How to Play International Draughts

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

International Draughts is a two-player abstract strategy game played on a 10x10 board with 20 pieces per side. It is the standard competitive form of draughts recognised worldwide, and is governed internationally by the World Draughts Federation (FMJD). The larger board and mandatory multi-capture rules give it considerably more depth than the English 8x8 version most players first encounter.

Players love International Draughts for the tension between positional control and forcing sequences that can clear half the board in a single move. It is widely played across the Netherlands, Russia, much of West Africa, and several Eastern European countries, both at club level and in serious tournament competition.

A little history

The 10x10 form of draughts is most strongly associated with the Netherlands, where it became the dominant competitive variant during the 18th century, and it is sometimes called Polish Draughts or Continental Draughts in older texts, though the precise reasons for those names are unclear. The game spread through French and Dutch colonial networks and took firm root in West Africa, particularly in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, where it remains enormously popular today. The FMJD was founded in 1947 and has standardised the rules used in this guide.

Setting up

1. Place the board so that a dark square sits in the bottom-left corner of each player's side.
2. Only the dark squares are used throughout the game.
3. The player with dark (or black) pieces sits nearest the side of the board where rows 1-4 are numbered; the player with light pieces sits nearest rows 7-10. Numbering conventions vary, but the principle is the same: each player fills the four rows of dark squares closest to them.
4. Place all 20 dark pieces on the dark squares of rows 1-4 (the four rows nearest the dark-piece player).
5. Place all 20 light pieces on the dark squares of rows 7-10 (the four rows nearest the light-piece player).
6. Row 5 and row 6 are left empty at the start. Dark pieces move first.

How to play

1. Players alternate turns. Dark moves first.
2. Ordinary pieces move diagonally forward only, one square at a time, to an adjacent empty dark square.
3. Capturing is mandatory: if you can take one or more of your opponent's pieces, you must do so. You may not make a non-capturing move when a capture is available.
4. To capture, jump diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece to an empty square immediately beyond it. The captured piece is not removed from the board until the entire capturing turn is complete.
5. Multi-capture: if, after landing from a jump, another capture is possible with the same piece, you must continue jumping. The turn ends only when no further captures can be made.
6. Captured pieces remain on the board until your full multi-capture sequence is finished. Your piece may not land on or pass through a square occupied by any piece (friendly or captured) a second time during the same turn.
7. Maximum capture rule: when more than one capturing sequence is available, you must choose the sequence that captures the greatest number of opponent pieces. If two sequences capture the same number, you may choose freely between them.
8. A piece that reaches any square on the opponent's back row (the row furthest from where it started) is immediately promoted to a King. Mark it by stacking a second piece on top.
9. If a piece reaches the back row mid-sequence during a multi-capture, it is promoted only if the back row is its final landing square for that turn. If it lands there temporarily but can continue capturing, it must continue as an ordinary piece and promotion does not occur.
10. Kings move diagonally in any direction (forward or backward) and, crucially, may move any number of empty squares along a diagonal in a single move, like a bishop in chess.
11. Kings capture by flying along a diagonal to an enemy piece, jumping over it, and landing on any empty square beyond it along the same diagonal. The king may then change direction for subsequent jumps in a multi-capture.
12. The maximum capture rule applies equally to kings. You must always select the sequence that takes the most pieces.
13. A player who cannot move on their turn because all pieces are blocked or captured loses the game.

Winning and scoring

You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by leaving your opponent in a position where they cannot make any legal move on their turn. There is no points scoring in standard play: the result is a win, a loss, or a draw. A draw is agreed when neither player can force a win, and is most common in king endings. Tournament rules specify draw conditions for repeated positions (the same position appearing for the third time with the same player to move is a draw) and for the 25-move rule in certain king-versus-pieces endgames, but in casual play a draw is simply agreed between the players.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the maximum capture obligation. Players must count all available sequences before moving and select the longest one. If you complete a sequence and your opponent can demonstrate that a longer sequence existed, the move must be retracted in formal play. In casual games, agree before you start whether you will enforce this strictly or allow free choice among captures. A second frequent confusion arises with promotion mid-sequence: the rule is unambiguous in the FMJD code, but many casual players assume promotion happens immediately on reaching the back row regardless of whether the piece can continue capturing. It does not; the piece carries on as a man and promotes only if it ends its turn there.

Captured pieces that remain on the board during a multi-jump cannot be jumped a second time in the same turn. This sometimes blocks what looks like an obvious continuation, and players new to the 10x10 game regularly miss it. If your intended sequence requires crossing the same enemy piece twice, you must find an alternative sequence or, if none exists, take the shorter path.

How to win more often

• Control the centre early: pieces in the centre of the board have more mobility and can threaten in more directions than pieces pinned to the edges.
• Keep your back row intact as long as possible. An unbroken back row prevents your opponent from easily promoting kings and gives you a strong anchor.
• Think in sequences, not single jumps. Before moving, scan the whole board for multi-capture threats both for and against you. Missing a forced sequence of five or six jumps by your opponent is the most common way games are lost quickly.
• Trade pieces when you hold a structural advantage. If you have better king-row control or more centralised pieces, exchanging pieces simplifies the position and makes your advantage easier to convert.
• Practise king endings. The 10x10 king is far more powerful than its 8x8 counterpart, and understanding basic king-versus-two-men or king-versus-king positions will save or win many games in the endgame.

Variations

English Draughts (Checkers)

Played on an 8x8 board with 12 pieces per side, English Draughts differs from International Draughts in several key respects: ordinary pieces can only capture forward, kings move only one square diagonally (they do not fly), and there is no maximum capture obligation. It is the most widely known form in the UK and North America.

Brazilian Draughts

Brazilian Draughts uses an 8x8 board but applies the full International Draughts rule set: flying kings, maximum capture obligation, and backward captures for ordinary pieces. It is extremely popular in Brazil and provides a compact introduction to the international rules for players who find the 10x10 board daunting.

Canadian Draughts

Canadian Draughts scales the game up to a 12x12 board with 30 pieces per side. The rules otherwise follow the International Draughts code closely, including flying kings and the maximum capture rule. The larger board creates even longer tactical sequences and is primarily played in Canada and some parts of the United States.

Turkish Draughts

Turkish Draughts is played on an 8x8 board, but pieces move and capture orthogonally (horizontally and forward) rather than diagonally, and all squares are used. Kings may move any number of squares in an orthogonal direction. It is a genuinely distinct game that shares the capture and promotion concepts of International Draughts but plays quite differently in practice.

International Draughts: frequently asked questions