Unlocking the Secret: Can You Double Jump in Checkers Without Being a King?

There are many benefits to playing checkers, both casually and competitively. For example, as you have to move strategically across the board while also predicting your opponent’s next move, this can help you to improve your logical reasoning skills and focus levels. Furthermore, winning can also be a great way to boost your mood and confidence.

However, in order to increase your chances of winning while playing, it's important that you are aware of all of the different strategies you can employ, including double jumps. Read on to find out more about this game-enhancing tactic!

Playing Checkers 101

Before you can even begin to think about the different strategies that take your gameplay to the next level, you must first ensure that you understand the basic rules and terminology.

Objective.

The objective when playing a game of checkers is to either:

1. Capture all of your opponent's pieces, or
2. Ensure that your opponent is unable to move their remaining tiles.

Terminology.

Checkers. Checkers, also referred to as men, are the pieces that each player will be in charge of moving across the board. In most cases, pieces are either red or black. When playing 247Checkers, you will be given the choice as to which color you play. Standard pieces can be moved forward into a diagonally adjacent square or over a diagonally adjacent opponent’s peice.

Kings. Kings are pieces that have reached the opponent's side of the board. In doing so, they can move diagonally in any direction, making it easier to capture an opponent's peice.

Capture. When you move your peice over an opponent's peice, you have ‘captured’ them. This means that you can remove that peice from the board, bringing you one step closer to victory.

Jump. A jump refers to moving a tile to a peice that is more than two squares away diagonally from the piece's original position, capturing an opponent’s peice while doing so.

Double Jump. A double jump refers to completing two successful jumps in a row. This can only be achieved should, following your first jump, your peice be in a position where it can immediately capture another of your opponent’s pieces.

How To Play.

The rules of checkers are relatively straightforward. Players take turns to move their pieces across the board, with the intention of capturing as many of their opponent's pieces as possible or locking their opponents in positions where they are unable to make a legal move.

Double Jumping In Checkers.

There are many benefits tied to double jumping in checkers. After all, it allows you to capture multiple pieces in one go, making it much easier to beat your opponent.

No Double Jump for Regular Pieces

Many people believe that double (or even triple) jumps are reserved for king pieces only because they’re typically a lot more mobile and useful than regular pieces. However, this is not the case; provided you’re in a position to do so, you can double jump with regular pieces or KINGS.

How to Double Jump in Checkers.

In order to double jump, you need to ensure that your first move ends in a position where you can immediately capture another tile. Here is a scenario in which you can execute a double jump:

• Your peice is in the corner of the board, with an opponent's peice diagonally to the right.
• You perform a jump over your opponent’s tile and remove it from the board.
• From your new position, another of your opponent's pieces is on your diagonal, this time to the left.
• You perform a jump over your opponent’s tile and remove it from the board.

When playing 247Checkers, you’ll be able to assess potential moves ahead of time. This is because potential moves will be highlighted in green and capturing opportunities in red.

Strategy for Non-King Pieces

As mentioned above, learning the different strategies you can use to your advantage is one of the easiest ways to improve your chances of success when playing. With that in mind, here are some useful strategies for non-king pieces.

• Turn your pieces to kings as quickly as possible. Kings are powerful pieces in a game of checkers, as they can move diagonally in all directions, whereas standard pieces are a little more limited. As such, you should aim to travel to your opponent’s side of the board as quickly as possible to turn a standard peice into the king.
• Protect your pieces. Pay attention to your opponent's moves and gameplay to ensure that you are protecting your pieces by moving them out of their direct path. This makes it harder for them to capture your pieces.
• Capture your opponent's pieces. Capturing your opponent's pieces by executing jumps or double jumps is also crucial. After all, this is how you win the game! As such, you should always be on the lookout for opportunities to capture your opponent's pieces.

Benefits of Becoming a King

The benefits tied to becoming a king lie in the moves that you are able to execute. For example, when jumping is not possible, Kings are able to move diagonally in any direction. This means that you have four movement choices to choose from, as opposed to just two.

It also increases the chances of being able to execute jumps due to the fact that they can jump both forward and backward, whereas standard pieces can only jump forward.

In short, it is beneficial to turn your pieces into kings as quickly as possible as it increases your chances of winning - especially if you have more kings in play than your opponent.

Maximizing Moves as a King

There are many steps you can take to maximize your moves as a King, ensuring that you can reap all of the benefits above.

Firstly, you should try to move your King pieces as close to the center of the board as possible. While keeping them on the sidelines may seem to be useful when protecting them from being captured, it does mean that you are not taking advantage of their mobility. By placing them in central tiles, you have plenty of opportunities to move around the board and capture your opponent's pieces.

That being said, if your opponent has captured the majority of your pieces, you may like to sideline one King peice for the time being, using your other pieces to capture opponents and level out the playing field somewhat. In short, success in checkers is linked to your ability to pay attention to what is happening and make strategic moves on the back of this.

When playing, you can also make sure that you make the most of your king pieces by paying close attention to the moves your opponent is making. This will make it easier for you to anticipate the point they are trying to travel to on the board so that you can either move your King peice out of the way,or position yourself in a space where you can capture their peice.

When playing Chess247, you should also pay close attention to the highlighted tiles that outline potential moves you can make. If jumps are possible, you’ll notice that two tiles are highlighted in red. Be sure to click on the second highlighted tile in order to double-jump. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to jump once, and your opponent will be able to move away from you during their next turn.

Final Thoughts.

As with any game of this nature, you can increase your chances of winning by making use of different strategies and techniques. In a game of checkers, double jumps are the best possible moves on the board due to the fact that you can capture multiple pieces at once, lowering your opponent's chance of winning by knocking them out of gameplay.

As such, you should ensure that you assess your position on the board carefully, moving into positions that will facilitate double jumps in the future. However, you can also increase your chances of winning by working to protect your own pieces and by turning men into kings as quickly as you possibly can.

It is also important to note that whether you are an experienced player or a complete novice, you can improve your checkers skills by practicing as often as possible. After all, this will allow you to gain practical hands-on experience of the game, which informs your gameplay moving forward.

We’ve made it easier than ever to practice your checkers skills or try out new strategies with Checkers247, as you no longer need to go through the hassle of setting up a board or finding an opponent. Instead, you can play online whenever you have some free time. In addition to this, you can also choose between four difficulty levels: easy, medium, hard o,r expert, depending on how confident you are feeling. You can also play online against another opponent or participate in a daily challenge.

So, why not try it out today?

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.