Play Filipino Checkers

How to Play Filipino Checkers

Filipino Checkers (also called Derecha) is played on an 8×8 board with 12 pieces per side. White moves first. It is the Philippine game, and its rules are exactly those of Brazilian Draughts played on a mirrored board — flying kings, backward capture, and compulsory maximum capture.

Rules

• Men move one square 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 only passes over the far row mid-capture keeps going as a man; it crowns only if the sequence ends on the far row
• Kings are "flying" — they move and capture any distance along a diagonal
• The board is mirrored: the double corner sits on each player's left, so the near-left corner square is light

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.

Filipino Checkers is the mirrored twin of Brazilian Draughts and a cousin of the classic American Checkers — see how the whole family relates in our guide to checkers variants, or browse every strategy lesson.