Italian Checkers (Dama) Rules

Checkers is one of the oldest and most widespread board games in the world. The Italian variant, regulated by the Italian Checkers Federation (FID), stands out for two characteristic rules: a man cannot capture a king, and when several captures are possible, precise precedence rules decide which one is mandatory. Easy to learn, remarkably hard to master.

This game is constantly evolving: new features and improvements are added regularly. If something doesn't work as expected or you have suggestions, write to postmaster@lucianomanenti.com — your feedback is precious!

1. Goal of the Game

Two players face each other on an 8×8 board, using only the dark squares. Each player starts with 12 men on the three rows closest to them. White moves first. You win by:

• capturing all of your opponent's pieces, or
• leaving your opponent with no legal moves (blocked pieces).

2. Movement

The man

Moves one square diagonally, forward only (towards the opponent's side), onto a free square.

The king

When a man reaches the last row it is promoted to king (marked with a crown in the game). The king moves one square diagonally in any direction, forwards and backwards. In Italian checkers the king does not "fly" as in international draughts: it always moves a single square.

3. Capturing

You capture by jumping over a diagonally adjacent enemy piece, landing on the square immediately beyond it, which must be free. Men capture forward only; kings capture in any direction.

Fundamental capture rules:

• Capturing is mandatory: if you can capture, you must.
• A man cannot capture a king — the hallmark rule of Italian checkers.
• After a jump, if another jump is possible from the landing square, the capture continues with the same piece (multiple capture).
• If a man reaches the last row during a multiple capture, it is promoted to king and the capture stops immediately.
• A piece that has already been jumped cannot be jumped a second time in the same capture.

Capture precedence

When there are several ways to capture, the rules establish which capture is mandatory, in this order:

Order	Rule
1	You must capture the greatest number of pieces.
2	All else being equal, you must capture with the king rather than with a man.
3	All else being equal, you must capture the greatest number of kings.
4	All else being equal, you must capture where you meet a king first.

No need to memorise them: the game applies the precedence rules automatically and only offers you the legal captures.

4. Draws

The game is declared a draw when neither player can make progress: in this version this happens automatically after 40 moves per side without any capture or man move (king moves only).

5. How to play Dama Luciano

• Levels: three difficulties (Easy, Medium, Hard) corresponding to the computer's calculation depth. You can choose to play White (moves first) or Black.
• Moving: click one of your pieces (playable ones have a gold border), then click the highlighted destination square. Multiple captures are played one jump at a time: the game highlights where you can continue.
• ↶ Undo: takes the game back to before your last move, also undoing the computer's reply (also Ctrl+Z).
• 💡 Hint: highlights a good move calculated by the computer.
• Record: the top-right panel counts wins, losses and draws for the selected level, with a reset button.
• Automatic saving: the game is saved at the start of each of your turns; if you close the page you can resume it later.

6. Strategy Tips

• Control the centre: central pieces have more moves and more capture opportunities.
• Don't empty your back row: as long as your base men stay put, your opponent cannot easily crown a king.
• Exploit the forced capture: offering a piece can force your opponent into a costly capture (the classic checkers "shot").
• Crown first: a king against men alone is often decisive, especially since men cannot capture it.
• Move as a group: isolated men are targets; advancing in formation lets them protect each other.

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