How to Play International Draughts
International draughts, the 10×10 game played in the Netherlands, Russia, France and across Africa, is checkers with sharper teeth: men capture backwards, kings fly, and the biggest capture is compulsory.
The board and the pieces
- A 10×10 board; only the 50 dark squares are used. They're numbered 1 to 50 from the top left.
- Each side has twenty men on the four rows nearest them.
- White moves first.
Moving
- A man moves one square diagonally forward to an empty square.
- A king moves any distance along a diagonal, as far as the empty squares go.
Capturing
- A man captures by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square beyond, forwards or backwards.
- A king captures a piece anywhere along its diagonal, provided the squares between are empty, and may land on any empty square beyond it.
- After landing, if another capture is available from the new square, you must continue in the same move. The direction may change.
- Captured pieces stay on the board until the sequence ends, so the same piece can't be jumped twice, and still blocks.
Capturing is compulsory, and you must take the most
If you can capture, you must. If you have a choice, you must take the sequence that captures the most pieces, king or man alike. Among sequences of equal size you may choose.
Crowning
A man that ends its move on the far row becomes a king. Passing through the far row in the middle of a capture doesn't crown it.
Winning and drawing
- You win when your opponent has no pieces or no legal move.
- A draw: the same position three times, 25 moves each without a capture or a man moving, or by agreement.
Playing on kawu
- Three computer levels, two players on one device, or online with a friend.
- Multi-captures are entered square by square; hints and undo are available against the computer.
Next, read the draughts strategy guide. Prefer the 8×8 game? Play Checkers.
Frequently asked questions
How is international draughts different from checkers?
Bigger board (10×10, twenty men each), men capture backwards as well as forwards, kings move any distance, and when you have a choice of captures you must take the one that removes the most pieces.
Can a man be crowned in the middle of a capture?
No. If a man reaches the far row with captures still available, it carries on as a man and is only crowned if the move ends on the far row.
Who moves first?
White. On kawu you play White by default, so you open the game; switch to Black in the settings.
Last updated 2026-10-20