Checkers, a timeless board game with roots stretching back to 3000 BC, continues to captivate players worldwide. Its enduring appeal lies in its simplicity and accessibility – anyone can quickly learn the basics and jump into a game. Thanks to platforms like 247 Checkers, enjoying this classic pastime is easier than ever. Forget about physical boards and pieces; online checkers is readily available whenever the urge to play strikes.
New to the world of online checkers or 247 Checkers specifically? You’ve come to the right place. This in-depth guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start playing and mastering this iconic game online. We’ll cover the fundamental rules, how to navigate the 247 Checkers platform, and even touch upon winning strategies to elevate your online checker game.
Understanding Checker Basics for Online Play
In checkers, two players face off, each commanding twelve pieces. These pieces are typically represented as small, round discs – one player uses red, the other black. The game unfolds on an 8×8 checkerboard, reminiscent of a chessboard, with alternating light and dark squares. All twenty-four pieces are initially positioned on the dark squares.
The objective in online checkers, just like in the traditional game, is to outmaneuver your opponent and achieve victory by either:
- Capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, effectively removing them from the board.
- Blocking your opponent to the point where they have no legal moves available on their turn.
The first player to accomplish either of these wins the match. “Capturing” is a key element of checkers, and we’ll delve deeper into its mechanics and execution throughout this guide to ensure you understand how it works in online checkers.
Players alternate turns to make moves. In 247 Checkers, the player with the black pieces typically starts first by default. If you prefer to make the opening move, simply select black pieces when you set up your online checkers game.
Getting Started with Online Checkers on 247 Checkers
Launching your first game of online checkers on 247 Checkers is a straightforward process. Once you’ve accessed the website, simply click the prominent “Play” button on the screen. This will present you with four distinct game modes to choose from:
- 1 Player (vs. Computer)
- 2 Player (Pass & Play)
- Play Online (vs. Other Players)
- Daily Challenge
For beginners looking to learn the ropes of online checkers, we recommend starting with the “1 Player” mode to play against the computer AI. Upon selecting this mode, you’ll be presented with four difficulty levels, adjustable by clicking the arrow buttons:
- Easy
- Medium
- Hard
- Expert
If you are new to checkers, or online checkers in general, selecting “Easy” is the ideal starting point. Before the game begins, a quick settings screen will appear, allowing you to choose your piece color. The screenshot below illustrates this settings page:
In this example, “Player” is designated as black, meaning you will make the first move. You’ll also notice a “Force Jump” setting that can be toggled on or off. This setting relates to a specific rule in checkers: if a player has the opportunity to jump over an opponent’s piece and capture it, they are obligated to do so. Captured pieces are removed from the board. Enabling “Force Jump” ensures you won’t miss any potential capture opportunities against the computer. This rule also enforces consecutive jumps if multiple captures are available in a single turn.
Especially when starting out with online checkers, we highly recommend leaving “Force Jump” turned ON. It prevents situations where you might miss capture possibilities due to unfamiliarity with recognizing them on the checkerboard.
After confirming your settings, click “Start Game” to begin your first online checkers match on 247 Checkers.
Making Moves in Your 247 Checkers Online Game
We’ve already mentioned “capturing” and “jumping” as fundamental actions in online checkers. These terms describe the core ways you navigate the checkerboard. Unlike chess, all pieces in checkers adhere to the same basic movement rule:
Pieces can only move one square diagonally forward to an adjacent dark square.
Pieces positioned in the center of the board at the start of a game have two possible diagonal forward moves – left or right – as both adjacent squares will be unoccupied. Pieces on the far left edge can only move diagonally to the right, and vice versa for pieces on the far right edge. Remember, checker pieces always reside on dark squares, so moves to light squares are never permitted.
On 247 Checkers online, making moves is intuitive: simply click on the piece you wish to move, then click on the dark square you want to move it to.
The square you select will be highlighted in yellow. If you attempt to move to an invalid square, the move will be rejected. To further simplify gameplay, 247 Checkers offers a helpful setting, enabled by default but adjustable at any time. Click the settings icon in the top right corner of the screen and activate the “Show Moves” setting.
This feature visually displays all valid moves for the piece you’ve selected, as shown below:
As illustrated, the selected piece can move to either of the two green highlighted squares. This “Show Moves” setting is invaluable for beginners in online checkers, clearly indicating all possible moves for your pieces.
You’ll also notice that only four black pieces are highlighted in white. This is another feature of the “Show Moves” setting, indicating which of your pieces currently have available moves during your turn. Pieces not highlighted are blocked by pieces directly in front of them.
After you make your move, the computer AI will automatically take its turn, moving one of the red pieces. This turn-based gameplay continues until one player achieves victory in the online checkers game.
Capturing Opponent Pieces in Online Checkers
In online checkers, you “capture” an opponent’s piece by jumping diagonally over it with your piece. The captured piece is then removed from the board. 247 Checkers conveniently displays the count of captured pieces for each player on the sides of the game board. You can see small red and black piece icons with a “0” in each in the screenshots, indicating no captures have yet occurred.
The game is won when you successfully capture all 12 of your opponent’s pieces.
Capturing in online checkers is only possible when an opponent’s piece is diagonally adjacent to your piece, and there is an empty dark square immediately behind it for your piece to land in. Your piece will jump over the opponent’s piece and land in the unoccupied square, effectively capturing the jumped-over piece.
In this 247 Checkers game screenshot, the black piece highlighted in yellow has a capture opportunity. It can jump over the red piece and land on the red-highlighted square. With “Force Jump” and “Show Moves” enabled, capturing the red piece is the only valid move available.
If “Force Jump” were disabled, you could theoretically move the highlighted black piece diagonally to the left instead. However, mastering capture mechanics is a crucial aspect of checkers strategy, so keeping “Force Jump” enabled, especially when learning online checkers, is beneficial.
Consecutive Captures in Online Checkers
Typically, in online checkers, you can only move one piece per turn. However, this changes when capture opportunities arise. When you can capture a piece, you are often presented with the chance to capture multiple pieces in a single turn.
There isn’t a limit to the number of pieces you can capture consecutively in one move. It depends entirely on the board layout and available moves. As you improve your online checkers skills, you’ll learn to maneuver your pieces to create situations where your opponent inadvertently leaves multiple pieces vulnerable to capture in a single, powerful move. This is a highly effective tactic for gaining a significant advantage quickly.
Consecutive captures are executed as follows:
- Jump over the first opponent’s piece into the empty square behind it.
- Immediately check if, from your new position, there is another opponent’s piece diagonally adjacent with an empty square behind it. If so, you can jump again.
- Continue this process as long as there are valid consecutive capture opportunities available.
When playing online checkers on 247 Checkers with “Show Moves” enabled, the game will visually indicate when multiple captures are possible in your turn. In the example above, the highlighted black piece can jump diagonally right over a red piece, and then immediately diagonally left over another red piece, reaching the edge of the board and ending the multi-capture sequence.
Clicking on the first red square will automatically execute both jumps in one move, ensuring you don’t miss any capture opportunities.
Becoming a King in Online Checkers
Standard checker pieces can only move forward. However, when you successfully move a piece to the opposite end of the board, it becomes a “king”. Kings are significantly more powerful pieces in online checkers, capable of trapping opponents and capturing pieces from unexpected angles. A king piece can move both forward and backward diagonally at all times!
In the example below, a black piece has reached the far side of the board and been crowned a king. 247 Checkers visually distinguishes kings by adding a small crown icon to the piece.
Despite being positioned at the edge of the board, this king piece can now move diagonally backward in either direction. Observe what happens when we move this king piece behind one of the red pieces:
The black king can now jump over and capture the red piece from behind! Suddenly, pieces that were once considered safe are now vulnerable to attacks not only from your forward-moving pieces but also from kings positioned behind enemy lines.
This illustrates why “kinging” as many pieces as possible is a highly effective online checkers strategy. Kings provide tactical flexibility and allow you to pressure your opponent from multiple directions simultaneously.
Winning Online Checkers by Blocking Your Opponent
Recall that at the beginning of this guide, we mentioned two ways to win in checkers. The most common is capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, but the other victory condition is forcing your opponent into a position where they have no legal moves left.
Achieving a win by blocking is more challenging but a rewarding strategic approach. The most effective tactic for this is “trapping” opponent pieces along the edges of the board. Pieces on the left or right edges have limited movement options, with only one direction to move diagonally forward. If you can strategically block these pieces with a line of your own pieces, you can restrict their movement and potentially force a win.
Here’s an example of an online checkers game won by trapping opponent pieces:
The red piece on the left is unable to make a legal move because a black piece is directly in front of it, and another black piece prevents it from jumping and capturing. On the right side, the red piece is also trapped. Its only potential move is to the last dark square on the board, but that square is already occupied by a black piece. As the red player has no legal moves remaining, the game is forfeited, and the black player wins by blocking.
Top Strategies for Winning at Online Checkers
To improve your win rate in online checkers, mastering certain strategies and tactics is essential. Here are three key tactics that are beneficial for players of all levels, especially those new to online checkers:
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Double-Up Your Checkers: As you advance your pieces up the board, try to position them behind one another. This creates a more solid defensive line, reducing gaps and making it harder for your opponent to capture your pieces. This strategy can effectively restrict your opponent’s movement and lead to a win by blocking.
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Prioritize Creating Kings: Focus on advancing pieces to the far side of the board and “kinging” them. The more kings you have, the stronger your position becomes. Kings offer superior mobility and attacking power, making it significantly harder for your opponent to win.
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Look for Strategic Sacrifices: Understand that losing pieces is often inevitable in checkers. Instead of trying to avoid piece loss at all costs, be willing to consider strategic sacrifices. For example, sacrificing a piece to lure an opponent into a position where you can then execute a double or triple capture can be a worthwhile trade-off, leading to a net gain in pieces and a more advantageous board state.
Playing Two-Player Checkers Online on 247 Checkers (Pass & Play)
247 Checkers offers a convenient “2 Player” mode for playing checkers with a friend in person using the same device. Click “Play” in the main menu and select the “2 Player” option. This will take you to the familiar pre-game settings screen where you and your friend can choose your colors and decide whether to enable “Force Jump”.
Once settings are confirmed, the game begins, with black pieces moving first. Players take turns making moves on the same device, passing it back and forth after each turn. Gameplay continues until one player wins.
This mode is perfect for playing online checkers with someone physically present, offering a fun way to pass time or enjoy a games night without needing a physical checkerboard. You can even organize mini-tournaments with family or friends for added fun.
Playing Online Checkers Against Others on 247 Checkers (Multiplayer)
For those who prefer to challenge human opponents online, 247 Checkers provides a robust online multiplayer mode. When you click the “Online” game option, you’ll see three choices:
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Play Anyone: Selecting “Play Anyone” automatically matches you with another online player who is also seeking an opponent. There might be a short wait while the system finds a suitable match. Be aware that you will likely be playing against a stranger with potentially varying skill levels. Practicing in single-player or against friends beforehand is recommended to build confidence.
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Invite a Friend: Playing online checkers with a specific friend is easy. Choose “Invite a Friend” to create a private game. A unique game code and a direct game link will be displayed. Share either the code or the link with your friend so they can join your game.
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Join a Friend: If your friend has already created a game and sent you an invitation, select “Join a Friend”. You’ll be prompted to enter the Game Code provided by your friend. Once entered, you’ll join their game, and the online checkers match will begin.
Participating in Daily Challenges on 247 Checkers
The final game mode offered by 247 Checkers is the “Daily Challenge”. This mode presents a unique single-player checkers scenario each day. The goal is to win the game against the computer AI as quickly as possible. Your completion time is recorded and placed on a daily leaderboard, allowing you to compare your performance against other players worldwide.
To participate in the Daily Challenge and have your time recorded, you must specifically select the “Daily Challenge” option each day. Playing a standard single-player game will not count towards the daily leaderboard.
And that concludes our comprehensive guide on how to play online checkers on 247 Checkers! With a variety of game modes to choose from, from single-player practice to online multiplayer and daily challenges, 247 Checkers offers endless opportunities to enjoy this classic game online. Don’t forget to explore the Seasonal Checkers Games section on the website for fun variations with themed pieces!
