Turkish Draughts / Dama

Quick Pitch

Turkish Draughts (also called Dama) is a checkers variant from Turkey where pieces can move forward or sideways — and kings can glide across the whole board in one move.

Hook

It looks like Checkers at first glance — same board, similar pieces — but Turkish Draughts plays quite differently. Your regular pieces can slide sideways as well as forward, giving you far more maneuvering options from the start. And when a piece gets promoted to king, it becomes a powerful long-range piece that can sweep across the entire diagonal. If you know Checkers and want something with a different feel, this is worth trying.

Equipment Needed

• 8x8 board with dark and light squares
• 12 pieces per player (2 types: regular pieces and kings)

Setup

1. Draw or use 8x8 board
2. Place 12 pieces per player on rows 1-3 and rows 6-8 (opposite corners for each)
3. Rows 4-5 remain empty
4. Designate first player

Rules

Movement

Regular Piece:

• Move diagonally forward to adjacent empty square
• Backward capture allowed: Can capture opponent piece behind (unlike some versions where backward movement is restricted)

King Piece:

• Move diagonally in any direction (forward, backward, sideways diagonally)
• Multiple squares per move
• Can capture at distance

Capturing

Capture Method:

• Jump over opponent piece to empty square beyond
• Piece is captured and removed
• Multiple captures in one turn allowed (required if available)

Mandatory vs. Optional: Rules vary by region; some make captures mandatory, others optional. Check local rules.

Promotion

Regular piece reaching opponent's king row becomes a king (immediately gains new movement abilities).

Differences from Checkers

1. Backward capture: Allowed for regular pieces (Checkers: forward only for regular pieces)
2. King flexibility: Kings in Turkish Draughts have more movement freedom
3. Capture optionality: Varies by region (Checkers: captures mandatory)
4. Board size: 8x8 (Checkers: 10x10 international or 8x8 American)