Comparison
Chinese Checkers vs Checkers (Draughts): Not the Same Game
Updated October 6, 2026
The shared name makes many people think Chinese Checkers is just checkers on a different board. In fact they have almost nothing in common. Chinese Checkers has no captures, can be played by several people, and the winner is the first to move every piece into the opposite corner. Checkers (here, 10×10 international draughts) is a two-player game where capturing is compulsory and you win by taking or blocking all of your opponent’s pieces.
The differences at a glance
| Chinese Checkers | International Draughts | |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Six-pointed star with 121 holes | 10×10 squares, only the dark squares are used |
| Players | 2, 3, 4 or 6 | 2 |
| Pieces each | 10 | 20 |
| Captures | None; jumped pieces stay where they are | Compulsory, and the sequence capturing the most pieces must be chosen |
| Goal | Move all 10 of your pieces into the opposite corner | Capture all enemy pieces or leave your opponent with no legal move |
| Promotion | None | A regular piece reaching the far row becomes a king that slides along diagonals |
The three biggest differences
- Jumping means different things. In Chinese Checkers a jump is a way to travel: you can hop over your own or anyone else’s pieces, many times in a row. In draughts a jump is a capture, and the jumped enemy piece is removed.
- Other players play a different role. In Chinese Checkers other pieces are both obstacles and stepping stones, and in multiplayer games you also have to think about who is racing for the same route. In draughts every opponent move may force you to capture and walk into a trap.
- The result is different. Chinese Checkers ranks everyone from first to last; draughts ends in a win, a loss or a draw, and a long stretch without progress is a draw.
A bit of history behind the name
Chinese Checkers actually comes from Germany in the late 19th century, where it was called Sternhalma (“star halma”). When it reached the United States it was renamed Chinese Checkers for marketing, and the name stuck. International draughts belongs to the European draughts family, and the 10×10 version is popular in the Netherlands, France, Russia and many African countries.
Play both on this site
Chinese Checkers here supports tables for 2, 3, 4 or 6 players, with the AI filling empty seats. Each player has at most 200 moves, and a player who leaves, times out or resigns is handed over to the AI and ranked last. International draughts offers AI games, ranked matchmaking, friend invites, spectating and replays, and the board highlights the capture sequences you are required to play.