Alquerque (ancient checkers)

Origins

El Qirkat” from Arabic: القرقات, first mentioned in 10th century, came to Europe via Spain. In France adapted to the chessboard, later leading to modern draughts/checkers.

Setup

Goal

Capture or lock in all of the opponent’s pieces

Game ends

When a player has no more pieces left or cannot make any move

Game play

Players take turns, each time using only one of their pieces:

Differences to checkers

The rules described above

Ending an inconclusive game

An evenly matched game can lead to situations where no player can gain a clear advantage to win. The players can either agree to call it a tie or keep going until one player gives up.