Editing Checkers (section)

==National and regional variants==
<gallery widths="160" heights="160">
File:International draughts.jpg|10×10 board, starting position in [[international draughts]]
File:Draughts.svg|8×8 board, starting position in [[English draughts|English]], [[Brazilian draughts|Brazilian]], [[Czech draughts|Czech]] and [[Russian draughts]], as well as [[Pool checkers]]
File:Canadian Checkers gameboard and init config.PNG|12×12 board, starting position in [[Canadian draughts]]
File:TurkishDraughts (trad).png|8×8 board, starting position in [[Turkish draughts|Turkish]] and [[Armenian draughts]]
File:Damiera.JPG|8×8 board, starting position in [[Italian draughts|Italian]] and Portuguese draughts
File:Column draughts game.gif|8×8 board, starting position and example play in [[Bashni]]  
</gallery>

===Flying kings; men can capture backwards===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ <big>''International draughts / American Pool checkers family''</big>
!National variant
!Board size 
!Pieces per side
!Double-corner or light square on player's near-right?
!First move
!Capture constraints
!Notes
|-
|[[International draughts]] (or Polish draughts)
| style="text-align:center;" |10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |20, originally 15
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|Pieces promote only when ending their move on the final rank, not when passing through it. It is mainly played in the Netherlands, [[Suriname]], France, Belgium, some eastern European countries, some parts of Africa, some parts of the [[former USSR]], and other European countries.
|-
|Ghanaian draughts (or ''damii'')
| style="text-align:center;" |10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |20
| {{No}}<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Salm|first1=Steven J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Up_EcXthzCcC&pg=PA160|title=Culture and Customs of Ghana|last2=Falola|first2=Toyin|date=2002|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-0-313-32050-7|language=en}}</ref>
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. Overlooking a king's capture opportunity leads to forfeiture of the king.
|Played in [[Ghana]]. Having only a single piece remaining (man or king) loses the game. It is similar to 10×10 Czech Draughts, but has backwards capture and allows winning by removing all but one piece, similar to Latrunculi.
|-
|[[Frisian draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |20
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence of capture must give the maximum "value" to the capture, and a king (called a wolf) has a value of less than two men but more than one man. If a sequence with a capturing wolf and a sequence with a capturing man have the same value, the wolf must capture. The main difference with the other games is that the captures can be made diagonally, but also straight forwards and sideways.
|Played primarily in [[Friesland]] (Dutch province) historically, but in the last decade spreading rapidly over Europe (e.g. the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Russia) and Africa, as a result of a number of recent international tournaments and the availability of an iOS and Android app "Frisian Draughts".
|-
|[[Canadian checkers]]
| style="text-align:center;" |12×12
| style="text-align:center;" |30
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|International rules on a 12×12 board. Played mainly in Canada.
|-
|South African draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |14×14
| style="text-align:center;" |42
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|International rules on a 14×14 board. Played mainly in South Africa.
|-
|[[Brazilian draughts]] (or ''damas'')
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|Played in Brazil. The rules come from international draughts, but board size and number of pieces come from American checkers.
|-
|[[Filipino Checkers]] (or ''dama'')
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| Two variations exist: one with the double-corner on player's near-right and the other on player's near-left.
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|Played in the Philippines. Similar to Brazilian Draughts but with some specifics. Usually played on a dama matrix (crossed lined board representing only the diagonals) and comes in two orientations.
|-
|[[Pool checkers]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{Yes}}
| {{BLACK|Black}}
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|Also called Spanish Pool checkers. It is mainly played in the [[southeastern United States]]; traditional among African American players. A man reaching the kings row is promoted only if he does not have additional backwards jumps (as in international draughts).[https://web.archive.org/web/20220511153242/http://americanpoolcheckers.us/Directory/Pool%20Checkers%20Rules%20of%20Play.html][http://library.poolcheckers.com/index/0-4]

In an ending with three kings versus one king, the player with three kings must win in thirteen moves or the game is a draw.
|-
|Jamaican draughts/checkers
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{No}}
| {{BLACK|Black}}
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|Similar to Pool checkers with the exception of the main diagonal on the right instead of the left. A man reaching the kings row is promoted only if he does not have additional backwards jumps (as in international draughts).

In an ending with three kings versus one king, the player with three kings must win in thirteen moves or the game is a draw.
|-
|[[Russian draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|Also called ''[[shashki]]'' or Russian shashki checkers. It is mainly played in the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]] and in Israel. Rules are similar to international draughts, except:
* a man that enters the kings row during a jump and can continue to jump backwards, jumps backwards as a king, not as a man;
* choosing a sequence that captures the maximum possible number of pieces is not required.

There is also a 10×8 board variant (with two additional columns labelled ''i'' and ''k'') and the give-away variant ''[[Poddavki]]''. There are official championships for shashki and its variants. 
|-
|Mozambican draughts/checkers
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{No}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. Although, a king has the weight of two pieces, this means with two captures, one of a king and one of a piece, one must choose the king; two captures, one of a king and one of two pieces, the player can choose; two captures with one of a king and one of three pieces, the player must capture the three pieces; two captures, one of two kings and one of three pieces, one must choose the kings... 
|Also called "Dama" or "Damas". It is played along all of the region of Mozambique. In an ending with three kings versus one king, the player with three kings must win in thirteen moves or the game is a draw.
|-
|Kenyan checkers
|8×8
|12
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|Kings must capture in order to move multiple squares and when they capture, must stop directly after the captured piece, and may begin a new capture movement from there.
With this rule, there is no draw with two kings versus one.

[[Christian Freeling]]’s Loca is this game with men that can make flying captures.
|-
|[[Tobit (game)|Tobit]]
| style="text-align:center;" |6×4 grid
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{N/A}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Mandatory Capture and Maximum Capture
|Played on a unique non-rectangular or square board of grids with 20 grid points and 18 endpoints. Played in the Republic of Khakassia. Movement and capture is orthogonal with backwards capture. The "Tobit," a promoted piece, moves like the King in [[Turkish draughts]].
|-
|[[Keny (game)|Keny]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |16
| {{N/A}}
| style="text-align:center;" |
|Variable; Most rules have mandatory capture without maximum capture
|Keny (Russian:  Кены) is a draughts game played in the [[Caucasus]] and nearby areas of Turkey. It is played on an 8×8 grid with orthogonal movement. It is similar to Turkish Draughts, but has backwards capture and allows for men to jump over friendly pieces without capturing them similar to [[Dameo]].
|}

===Flying kings; men cannot capture backwards===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ <big>''Spanish draughts family''</big>
!National variant
!Board size
!Pieces per side
!Double-corner or light square on player's near-right?
!First move
!Capture constraints
!Notes
|-
|Spanish draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
|Light square is on right, but double corner is on left, as play is on the light squares. (Play on the dark squares with dark square on right is '''Portuguese draughts'''.)
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces, and the maximum possible number of kings from all such sequences. 
|Also called Spanish checkers. It is mainly played in Portugal, some parts of South America, and some Northern African countries.
|-
|Argentinian draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |12
15
| {{No}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|The rules are similar to the Spanish game, but a sequence that the king can capture must be captured first of all sequences of the same number of pieces.[https://www.yumpu.com/xx/document/view/51735811/americanas-ruibal]
|The rules are similar to the Spanish game, but the king, when it captures, must stop directly after the captured piece, and may begin a new capture movement from there.

With this rule, there is no draw with two kings versus one.
|-
|[[Malaysian/Singaporean Checkers|Malaysian/Singaporean checkers]]
| style="text-align:center;" |12×12
| style="text-align:center;" |30
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}t fixed
|Captures are mandatory. Failing to capture results in forfeiture of that piece (huffing).
|Mainly played in [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], and the region nearby. Also known locally as "Black–White Chess". Sometimes it is played on an 8×8 board when a 12×12 board is unavailable; a 10×10 board is rare in this region.
|-
|[[Czech draughts]]
[[Czech draughts|Slovak draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
10×10?
| style="text-align:center;" |12, 8
15?
| {{Yes}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|If there are sequences of captures with either a man or a king, the king must be chosen. After that, any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|This variant is from the family of the Spanish game. Slovak variant is occasionally mislabeled as Hungarian
|-
|Hungarian Highlander draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |8
|
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|All pieces are long-range. Jumping is mandatory after first move of the rook. Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. 
|The uppermost symbol of the cube determines its value, which is decreased after being jumped. Having only one piece remaining loses the game. 
|-
|Thai draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |8
| {{Yes}}
| {{BLACK|Black}}
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|During a capturing move, pieces are removed immediately after capture. Kings stop on the square directly behind the piece captured and must continue capturing from there, if possible, even in the direction where they come from.
|-
|German draughts (or ''Dame'')
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{Yes}}
| {{BLACK|Black}}
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. In Germany, pieces may further be required to take the longest sequence. 
|Kings stop on the square directly behind the piece captured and must continue capturing from there as long as possible.
Though called German, it is actually   popular not so much in Northern Germany, but in Denmark and Finland.
|-
|[[Turkish draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |16
| {{N/A}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. Captured pieces are removed immediately so that a sequence may even in the direction where the capturing piece comes from
|Also known as ''Dama''. Men move straight forwards or sideways, instead of diagonally. When a man reaches the last row, it is promoted to a flying king (Dama), which moves like a [[rook (chess)|rook]] (or a [[queen (chess)|queen]] in the [[Armenian draughts|Armenian variant]]). The pieces start on the second and third rows.

It is played in Turkey, Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Greece, and several other locations in the Middle East, as well as in the same locations as Russian checkers. There are several variants in these countries, with the Armenian variant (called ''tama'') allowing also forward-diagonal movement of men and the Greek requiring the king to stop directly after the captured piece. With this rule, there is no draw with one king and men versus one king.
|-
|Myanmar draughts
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
|
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces.
|Players agree before starting the game between "Must Capture" or "Free Capture". In the "Must Capture" type of game, a man that fails to capture is forfeited (huffed). In the "Free Capture" game, capturing is optional.
|-
|[[Tanzanian draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}t fixed
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made.
|
|}

===No flying kings; men cannot capture backwards===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ <big>''American straight checkers / English draughts family''</big>
!National variant
!Board size
!Pieces per side
!Double-corner or light square on player's near-right?
!First move
!Capture constraints
!Notes
|-
|[[English draughts|American checkers]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |12
15, 20
| {{Yes}}
| {{BLACK|Black}}
|Any sequence may be chosen, as long as all possible captures are made. 
|Also called "straight checkers" in the United States, or "English draughts" in the United Kingdom.
|-
|[[Italian draughts]]
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
10×10
| style="text-align:center;" |12
15, 20
| {{No}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Men cannot jump kings. A sequence must capture the maximum possible number of pieces. If more than one sequence qualifies, the capture must be done with a king instead of a man. If more than one sequence qualifies, the one that captures a greater number of kings must be chosen. If there are still more sequences, the one that captures a king first must be chosen. 
|It is mainly played in Italy and some North African countries. Old French draughts is the same game without the obligation to jump kings with a king.
|-
|Gothic checkers (or ''Altdeutsches Damespiel'' or ''Altdeutsche Dame'')
| style="text-align:center;" |8×8
| style="text-align:center;" |16
| {{N/A}}
| style="background-color:#ffffff;text-align:center;" | White
|Captures are mandatory. 
|All 64 squares are used, dark and light. Men move one cell diagonally forward and capture in any of the five cells directly forward, diagonally forward, or sideways, but not backward. Men promote on the last row. Kings may move and attack in any of the eight directions. There is also a variant with flying kings.
|}

===Russian Column draughts===
Column draughts (Russian towers), also known as [[Bashni]], is a kind of draughts, known in Russia since the beginning of the nineteenth century, in which the game is played according to the usual rules of Russian draughts, but with the difference that the captured man is not removed from the playing field: rather, it is placed under the capturing piece (man or tower).

The resulting towers move around the board as a whole, "obeying" the upper piece. When taking a tower, only the uppermost piece is removed from it: and the resulting tower belongs to one player or the other according to the color of its new uppermost piece.

Bashni has inspired the games [[Lasca]] and [[Emergo (board game)|Emergo]].