Checkers is a classic board game where two players move round pieces diagonally across a checkered board, trying to capture their opponent's pieces by jumping over them. The board has 64 squares alternating between dark and light colors, and each player starts with 12 pieces arranged on the dark squares closest to them.

The rules are straightforward: pieces move forward one square at a time diagonally, and when your piece reaches the opposite end of the board, it gets “kinged” (crowned with a second piece stacked on top) and can then move backward too. You capture your opponent's pieces by hopping over them, and you can capture multiple pieces in one turn if they're lined up right. The game ends when one player captures all the opponent's pieces or blocks them so they can't move.

Checkers has been played for thousands of years in various forms. The modern version of checkers, also called draughts in many countries, became standardized in the 1500s.

Though the rules are simple enough to learn in minutes, skilled checkers players think many moves ahead, setting elaborate traps and planning complex strategies. In 2007, computers finally “solved” checkers, proving that perfect play by both sides results in a draw.