Turkish Checkers Rules
Turkish Checkers (Dama) plays on an 8×8 board where every square is in play and nothing moves diagonally. Men step and jump straight forward or sideways; kings slide along ranks and files like a chess rook. Capturing is mandatory, you must take the most pieces, and jumped pieces come off the board the moment they are taken.
Play Turkish Checkers free →The Board and Setup
The game uses an 8×8 board and all 64 squares. Because the chequer pattern carries no meaning here, the board is drawn plain with grid lines rather than in two colours. Each player has 16 pieces (men), filling their second and third rows — the back row starts empty. White moves first, then players alternate.
Moving
- Men move one square straight forward or one square sideways, left or right, to an empty square.
- Men never move backward, and never move diagonally.
- Kings move any number of empty squares along a rank or a file.
Capturing
- A man captures forward or sideways, jumping an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square directly beyond it. A man never captures backward or diagonally.
- Capturing is mandatory, and among all the available sequences you must play the one that captures the most pieces. If several sequences take the same number, the choice is yours.
- Multi-jumps continue until no further capture is possible.
- Captured pieces are removed as they are jumped, not at the end of the turn. A later jump in the same sequence can therefore pass over or land on a square that has just been cleared. No piece can be jumped twice.
- A sequence may not turn straight back on itself: between two jumps there is no 180° about-turn. Turning left or right is fine.
Kings
A man promotes to King — the Dama — when it finishes a move on the far row. A Turkish king is a flying piece along straight lines: it slides any distance along a rank or a file, forward, backward or sideways, and it captures by jumping a single enemy piece on that line, landing on any empty square beyond it.
Crowning is delayed during a capture. A man that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture sequence does not crown there: it carries on capturing sideways along that row as a man, and it crowns only if the sequence ends on that row. One consequence, noted by Ratrout, is that a man arriving on the far row beside an enemy king it can take must take that king before it is crowned — because the longest capture is compulsory.
How to Win
Capture all of your opponent's pieces, or leave them with no legal move.
Draws occur by threefold repetition; when each side has exactly one piece left, which is an immediate draw; or when no capture and no man move happens for 40 moves by each side. The one-piece-each rule and that no-progress count are the draw law we apply on this site so a dead position ends rather than running forever — the Turkish federation's tournament rulebook was not among our sources, and we do not claim these are its rules.
History
The game is known as Türk daması, Dama, or Turkish Draughts, and is common across the Middle East; tournaments are played in Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Estonia. BoardGameGeek dates the game to 1400. Mats Winther notes the argument that Turkish checkers developed out of Gothic checkers. Ratrout notes that a chequered alternative board is also used, though the chequer plays no part in the rules.
Browse more games in our guide to checkers variants and the rest of the strategy lessons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who moves first in Turkish Checkers?
White moves first, then players alternate turns.
Is Turkish Checkers played on the dark squares only?
No. All 64 squares of the 8×8 board are in play, which is why the board is drawn plain with grid lines rather than chequered.
How do men move in Turkish Checkers?
A man moves one square straight forward or one square sideways, to the left or right. It never moves backward and never moves diagonally. It captures the same way, jumping an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square directly beyond it.
How does a king move in Turkish Checkers?
A king — the Dama — moves any number of empty squares along a rank or a file, exactly like a rook in chess. It captures by jumping a single enemy piece on that line and may land on any empty square beyond it.
Is capturing mandatory in Turkish Checkers?
Yes, and you must play the sequence that captures the most pieces. Multi-jumps continue until no further capture is possible.
When are captured pieces removed in Turkish Checkers?
As they are jumped, not at the end of the turn. A later jump in the same sequence can therefore cross a square that has just been cleared, though no piece may be jumped twice.
Can a capture sequence turn back on itself?
No. Between two jumps, a sequence may not reverse 180° along the line it just came down. It can turn left or right, but not about-turn.
What happens when a man reaches the far row mid-capture?
It does not crown yet. It keeps capturing sideways along that row as a man, and it crowns only if the sequence ends there. So a man that lands on the far row next to an enemy king it can take must take that king before it is crowned.
Play Turkish Checkers free →