How to Play: 8×8 American Checkers (ACF)
The board and setup
American checkers, governed by the American Checker Federation, is played on a standard 8×8 board using only the dark squares. Each player starts with twelve men lined up on the three rows nearest to them. The remaining two empty rows in the middle are the no-mans-land where the first captures usually happen.
How men move and capture
An ordinary man moves one square diagonally forward, toward the opponent. To capture, it jumps diagonally forward over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square just beyond, removing the jumped piece. In this version men capture forward only; they can never jump backward. If your jump lands you next to another enemy piece you can leap again, chaining several captures in a single turn.
Capturing is mandatory
You are not allowed to ignore a capture. If a jump is available on your turn, you must take it. When more than one capturing move exists, you may choose any of them; this version does not force you to pick the jump that captures the most pieces. That single freedom is one of the things that sets it apart from the international game.
Kings and how to win
When a man reaches the far back row, it is crowned a king. A king may move and capture diagonally both forward and backward, which makes it far more useful, but it still only steps one square at a time; it is not a flying king. You win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces or by leaving them with no legal move on their turn.