doing the same move over and over again, and there are only a couple pieces left, then the game will never end.
So the real life rule that professionals play by is that a single move cannot be repeated more than three times.
Kind of stinks, doesn’t it?
If you do not want to lose, but you are stuck in that situation on the side of the board with your opponent coming after you, quick tip, get off the edge of the board. You don’t want to get trapped, and although it may be fun to frustrate the opponent by doing the same move over and over again until they just give up; that is just not allowed in the game of checkers.
If at all possible you will want to set up a defense by using your king to make a double jump. Often this can be done by sacrificing one of your other pieces. And since you are required to jump in checkers (as mentioned earlier) than often you can sacrifice a piece and ruin your opponent’s strategy if you time it just right.
Can A King Move Two Spaces In Checkers?
We’ve seen the moves when you do a double jump and “move two spaces” with a regular piece in checkers, but is the king allowed to move more than one space; after all, he is the king and kings can do whatever they want, am I right?
In checkers, kings are not allowed to move more than one space on a turn, just like the rest of the pieces. The only exception to this rule is when jumping other pieces.
When jumping other checkers you can make as many moves as you need to complete the jump chain.
Looks like this king can’t do whatever he wants. The king is only allowed to move multiple spaces when it comes to jumping the opponents pieces and knocking them out of the game.
On top of that, the king can move in either direction, as it pleases so that means it can often double, triple, or even quadruple jump its way across the board.
Can You Skip A Turn In Checkers?
There are some games that will allow you to skip a turn if you feel that you can not make any moves, there are also some games that will make you find something no matter what, and then there are games that will make you take a penalty or risk a penalty on your turn.
For example, in Uno if you cannot make a move, you can draw a card and play it if it is playable, or add it to your hand. This is not the case in the game of checkers.
According to the official checker rules you are not allowed to skip a turn. Each player must take your turn and if one player is unable to move then they lose the game.
Some rules can be different in checkers depending on who you are playing with. I have seen players allow a skipped turn until there is an opening for the opponent. The official rules do not allow this.
In a digital game, the game will notify you when there are no moves for you and will make you find another piece to move; but in a real game, you may try to skip a turn if you are just playing for fun.
Another interesting rule in the game of checkers is the rule of jumping. If there is a possible jump in the game, you must take it.
In an online game, it will not allow you to pick another piece until you have used that jump, even if you do not want to do it and know that you will lose that piece later.
What an interesting game checkers is!
You may have thought that it was just a simple game of moving some disks on a checkerboard, and trying to jump the other players disks; welp, there are more rules than you thought.
Although checkers is not near as complicated as chess, both checkers and chess are great games that are incredibly popular… although with different groups of people.
Still a fun little game that can have some exceptions, but it is also an intense game for professionals.
Which one are you?
Last updated on September 14th, 2022 at 05:28 pm
