The men move one square at a time; thus, the man on 22 can move either to 18 or 17; the man on 23 can move either to 19 or 18. The men can only move forwards, not backwards, until they have succeeded in reaching the bottom row of the adversary’s squares, When they are crowned by having a second man placed above them, They are then termed Kings, and can move either forwards or backwards as desirable.
A man may take an opponent's man by leaping over him and taking up the vacant square beyond him, the piece taken being removed from the board.
A man may take two or three men at one move, provided he can leap over each in succession. To understand this, place a white man at 18, 11, and 25, and a black man at 29, all other pieces being removed from the board. The black man can move and take the three white men, as he can leap to 22, 15, and 8, thus taking the men on squares 18, 11, and
Black.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||||
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||||
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||||
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | ||||
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | ||||
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
White.
25. A king can take both backwards and forwards any number of men, as long as a square is open. Thus, place a white man on 25, 26, 27, 19, 10, 9, and 17. A black king at 29 could take all these men at once, for he could leap from 29 to 22, taking 25 man; to 31, taking 26; to 24, taking 27; to 15, taking 1g; to 6, taking 10; to 13, taking 9; and to 22, taking 17, and taking all these in one move.
If a man take other men, and in the taking reach the bottom row, he cannot go on taking, as a king, until the adversity has moved.
Example.—Place a white man at 24, 7, 16, and 8, a black at 28. The black man takes 24 by leaping to 19, takes by leaping to 12, takes 8 by leaping to 3, and is there crowned; but cannot leap to 10, thus taking the man at 7, until the adversary has moved.
The game is won when all the adversary’s men are either taken or blockaded so that they cannot move, and it is drawn two kings or less remain able to move, in spite of the
Laws.—The following are the established laws of the game, which should be learned by every person who is desirous of a draught-player.
RULES OF THE GAME OF DRAUGHTS.
The chief laws for regulating the game of draughts are as follows:—
- Each player takes the first move alternately, whether the last game be won or drawn.
- Any action which prevents the adversary from having a full view of the men is not allowed.
- The player who touches a man must play him.
- In case of standing the huff, which means omitting to take a man when an opportunity for so doing occurred, the other party may either take the man, or insist upon his man, which has been so omitted by his adversary, being taken.
- If either party, when it is his turn to move, hesitates above three minutes, the other may call upon him to play; and if, after that, he delay above five minutes longer, then he loses the game.
- In the losing game, the player can insist upon his adversary taking all the men in case opportunities should present themselves for their being so taken.
- To prevent unnecessary delay, if one color have no pieces but two kings on the board, and the other no piece but one king, the latter can call upon the former to win the game in twenty moves. If he does not finish it within that number of moves, the game to be relinquished as drawn.
- If there are three kings to two on the board, the subsequent moves are not to exceed forty.
Advice.—The men should be kept as much as possible in a wedge form towards the center of the board. Avoid moving a man on the side square, for, when there, he is deprived of half his power, being able to take in one direction only.
Consider well before you touch a man, for a man once touched must be moved,
Avoid the cowardly practice of moving a man, and then, when you discover by your adyersary's move that you have committed an error, taking your move back. Stand the consequences though the game be lost, and next time you will be more careful. A game, even if won after replacing a man, is unsatisfactory, and not to be counted a victory, and often leads to disputes. The rules are made to avoid all argument and dispute, and the more closely, therefore, you obey these, the more harmonious will be your games.
Do not talk during a game, or whistle, or fidget by drumming with the fingers, or in any way act so as to annoy or worry an adversary. A game of draughts, though only a game, may be made a training process for much more important matters. A careless, thoughtless, or worrying draught-player will, undoubtedly, be the same character in worldly matters.
Never allow the loss of a game to cause you to lose your temper, for such a proceeding shows you to be more self-sufficient than intellectual. If beaten, it proves your adversary to be more experienced or quicker-sighted than yourself, and you should, therefore, use all your faculties to discover how he beats you.
As a rule, seek to play with a better player than yourself rather than with a worse, which is merely saying, "Endeavor to improve your own game rather than to instruct a worse player."
When you lose a game, avoid all disparaging remarks, such
