What is Pool checkers?
Pool checkers is played on the 8×8 checkers board with 12 men a side, but with the more mobile pieces of the European games.
Men move one square diagonally forward and capture both forwards and backwards. Kings fly along whole diagonals, capturing from a distance. Capturing is compulsory, but you may choose any capture you like; you need not take the most pieces.
A man is crowned only when it ends its move on the far row. If it touches the far row in the middle of a capture and can jump on, it carries on as a man.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Checkers | Pool checkers |
|---|---|---|
| Men capturing | Standard CheckersMen capture forwards only. | Pool checkersMen capture forwards and backwards, though they still move only forwards. |
| Kings | Standard CheckersMove and capture one step diagonally in any direction. | Pool checkersFly: move any distance along a diagonal and capture a piece from a distance, landing on any free square beyond it. |
| Reaching the far row in a capture | Standard CheckersThe man is crowned and the move ends. | Pool checkersThe man is crowned only if the capture ends there; if it can jump on, it carries on as a man. |
History
Pool checkers has been played in the United States for generations, above all in the South and in African American communities, where it was long the everyday form of the game. Its rules are close to those of Spanish pool and Russian draughts, and it is sometimes called Spanish pool checkers.
The American Pool Checkers Association organises its national tournaments. In official play Black moves first; here the first seat moves first, as in Checkers.