At a glance
| Board | 8×8 — the 32 dark squares |
|---|---|
| Pieces | 12 men per side |
| First move | White |
| Men | Move and capture diagonally forward only — like English checkers |
| Kings (Dame) | Flying — any distance along open diagonals |
| Captures | Mandatory; free choice among capture lines |
| Crowning | Reaching the back row crowns the man and ends the move |
| Draws | Threefold repetition, or long sequences of quiet king moves on both sides |
The starting position
How German draughts plays
Damespiel pairs two things no other profile combines: English-style men — moving and capturing diagonally forward only — with the flying Dame of the international family, sliding and capturing along whole diagonals. Captures are mandatory, but you choose freely among capture lines; a man reaching the back row is crowned and the move ends.
What the asymmetry does
Because men cannot capture backward, the middlegame feels like English checkers — but the first crowned Dame rewrites the position the way a queen does in chess. Endgames are won and lost on who promotes first, which makes tempo counting matter more here than anywhere else in the 8×8 family.
How German draughts differs from English draughts
| Aspect | English draughts | German draughts |
|---|---|---|
| First move | Darker color | White |
| Men capturing | Forward only | Forward only (same as English) |
| Kings | One diagonal step | Flying kings — any distance |
| Capture choice | Free choice | Free choice |
| Crowning mid-jump | Ends the move | Ends the move |
| Identity | The baseline | English men + international kings — a unique pairing |
New to the family? Start with the English draughts rules, compare the seven variants, or jump into the interactive lessons.