Checkers

Support

How can we help?

How to play, answers to common questions, and a way to reach us if you’re still stuck.

Why can’t I move that piece?

Captures are mandatory. If any of your pieces can jump an opposing piece, you have to make a capture, so pieces that can only make a plain move are locked until the jump is taken. If a jump lands where another jump is possible, keep going: a multi-jump must be completed.

How do kings work?

When one of your men reaches the far row, it’s crowned a king, and being crowned ends that turn, even if a further jump looks possible. From your next turn on, the king can move and capture diagonally both forward and backward.

How does undo work against the machine?

In Vs Machine, undo rewinds to your previous move, taking back the machine’s reply along with it, so it’s your turn again. In Pass & Play, undo takes back the last move.

Where’s my game?

It’s still there. Checkers saves your game automatically, so if the app is closed mid-game it picks up right where you left off the next time you open it.

Does it need the internet?

No. Checkers works fully offline, including against the machine. It never uses the network.

How do I turn off sound or haptics?

Open Settings in the app and switch Sound or Haptics off. Each has its own switch.

How do the levels differ?

Vs Machine has three levels: Rookie (easy), Veteran (normal) and Overlord (hard). Start with Rookie if you’re new to the game.

When is a game a draw?

A game is drawn when both sides have made 40 moves each with no capture and no man moved, so kings can’t circle the board forever.

Does it work with VoiceOver?

Yes. The board has VoiceOver labels, so you can play with Apple’s built-in screen reader.

Does the app collect my data?

No. There are no ads, accounts or tracking, and nothing leaves your device. See the privacy policy.

How to play

The rules

Setup

Checkers is played on an 8×8 board using American rules. There are two sides: Nova (cyan) starts at the bottom and moves first, and Pulse (magenta) starts at the top. Players take turns moving one piece.

Modes

  • Vs Machine: play against the computer at Rookie (easy), Veteran (normal) or Overlord (hard).
  • Pass & Play: two people take turns on one iPhone or iPad.

Moving and capturing

  • Men move one square diagonally forward.
  • Capture by jumping diagonally over an opposing piece into the empty square beyond it. The jumped piece is removed.
  • Captures are mandatory: if you can jump, you must.
  • If, after a jump, the same piece can jump again, it must keep going until the multi-jump is complete.

Kings

  • A man that reaches the far row is crowned a king. Being crowned ends that turn.
  • Kings move and capture diagonally in both directions, forward and backward.

Winning and draws

  • You win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, or by leaving them with no legal move.
  • The game is a draw after 40 moves each with no capture and no man moved.

Handy extras

  • Undo: take back a move. Against the machine it rewinds to your previous move.
  • Auto-save: your game is saved as you play and resumes after the app is closed.
  • Settings: switch sound and haptics on or off.