StackWorks — Dama Help & Rules

This app supports two Dama variants on an 8×8 board: Dama Classic and Dama International.

Variants (Classic vs International)
Game Setup
Game Rules
Captures & Multi-Captures
Using the Interface

Variants (Classic vs International)

Dama Classic (Immediate capture removal)

When you jump an opponent piece, it is removed immediately.

Dama International (End-of-sequence capture removal)

Jumped pieces are captured but remain on the board until your capture sequence ends.
Captured-but-not-yet-removed pieces are marked as pending removal during the sequence.
You cannot jump the same captured piece twice in the same turn.

You can switch between variants using the game’s variant selector.

        Save File Compatibility: Save files from
        Dama Classic and Dama International
        are interoperable. You can load a save from either variant into the
        other, and it will automatically adapt to the current variant's capture
        removal rules. When you save again, it will use the currently running
        variant.
      

Game Setup

Board: 8×8
12 pieces per side
Light moves first

Game Rules

Movement

Men: move diagonally forward one square.
Officers (Kings): move diagonally any distance in any direction ("flying" king for both captures and quiet moves).

Promotion

A man promotes to an officer upon reaching the far edge.
Promotion occurs at the end of a capture sequence (no mid-sequence king powers). If a man reaches the far edge at any point during a capture chain, it promotes after the chain ends (even if it does not finish on the far edge).

Captures & Multi-Captures

        Captures are mandatory when available. If you can continue capturing
        with the same piece, you must continue until no further captures are
        available.
      

How captures work

Men: capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy to the empty square beyond (forward or backward).
Officers: capture by jumping diagonally over exactly one enemy piece and landing on any empty square beyond it.
Officer capture direction rule (multi-captures): during a capture chain, an Officer may continue capturing in the same diagonal direction (0°) or switch to the other diagonal direction (a ±90° turn), but may not reverse direction (180°) to capture back the way it came.

Choosing among captures

When multiple capture lines exist, the game enforces the maximum-capture rule: you must choose a capture that can result in the greatest total number of captured pieces.

International note: In end-of-sequence capture removal, jumped pieces stay visible until the sequence ends. The marker indicates they are already captured and cannot be jumped again.

Using the Interface

Online play (2 players)

Online play is available via the Start Page. Player 1 creates a room, then shares the Room ID with Player 2.

Room visibility: when creating a room, choose Public (spectators allowed) or Private (no public spectating).
Room ID is shown in-game in Info → Online and can be copied with the button next to “Room ID”.
Player 2 joins by pasting the Room ID on the Start Page and clicking Launch.
Connection toasts: the game may show Connecting…, Reconnecting…, and Reconnected while the online transport is establishing or recovering.
Opponent presence: the Online panel shows opponent status, and the board also shows a small opponent badge under the turn indicator (green=connected, yellow=in grace, red=disconnected, gray=waiting).
Spectating: you can spectate public rooms from the Start Page. Private rooms require a secret watch link.
Private watch links: seated players can copy a private spectate link from Info → Online using the Ⓦ button.
Report issue: open Info → Online and click ⓘ to view/copy diagnostic info (and it will also be uploaded to the server for this room).
Leaving: Leave room (forfeit) ends your game immediately (counts as resign) and returns you to the Start Page.
Disconnect grace: if one player disconnects while the other stays connected, the disconnected player may lose after a short grace period. If both players disconnect, the game stays paused and does not time out.

Layout (Panels vs Menu)

StackWorks supports Panels mode (left/right sidebars) and a small-screen-friendly Menu mode.

Change it via Options → Layout (Panels/Menu).
In Menu mode, tap ☰ to open panel sections as dialogs.
After a game has started, choosing Start Page will show a warning to avoid losing the current game.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts use Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Cmd (macOS). Shortcuts are disabled while typing in a text field.

Undo: Ctrl/Cmd+Z
Redo: Ctrl/Cmd+Y or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z
Save: Ctrl/Cmd+S
Resign: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X
Full Screen: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F (or the Full Screen button)
Bot speed: Alt+↑/Alt+↓ (when the AI speed control is available)
Playback speed: Alt+Shift+↑/Alt+Shift+↓
Show keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+? (also works as Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+/)
Right-click menu: Right-click outside the board → Show Keyboard Shortcuts

Click a piece to select it.
Legal destinations appear as highlighted circles.
Move History: Click any entry (including "Start") to jump to that point in the game. Undo/Redo also navigates through history, and the Move History list scrolls to keep the current entry visible.
Board & Pieces: Use the Board & Pieces panel to pick a Pieces theme (piece style). If you enable Use checkered board (8×8), the Board & Pieces panel also includes a Board selector (Classic/Green/Blue/Stone/Burled Wood) to change the checkerboard colors.
In Dama International (end-of-sequence capture removal), captured-but-not-yet-removed pieces are marked with red circles to show they are pending removal.
During a capture chain, you must continue with the same piece until the chain ends.
AI controls can be paused/resumed, and you can use Step to advance a single AI move when it is an AI-controlled side’s turn.
The ↕️ button near the board toggles reduced board height (useful if the bottom navigation bar overlaps the board). You can enable it via left panel → Options → Show resize icon. You can touch-hold + drag to reposition it.

← Back to Start Page