StackWorks — Checkers (US) Help & Rules

This page covers US Checkers (American checkers / American draughts) as implemented in StackWorks.

          Open Game Panel → Players to choose Human or
          Bot for Red/Black or Light/Dark, depending on the selected
          piece theme. If you choose Bot, a second dropdown appears so
          you can choose the bot level.
        

Mandatory capture: if you have a capture, you must take it. If multiple captures are available in sequence, you must continue capturing as long as captures remain.

Setup

Board: 8×8 (dark squares are used)
Pieces: 12 per side
First move: Black moves first

How pieces move

Men

Move diagonally forward by 1 square (to an adjacent empty dark square).
Capture by jumping diagonally forward over an adjacent enemy man/king to an empty square immediately beyond it.
In US Checkers, men do not capture backwards.

Kings

A man becomes a king when it reaches the farthest rank on the opponent’s side.
Kings move diagonally by 1 square (not flying).
Kings capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece to an empty square beyond it.

Promotion during a capture chain: promotion happens immediately when you land on the back rank, and the capture chain ends at that point (you do not continue as a king in the same turn).

Winning & ending the game

You win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, or leaving them with no legal moves.
Resign is always available from the game UI.

Piece color labels

StackWorks internally stores sides as Light/Dark. In the UI, the labels depend on the selected piece theme:

If you select Checkers (Red/Black) pieces, sides are shown as Red and Black.
Otherwise, sides are shown as Light and Dark.

UI layout (Panels vs Menu)

StackWorks can display the side panels (Panels mode) or a small-screen-friendly Menu mode. In landscape the panels appear to the left and right of the board; in portrait they move to the top and bottom.

Change it any time via Options → Layout (Panels/Menu).
On small touch screens, StackWorks may default to Menu until you choose otherwise.
In Menu mode, tap ☰ to open a list of panel sections. Selecting one opens that section as a dialog.
After the first menu tap, a top bar appears with Start Page and ? (help).
After a game has started, choosing Start Page shows a warning to avoid accidentally losing the current game.

Save & Playback Timing

In Option Actions, Include move times for Save Game controls whether per-move timing is written into JSON saves.
In Playback, enable Use recorded move times to replay using saved move durations instead of the fixed speed slider.

Tips

If you’re not sure why a move is illegal, look for available captures first (captures are mandatory).
The Flip board setting only changes the viewing orientation; it does not change which side you control.