Drafts

Drafts , English Drafts or Checkers is a variant of the classic checkers game that is played primarily in the United States and internationally in the English-speaking world. Like the classic checkers game, it is played on a chessboard with 64 fields, 8 × 8. It differs from the European checkers variants mainly in that the "king" (corresponds to the queen in the classic game) only moves one square at a time may hit.

history

The British checkers variant Drafts developed from the continental checkers game in the 18th century. In 1756, Treatise on the Game of Drafts by William Payne appeared , which, among other things, dealt intensively with the analysis of the endgame variants of the game. English settlers brought the game to the United States , where it became known as Checkers .

Style of play

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

The basic setup for drafts

As with the classic checkers game, Drafts is a board game for two players who sit across from each other on the game board. One player plays the white and the other the black pieces and the two players take turns making a move. In the starting line-up, the 12 pieces are set up on the black fields of the first to third rows on both sides of the game board.

The colors are drawn or chosen, the white player begins the game. Both players now alternately each move a stone, whereby the stones can be moved diagonally forward on the black fields. When a player reaches the baseline on the opposite side, his stone becomes his “king”. Unlike in the classic checkers game, this player may only move one square in each diagonal direction, but unlike normal checkers, it can also move backwards.

As with the classic checkers, a piece must be captured when a piece can jump over it onto a free field behind it. There is a compulsion to hit, so a stone must be hit if this is possible. If further strokes are possible after hitting, these must also be performed. In contrast to the classic checkers game, the queen can also only hit across one square, but move forwards and backwards. If a player has more than one stroke option, he may choose which one to use, regardless of the number of possible further strokes. All captured stones are removed from the playing field after the move.

As in the classic checkers game, the winner is the player who succeeds in capturing all of the opponent's stones or immobilizing them. It is also possible to win the game if the opponent only has one stone left.

supporting documents

1. ^ Brian Burns (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of Games. Brown Packaging Books, 1998; P. 150.
2. ↑ Frederic V. Grunfeld (ed.), Eugen Oker (German revision): Games of the world I - history, play, do it yourself. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1985; Pp. 150-152. ISBN 3-596-23074-8 .
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Polish Checkers (Drafts) In: Brian Burns (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of Games. Brown Packaging Books, 1998; P. 158.

literature

• Checkers (Drafts) In: Brian Burns (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of Games. Brown Packaging Books, 1998; Pp. 150-155