Pool checkers rules
Pool checkers, or American pool checkers, is played in the southern United States and in some communities elsewhere. It is close to Russian draughts, with Black moving first.
The board and pieces
- An 8×8 board, played on the dark squares, with a dark square in each player's left-hand corner. Each player starts with 12 men on their first three rows.
- Black (the darker pieces) moves first.
Moving
- A man moves one square diagonally forward.
- A king is a flying king: it moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal.
Capturing
- Men capture forward and backward.
- A king captures at a distance and may land on any empty square beyond the captured piece; if it can capture again from one of them, it must land there.
- Capturing is compulsory, but you may choose which capture to make; you don't have to take the most pieces. A sequence, once started, must be finished.
- No piece may be jumped twice in one move.
Kings
A man is crowned when its move ends on the far row. If it reaches the far row during a capture and can keep capturing backward, it must, and it stays a man.
Winning and draws
- You win when your opponent can't move on their turn.
- We call a draw when the same position comes up for the third time with the same player to move, or after 40 moves each with no capture and no man moved (only kings moving).