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The Game of Draughts

Source Notes

The project is grounded in historical draughts literature and in the printed tradition that preserves the names of Payne, Torquemada, and the older ancestry of the game.

This page makes the chain of authority visible, so the reader may see by what books and references the archive has been assembled.

William Payne, The Game of Draughts (1756)

Primary historical anchor for the site’s rules presentation.

This source undergirds the language of rule, movement, capture, crowning, and the formal conduct of play.

Antonio de Torquemada tradition

The early modern print-era reference point for formal draughts study.

It shows how the game passed from custom into books and thereby prepared the later codifying tradition.

Alquerque histories

Ancient-origin reference set for the earliest lineage of the game.

These references keep the game visibly tied to older capture traditions rather than a narrow modern origin tale.

Draughts Comprehensive Report (uploaded 2026 packet)

The uploaded workbook that now feeds the on-site chronology, glossary, and FAQ chambers.

It gathers the modern research packet used to enrich the museum pages without supplanting the older authorities.

Best paired pages