StackWorks — Checkers (US) Help & Rules
This page covers US Checkers (American checkers / American
draughts) as implemented in StackWorks.
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 usual left/right side panels (Panels
mode) or a small-screen-friendly Menu mode.
- 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.
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.