Kinged

Week 11

By Kyle (design & code) · Released 2026-07-23

Kinged is straight American checkers on a lacquered board in a dark club room. Jumps are forced, chains keep going, and a piece that reaches the far row gets crowned. The Rookie hangs pieces. The Champ makes you pay for yours. A move list in real checkers notation fills in beside the board while you play, and two people can share one screen in pass and play.

How to play

• Move your dark pieces diagonally forward, one square at a time.
• Jump a red piece to capture it. Jumps are mandatory when available.
• Keep tapping each landing square to finish a multi-jump chain.
• Reach the far row to crown a king. Kings move and jump backward too.
• Capture or block every red piece to win.

Desktop: Click a piece, then a glowing square. One click per hop in a jump chain. Arrow keys or WASD move the cursor, Enter or Space selects, H shows a hint, Escape pauses. · Mobile: Tap a piece, then tap a glowing square. Keep tapping to finish a multi-jump. The corner button pauses.

Why we built this

We made the computer prove every rival is beatable before shipping it. Checkers loves to end in draws, so finding an opening line where a careful player beats the Champ took thirty-four tries. The Rookie blunders on purpose. Teaching it to hang a piece convincingly was its own project.

FAQ

• Is Kinged free to play?

  Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download or signup.

• How do I play Kinged on my phone?

  Open it in your phone browser and hold it upright. The board fills the width and the move list sits below it. Sound starts after your first tap.

• Do I have to take a jump?

  Yes. Kinged uses standard rules, so captures are mandatory. The board only lights up legal squares, and it marks the pieces that must jump.

• Can two people play on one device?

  Yes. Two Players mode is pass and play on a single screen, with a banner that says whose turn it is.

• Is the hard difficulty fair?

  Yes. Every rival was proven winnable by an automated player before release. The Champ looks five moves ahead, so bring a plan.

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