American, Brazilian, International and Russian draughts compared

What changes between the four rule sets on this site, shown on matching positions: backward captures, how far kings reach, which capture you must take, and crowning.

All four rule sets on this site agree on the basics. Pieces stay on the dark squares, men step diagonally forward, a capture is compulsory once it is possible, and you win when your opponent has no move left, every piece taken or blocked. Six things change in how a game is played.

The board. American, Brazilian and Russian use the 8×8 board with twelve men each. International uses the 10×10 board with twenty men each.
The first move. Black moves first in American. White moves first in the other three.
Men capturing backwards. Not in American. In the other three, yes.
Kings. American kings move one square at a time. The other three fly along the diagonal.
Several captures at once. American and Russian let you take any of them. Brazilian and International make you take the most pieces.
A man reaching the far row in the middle of a capture. In American it is crowned and the move ends. In Russian it is crowned and keeps capturing. In Brazilian and International it is crowned only if it stops there.

Draw counts and move notation differ as well, and each rule set's own page gives those in full. The example positions below show what the six differences do at the board.

A black man behind a white man

The same two men, with White to move, give two different answers.

American: the man on 18 cannot capture backwards, so White has only two moves, 18-14 and 18-15, neither of them a capture.

Brazilian, the same squares: d4xb2 is the only legal move, a backward capture. Russian gives the same answer, and so does the matching position on the International board.

One king, one man, opposite results

Here the rule about kings decides the whole game. White has a king on a1, which is square 29, and Black a man on c3, which is square 22.

American: the king can only step to 25 with 29-25, right next to the man. Black must then capture with 22x29, crowns, and wins, because White has no pieces left.

Brazilian: the flying king takes c3 from a distance and may land on any of five squares, from a1xd4 to a1xh8. Black has no pieces left, so White wins.

Three men or two kings

White's man on d2, square 26, can start either of two captures: up one side it takes three men, and up the other it takes two kings.

American: both 26x17x10x1 and 26x19x12 are legal, and the choice is yours. Russian offers the same two routes.

Brazilian: d2xb8 is the only legal move, because three pieces beat two and a king counts as one piece. International applies the same count.

A man on the far row in mid-capture

This is the one rule where three different answers exist. In all four diagrams a man jumps onto the far row with one more black man in reach.

American: 11x2 is the only legal move. The man is crowned on square 2 and the move ends, so the black man on 6 stays.

Brazilian: f6xb6 is the only legal move. The man takes both men and finishes on b6, and it is still a man.

International, the matching position on the larger board: 11x13 is the only legal move, and the man finishes on 13, still a man.

Russian: the man becomes a king on d8 and takes the second man as a king, so it may land on b6 or a5. The legal moves are f6:b6 and f6:a5, and the second board shows f6:b6.

Which one to start with

If you already know a version from home, ask how the men and kings behaved, and you may be able to match it to one of these four. Men that never jumped backwards and kings that moved one square point to American. Kings that flew and a duty to take the biggest capture point to Brazilian, or International if the board had ten rows. Kings that flew and a free choice of capture point to Russian.

If the game is new to you, American has the fewest squares to check on each turn, because a man looks only forward and a king looks only one square away, so it is a sensible first choice.

If long-range kings are what appeal to you, take Brazilian or Russian on the 8×8 board. Brazilian trains the counting that International also demands, so what you learn there carries straight over to the larger board.

The Rules menu on the Play screen changes the rule set before any game, and each rule set has its own page and lessons: