How to Play Russian checkers
Draughts with flying kings on the 8×8 — and a crown won in mid-flight.
Russian checkers — shashki — is the draughts of Russia and much of the former Soviet world: the 8×8 board and twelve men a side of the English game, with the flying kings and backward captures of the international one, and a rule of its own — a man that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture is crowned at once and carries on as a king. Captures are compulsory but you choose which, and the draw rules count moves in the endings. Play it offline against the computer at three levels, or online on a clock, on any of the eight boards.
Ways to play Russian checkers
Against the computer
Pick your side and a level — Easy, Medium or Hard — and play Russian checkers offline. The game is kept in your browser, exactly where you left it.
Online, on a clock
Create a board, choose your color, set a clock from one minute to sixty — or none at all — and share the code. Only the side to move has their clock running.
In 2D or 3D
Lay the board flat or stand it up. Every piece rises onto its square, and you can flip between them mid-game.
Seven boards, seven sets
Classic felt, Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool and a medieval chamber — changed while you play.
🎯 Objective
Take all of your opponent’s pieces, or leave them with no legal move. A player with no move has lost.
🎲 Russian checkers setup
- The board is eight by eight, and only the dark squares are used.
- Each side sets twelve men on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them; the two middle rows start empty.
- In the app, Russian is one of the four rule sets on the draughts page — choose it before the game, with your side and the level.
- White moves first.
▶ How to play Russian checkers
- A man moves one square diagonally forward, onto an empty dark square.
- A man captures by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square beyond — forward or backward, either way.
- Capturing is compulsory, and a chain of jumps is played to its end. Where several captures are available you choose which; there is no rule about taking the most.
- A man that reaches the far row is crowned a king. If it gets there in the middle of a capture, it is crowned at once and continues the same move as a king.
- A king moves any distance along a diagonal, and captures by jumping any distance over one enemy piece to any empty square beyond it.
- A king may keep turning corners through a capture chain, and like a man it must capture when it can.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Russian checkers
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📖 Detailed guide
What sets the Russian game apart
- The board and the men are the English game’s: 8×8, twelve a side on the dark squares. But White moves first.
- Men capture backwards as well as forwards, and kings fly the length of a diagonal — the international game’s rules on the smaller board.
- There is no majority rule. When captures compete you take whichever you like, and a chain is played to its end.
- A man crowned in the middle of a capture carries on as a king at once, which is what makes a breakthrough so sharp.
Flying kings
- A king slides any number of squares along a diagonal, like a bishop in chess.
- A king captures by jumping any distance over one enemy piece, landing on any empty square beyond it — and may turn and keep capturing from the square it chose.
- A lone king on the main diagonal cannot be caught by fewer than three kings, and three must do it within fifteen moves or the game is drawn.
- A king is also the best defender: from the back row it attacks every man that steps onto its diagonal.
How a game ends
- Every enemy piece taken, or an opponent with no legal move, wins.
- The same position for a third time is a draw.
- Fifteen moves by each side with only kings moving and no capture is a draw, and so are three or more kings that fail to catch a lone king in fifteen of their moves.
- Thirty moves without a capture draws an ending of four or five pieces; sixty draws one of six or seven. These counts replace the forty-move rule of the other draughts games.
Offline, online and the clock
- Offline, choose Russian on the draughts page’s rules picker, then your color and the level. The game is kept in your browser until you end it, and Undo takes back your move and the engine’s reply.
- Online you create a draughts board under Russian rules, choose White, Black or a random draw, set a clock from one to sixty minutes — or none — and share the code or an invite link.
- Only the clock of the side to move runs. A clock that runs out loses the game.
- Russian checkers is rated and recorded as its own game, apart from English and international draughts, on the same eight boards with the 2D/3D switch.
🏁 How Russian checkers is won
Taking every enemy piece wins, as does leaving your opponent with no legal move. The draws are by count: the same position three times; fifteen moves by each side in which only kings moved and nothing was taken; three or more kings that have not caught a lone king within fifteen of their moves; an ending of four or five pieces that goes thirty moves without a capture, and one of six or seven pieces that goes sixty. On a timed board, a player whose clock runs out loses.
❓ Russian checkers — frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Russian checkers?
Russian checkers is played by 2. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.
Where can I play Russian checkers?
In your browser at play.vanikar.games, on a computer, a tablet or a phone. Sign in with the same Vanikar™ account you use for the card games.
Is Russian checkers included in my subscription?
Yes. One Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game released after them.
Does Russian checkers have ads?
No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.
How is Russian checkers different from English draughts?
Same 8×8 board and 12 men a side, but White moves first, men capture backwards as well as forwards, kings fly any distance along a diagonal, and a man that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture is crowned at once and carries on as a king. The draw rules count moves in the endings instead of a flat 40-move rule.
Do I have to take the most pieces?
No. Capturing is compulsory and a chain must be played to its end, but when several captures are available you may take whichever you like. That is the main difference from international draughts.
What happens when a man is crowned in the middle of a jump?
It becomes a king on the spot and continues the same move as a king — jumping any distance along a diagonal if there is more to take. In international draughts a man that passes through the far row stays a man; in Russian checkers it does not.
Is Russian checkers included in my subscription?
Yes. Russian checkers is part of Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™, which a Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription includes. Play it in your browser at play.vanikar.games with the same account.