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The Game of Draughts

Est. Ancient Origins · Codified 1756

The History & Evolution of Checkers (Draughts)

From the ancient game of Alquerque to William Payne's 1756 Laws of the Game — explore the complete origin of checkers and draughts, and play by the original historical rules.

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Where Did Checkers Come From? The Ancient Roots

The history of checkers stretches back over three millennia. The game of Alquerque — widely regarded as the ancient ancestor of checkers and draughts — was played in Egypt as far back as 1400 BCE. From Egypt, Alquerque spread across the Mediterranean into medieval Europe, carried by traders, soldiers, and scholars. Understanding where checkers came from illuminates why the game of draughts endures as one of the world's great classic board games.

The evolution of draughts began when European players adapted Alquerque onto the larger 64-square chessboard around 1100 CE in France — a pivotal development giving rise to what the French called Fierges, the direct forerunner of traditional checkers. This transformation from the ancient ancestor game to the retro board game beloved today took centuries of gradual refinement across cultures.

c. 1400 BCE

Alquerque played in ancient Egypt — the oldest known ancestor of checkers and draughts.

c. 1100 CE

Alquerque adapted to the 64-square chessboard in France, becoming Fierges — an early form of traditional checkers.

1547

Antonio de Torquemada publishes the first codified rules of Draughts in Spain — foundational to all historical draughts rules that follow.

1756

William Payne publishes A Treatise on the Game of Draughts in London, establishing the definitive Laws of the Game still honoured today.

19th–20th C.

The American term "checkers" becomes widespread. Lee's Guide to the Game of Draughts further refines the standard laws for competitive play.

Checkers HistoryOrigin of CheckersAlquerqueAncient Board GamesEvolution of DraughtsClassic Board GamesRetro Board GamesTraditional Checkers

The Original Rules: William Payne & Antonio Torquemada

The two most important figures in the codification of historical draughts rules are Antonio de Torquemada (1547) and William Payne (1756). Any serious student of checkers history and origins must understand their contributions to what became the original rules of checkers as played worldwide.

Torquemada's 1547 work established the foundational precepts of classic draughts strategy: movement restricted to dark squares only, mandatory forward-diagonal movement for ordinary Men, and the absolute obligation to capture when the opportunity presents itself. These principles remain as essential to the game of draughts today as they were in 16th-century Spain.

William Payne's 1756 treatise introduced the famous Huff Rule — if a player fails to take an available capture, the opponent may remove the offending piece — as well as the Touch-Move rule, precise time limits, and the crowning ceremony for Kings. Payne's Laws are the gold standard of original checkers rules and the direct inspiration for this authentic recreation.

How to Play by the 1756 Rules

In this authentic recreation of the Game of Draughts, all pieces are called Black Men and White Men as Payne prescribed. The Black Men always move first. Captures are mandatory. Kings — crowned upon reaching the opponent's back row — move both forward and backward. The Huff penalty enforces the capture obligation. A three-minute call and five-minute forfeit govern the pace of play, precisely as the historical checkers guide of 1756 demands.

William Payne Draughts1756 Checkers RulesAntonio Torquemada CheckersHistorical Draughts RulesLee's Guide to DraughtsOriginal Rules of CheckersClassic Draughts StrategyHow to Play Historical Draughts
The Game of Draughts
— Version 1.7 · According to the Ancient Laws —
Black Men: 12
White Men: 12
The Black Men shall commence.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Checkers descended from Alquerque, an ancient Egyptian game dating to approximately 1400 BCE. It evolved onto the chessboard around 1100 CE in France and was formally codified by Antonio de Torquemada in 1547.

The ancestor Alquerque is over 3,000 years old. The recognisable chessboard form of draughts is approximately 500 years old, dating to 16th-century Spain and France.

The original and internationally correct name is Draughts. "Checkers" is primarily an American usage. Historically the game was also called Fierges in medieval France.

They are the same game. "Checkers" is the American term; "draughts" is British and international. The historical ruleset — including the Huff rule — is preserved most faithfully under the name Draughts.

As codified by William Payne in 1756: mandatory captures, the Huff penalty for missed captures, the Touch-Move rule, three-minute calls and five-minute forfeits, and crowning Kings at the opponent's back row.

No single inventor. The game evolved from Alquerque. Torquemada codified the chessboard form in 1547; William Payne established the definitive Laws of the Game in 1756.

Join the Community: Keep the Classic Game Alive

The Game of Draughts is more than a pastime — it is a living heritage connecting players across centuries. Whether you are a scholar of historical draughts rules, a lover of classic board games, or simply curious about the checkers origin story, this community welcomes you. Share strategies rooted in the original 1756 laws, study the ancient rulebooks, and help preserve authentic draughts for future generations of players.

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A Step-by-Step Manual of Play
Step the FirstBoard Preparation

Sit opposite your opponent. Position the board so a dark square occupies the bottom left-hand corner. This orientation is essential for proper play per the ancient laws.

Step the SecondPlacing the Men

The player commanding the Black Men places their 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them. The White Men do the same on their side.

Step the ThirdCommencing the Match

The player with the Black Men initiates the game, moving one piece diagonally forward to an adjacent empty dark square. Players then alternate turns.

Step the FourthExecuting Captures

If your opponent's piece stands before yours with an empty square behind it, you must leap over it and remove it. If another capture presents, you must continue in a single turn.

Step the FifthEnforcing the Huff

If your opponent moves whilst a capture was available, pause immediately. You may "huff" their offending piece from the board, or compel them to retract and take the capture.

Step the SixthCrowning a King

The moment one of your pieces lands on the final row of your opponent's side, your turn ends. Your opponent must crown your piece — a King is made.

Step the SeventhWielding the King

A crowned King may move and capture diagonally both forward and backward, applying immense tactical pressure upon the enemy from every quarter.

Step the EighthSecuring Victory

Continue moving, capturing, and crowning until you have taken all of your opponent's Men, or left their remaining pieces without a single legal move.

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About the Archive

This website — The Game of Draughts — is published by Agentic Agentic Enterprises as a carefully kept chamber for the preservation of historical board games and the rich cultural inheritance surrounding the ancient game of checkers and draughts. The intent is to maintain a definitive space where the original 1756 Laws of the Game may be experienced, studied, and shared by players of every generation.

From the codified precepts of William Payne to the foundational rules of Antonio de Torquemada, every element of this site is arranged with care to honour the authentic history of checkers and to introduce classic draughts strategy to a new audience of enthusiasts and scholars alike.

For enquiries, community collaboration, historical research, or any other correspondence, please use the site’s contact form:

Open the contact form

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The Royal Archive

The homepage remains the chief chamber of the project, yet it now opens properly into the several histories, rules, and notes that belong to it. The reader may therefore pass from the board itself to the fuller account without confusion or interruption.

Origins

From temple stone to chessboard squares

The archive now carries the uploaded chronology of the game’s passage from Alquerque and the Kurna Temple evidence into the later European board.

Rules

William Payne remains the chief lawgiver here

The Payne and 1756 chambers are now reinforced by the uploaded report and slide sequence, so the reader may move from statement to supporting record in proper order.

Research Room

Workbook, slides, and downloads are now on-site

The comprehensive report, the slide deck, and the outline now live inside the museum, so the curious visitor need not wander abroad to inspect them.

Study

Glossary, FAQ, and archive pages speak to one another

The newer pages no longer stand alone as detached memoranda; they now draw directly from the uploaded research set and guide the reader onward.

History of Draughts

Draughts descends from ancient alignment-and-capture games and comes into a more familiar order once the European board, literature, and laws have been plainly settled.

  • The story begins with Alquerque and other ancient capture games whose movement logic survives in altered form.
  • Europe turns the game onto the chessboard and fixes the outward appearance that later players inherit.

Ancient Origins

The ancient chapter keeps the deepest ancestry visible, so that the reader may understand draughts as part of an older chain of strategy rather than a late household contrivance.

  • Alquerque remains the clearest ancestral point in the commonly received history of the game.
  • The Kurna Temple evidence shows that the essential delight of piece movement and capture is of very great antiquity.

William Payne

William Payne remains the chief English lawgiver of draughts, for his 1756 work supplies one of the clearest and most durable formal statements of the game.

  • Payne preserves not only rules but the temper and discipline with which the game ought to be conducted.
  • His work makes clear the duties of movement, capture, crowning, and error in a way later readers can still follow.

Antonio de Torquemada

Torquemada belongs to the earliest printed tradition by which draughts was carried from custom into book-learning and preserved beyond local habit.

  • Torquemada’s 1547 publication stands as the earliest known modern book on draughts.
  • His importance lies not only in age, but in proving that the game merited formal intellectual treatment.

The 1756 Laws

The 1756 laws chamber turns the old rules into a readable guide without stripping them of their historical severity or tone.

  • Mandatory capture is not a suggestion, but a defining obligation of the English game.
  • The huffing penalty reveals how earlier players dealt with missed capture through ritual correction.

How to Play

This chamber condenses draughts into a brief practical instruction while still directing the serious reader back to the older rule tradition.

  • Men move diagonally upon the dark squares and capture by jumping opposing pieces.
  • When a capture is offered, the laws of English draughts require that it be taken.

The Research Chamber

The uploaded report and slide deck now stand within the museum itself. Thus the visitor may inspect the chronology, the glossary, the common questions, and the chaptered deck without leaving the house.

Research room Workbook view Slide view Download chamber

Earliest carved evidence

c. 1400 BC

Boards discovered at the Kurna Temple in Egypt show that the game’s family is ancient indeed.

The 64-square adaptation

c. 1100 AD

France supplies the decisive transition from line-play to the chessboard arrangement that readers now know at a glance.

First modern treatise

1547

Antonio de Torquemada carries the game into print and gives it the dignity of formal study.

English laws standardized

1756

William Payne’s volume fixes the English rule tradition with uncommon plainness and authority.

Ancient Egypt (Kurna Temple)

Origins · c. 1400 BC

Precursor game Alquerque (Quirkat) played on a 5x5 board.

France

Transition · c. 1100 AD

Adaptation of Alquerque to the 64-square chessboard.

Antonio de Torquemada

Literature · 1547

Published 'El Ingenio o Juego de Marro', the first modern book on the game.

William Payne

Standardization · 1756

Published 'An Introduction to the Game of Draughts', laying down the modern English laws.

Huffing

Terminology · Historical rule

Penalty for missing a mandatory jump; now largely obsolete in competitive play.

Slide 1: The Timeless Game of Draughts

The opening chapter presents draughts as one of the world’s oldest strategy games and introduces the deck as a guide to its antiquity, literature, and laws.

The Game of Draughts Slide Deck

The uploaded comprehensive PowerPoint on draughts history, origins, William Payne, rules, glossary, and historical penalties.

Draughts Slides Outline

The uploaded outline PDF used to structure the draughts slide deck and the new museum research pages.

Continue the study

Those who desire the subject in fuller order may pass from the chapters into the FAQ, Glossary, Sources, and the new Research room. Thus every common question and every supporting paper need not be crowded back upon the first page, but may be answered in its proper place.

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