Play Canadian Checkers

How to Play Canadian Checkers

Canadian Checkers (Grand jeu de dames, or Jeu de Dames Canadien) is International Draughts scaled up: the same rules on a 12×12 board with 30 pieces per side. The tradition comes from French settlers in Quebec, and the game is still played there, in Sri Lanka, and in parts of France. It is old, too — 12×12 boards were on sale in London by 1805. Only the board size changes; every rule matches the 10×10 world-championship game.

Rules

• White moves first; men move diagonally forward but capture both forward and backward
• Capturing is mandatory, and you must take the line that captures the most pieces
• A man that crosses the far row mid-capture keeps going as a man — it only crowns if the sequence ends there
• Kings are "flying" — they move and capture any distance along a diagonal

Winning

Capture all opponent pieces, or leave them with no legal moves.

You can also play against a real opponent: hit Play Online to be paired with another player, or create a private game and share the link or code with a friend. No account needed.

Canadian Checkers is the biggest board in the family — see how it compares to American Checkers and the rest in our guide to checkers variants.

Want to get better? Read our Canadian Checkers strategy guide, or browse every strategy lesson.