Controls
Tap one of your pieces to see its moves, then tap a highlighted square, or drag the piece there. The Undo, Suggest and Menu buttons sit beside the board. Keys: arrows move the cursor, Space or Enter picks a piece and places it, U undoes, S suggests a move, M opens the opponent list. P or Esc pauses.
How to play Checkers Royale
You play red and move first. Pieces move one square diagonally forward onto the dark squares. To capture, jump over an enemy piece to the empty square just behind it. Captures are not optional: if a jump is on the board, you must take it, and if the piece that landed can jump again, it keeps going in the same turn.
Reach the far row and your piece is crowned. A king moves and captures backwards as well as forwards. You win by taking every enemy piece or leaving your rival with no legal move. The game is a draw if the same position comes up three times, or after 40 moves each with no capture and no plain piece moving.
Campaign, quick match and Giveaway
The campaign is eight duels against royal characters, from Pip the Page Boy to Queen Isolde the Undefeated. Each win opens the next rival, and each one thinks further ahead than the last. Stars depend on how many of your pieces are still on the board when you win.
Quick match skips the story and lets you pick the computer's level: Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert. Giveaway turns the rules upside down. Captures are still forced, but you win by losing all your pieces or by getting stuck with no move, against four jesters, one per level.
Tips and tricks
- Keep your back row filled as long as you can. While it is guarded, your rival cannot crown a king.
- Look for forced jumps before you move. A piece offered as bait can pull your rival into a double or triple jump back.
- Pieces on the side edges cannot be jumped, so they are safe places to wait.
- Each game you can watch a short ad to undo your last move or to see a suggested move, up to three times each, and after a loss you can watch one to take back your last two moves. Skip it and you get nothing, but the button stays so you can try again.
FAQ
Is Checkers Royale free?
Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no download and no account.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap a piece and then the square you want, or drag it with a finger. The board scales to the screen.
Why can I not move the piece I want?
A capture is available somewhere on the board. Captures are mandatory, so you have to make a jump before any other move.
Is my progress saved?
Your campaign progress and stars, your Giveaway stars and your wins, losses and draws are saved in your browser on this device.
