Checkers is a good game to share because the rules are short and the board enforces the awkward one. Compulsory capture is the rule that causes arguments in person; here it simply is not possible to break it.
Setting up
Choose 'Two players, one device' in the opponent selector. The computer switches off and the board alternates between light and dark. Only legal moves are offered, so when a capture is available the board will not let you play anything else.
Undo steps back one move at a time in this mode, which is useful when teaching.
Teaching someone in five minutes
- Show the movement: one diagonal step forward, dark squares only.
- Show a capture: jump over, land beyond, remove.
- State the compulsory rule and demonstrate it — set up a position where they must take.
- Show a two-for-one shot slowly. This is the moment the game becomes interesting.
- Show kinging and let them get one.
Step four matters most. Without it, checkers looks like a race. With it, the compulsory rule turns from a restriction into the point of the game.
Let the board teach the rule
When a learner tries to move a piece while a capture is available, the board refuses and offers the capture instead. That is a clearer explanation than anything you can say.
Handling a skill gap
Checkers has no built-in handicap system, but several work well informally:
- Remove pieces. The stronger player starts with ten or eleven instead of twelve. One piece is a meaningful handicap.
- Give back the back row. The stronger player must move all four back-row pieces within the first ten moves.
- Announce threats. The stronger player says out loud when a two-for-one is available. Instructive and surprisingly balancing.
- Time limits. The stronger player gets ten seconds a move, the weaker player unlimited.
What makes good games
Even games hinge on who spots the first shot. If both players are reliably seeing two-for-one combinations, the games become positional and much longer, which is where checkers is at its best.
If one player never sees them, that is the thing to teach, and the fastest way is to set up the position deliberately and play it out a few times rather than explaining it.
House rules
Some groups play that the longest capture is compulsory, as in international draughts. The board here uses the standard English rule where you may choose, so if you want the other version you will need to agree it between yourselves — the board will offer all legal captures either way.