Italian Checkers Rules
Italian Checkers (Dama) plays on an 8×8 board with short kings and forward-only men. Capturing is mandatory. Two rules set it apart from every other game in the family: a man may never capture a king, and equal-length capture lines are ranked by a four-step quality ladder.
Play Italian Checkers free →The Board and Setup
The game uses an 8×8 board and only the 32 dark squares. Each player has 12 pieces (men) on the dark squares of their three nearest rows. The board sits in the mirrored orientation: the double corner is on each player's left, so the near-left corner square is light. White moves first, then players alternate.
Moving
- Men move one square diagonally forward to an empty dark square.
- Men capture diagonally forward only — a man may not jump backward.
- A man may never capture a king. An enemy king is simply untouchable by a man, however it is placed.
Capturing
- You capture by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square beyond it.
- Capturing is mandatory, and multi-jumps continue until no further capture is possible.
- Captured pieces are removed only after the full jumping sequence is complete, so you cannot jump the same piece twice in one turn.
When several capture sequences are available, the Italian quality ladder decides which one you must play. Each step only breaks ties left by the step above it:
- The sequence that captures the most pieces.
- Among equal ones, a sequence made with a king beats one made with a man.
- Among those, the sequence capturing the most kings.
- Among those, the sequence that captures a king earliest.
If two or more sequences are still tied after all four steps, the choice is yours.
Kings
A man promotes to King when it reaches the far row. If a man lands on the far row in the middle of a capture sequence, the sequence ends there and the man crowns — the new king can only be played after the opponent has moved. Italian kings are short: they move one square diagonally in any direction, forward or backward, and they capture by jumping an adjacent piece to the square directly beyond it. They do not fly. Kings may capture both men and kings.
How to Win
Capture all of your opponent's pieces, or leave them with no legal move. Draws occur by threefold repetition, or when no capture and no man move happens for 40 moves by each side. That no-progress count is the draw law we apply on this site so a dead position ends rather than running forever — it is not a Federazione Italiana Dama rule.
History
Dama has been played in Italy since the medieval period; BoardGameGeek dates the game to around 1400, and Mats Winther notes that draughts has been played "at least since medieval times" and is believed to derive from the Arabic game Alquerque. Competitive play is governed by the Federazione Italiana Dama. Children often play a shorter version with 8 men, and Dama Triestina — the same rules on a 10×10 board — is a regional game of Trieste.
Browse more games in our guide to checkers variants and the rest of the strategy lessons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who moves first in Italian Checkers?
White moves first, then players alternate turns.
Can a man capture a king in Italian Checkers?
No. This is the signature Italian rule: a man may never jump a king. Kings capture men and kings alike.
Do kings fly in Italian Checkers?
No. Kings are short: they move one square diagonally in any direction, and they capture by jumping an adjacent piece to the square directly beyond it.
What is the Italian capture ladder?
When several capture sequences are available, they are ranked in order: first the sequence capturing the most pieces; among equal ones, a sequence made with a king beats one made with a man; among those, the one capturing the most kings; among those, the one that captures a king earliest. If sequences are still tied, you may choose.
How is Italian Checkers different from Spanish Checkers?
Spanish has flying kings, lets a man capture a king, and breaks equal-length ties only by the number of kings captured. Italian has short kings, forbids a man from capturing a king, and ranks equal-length ties by the full four-step ladder.
What happens when a man reaches the far row mid-capture?
The sequence ends there and the man crowns; the new king can only be played after the opponent has moved.
Is capturing mandatory in Italian Checkers?
Yes, and you must take the line that captures the most pieces. Multi-jumps continue until no further capture is possible.
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