How to Play Turkish Draughts
Turkish Draughts, called Dama across Turkey, the Levant and North Africa, is draughts with the diagonals swapped for straight lines: a faster, more open game where kings dominate.
The board and pieces
- An 8×8 board; every square is used.
- Sixteen men each, filling the second and third rows from your side; the first row is empty. White moves first.
Moving
- A man moves one square forward or sideways, never backwards.
- A king moves any distance forward, backward or sideways along a straight line.
Capturing
- A man captures by jumping forward or sideways over an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square beyond; a king jumps any distance over a single enemy to any empty square beyond.
- Captures chain: after landing, the piece may keep capturing, turning corners but never straight back.
- Capturing is compulsory, and you must choose a line that captures the most pieces.
- Captured pieces are removed immediately, so later jumps may cross their squares.
Crowning and ending
A man ending its move on the far row becomes a king. A side with no pieces or no legal move loses. King against king is a draw, as are fifty king moves without a capture.
Playing on kawu
Tap a piece, then the landing square; for a multi-capture tap each landing square in turn. Hint shows the hard computer's move. Play either colour against three levels, or two players on one device.
Next: Turkish draughts strategy.
Frequently asked questions
How is Turkish draughts different from checkers?
Every square is used, pieces move straight (forward and sideways) instead of diagonally, kings fly like rooks, and captured pieces leave the board at once, so a multi-capture may pass over a square it has just cleared.
Do I have to take the longest capture?
Yes. If several captures are available you must play one that takes the most pieces. Within that, you choose.
When is a man crowned?
When its move ends on the far row. A man that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture and continues sideways is crowned only if it finishes there.
Last updated 2026-10-21