checkers, or draughts, Board game for two players, each with 12 pieces positioned on the black squares of a 64-square checkerboard. Play consists of advancing a piece diagonally forward to an adjoining square, the goal being to jump and thus capture each of an opponent’s pieces until all are removed and victory is declared. When a piece reaches the final (king) row, it is crowned with a piece of the same colour and can begin to move in any direction. Similar games have been played in various cultures and in times extending back to antiquity.