How to play Amberstride
Capture every opposing piece, or leave the other player without a legal move. Amber moves first and travels toward the top of the board; Slate travels toward the bottom.
Move and capture
- Use only dark squares. A man moves one diagonal square forward into an empty square.
- A man captures forward by jumping over an adjacent opposing piece into the empty square just beyond it. Captured pieces leave the board.
- If any piece can capture, you must choose a capture. When several routes are available, you may choose any route; it need not capture the most pieces.
- After a jump, keep jumping with that same piece if another capture is available. The highlighted piece stays locked until the chain finishes.
Kings and crowning
A man reaching the far row becomes a king, marked K. This ends the turn immediately, including when it arrived by jumping. A newly crowned king cannot add another jump during that turn.
A king moves one diagonal square forward or backward. It captures an adjacent opposing piece by landing one square beyond it in either direction. Kings do not slide across several empty squares.
Play modes and starting boards
Computer lets you play Amber against a local computer controlling Slate. Two players lets both sides use the same device. Both modes use the same movement rules.
Full game starts with 12 men each. The three short starting boards are original practice positions: a two-jump finish, a crowning example and a backward king capture. They use the same win and draw rules.
Select and undo
Select one of your movable pieces, then a marked destination. Arrow keys move focus between dark squares. Enter or Space selects a piece or destination; Home and End move to the first or last dark square in a row.
Undo turn restores the whole last turn, including every jump in a chain. Against the computer, it also removes the computer’s reply so you can choose your previous turn again. During a computer wait, undo cancels that wait.
Show move outlines a legal route without playing it. A route with several jumps must be completed. New game replaces an unfinished game after confirmation; Play again restarts the same starting board after a result.
Draws
Amberstride automatically declares a draw when the same board position occurs for a third time with the same player to move. It also draws after 40 complete turns by each player with no piece captured and no ordinary man moved: 80 consecutive king-only turns. Any man advance or capture resets that counter. A player with no legal move loses.
Rule reference
The movement and capture rules follow the World Checkers/Draughts Federation’s official English rules, sections 1.15–1.21 and 1.30–1.32. This site applies the repetition and 40-move draw conditions automatically. Amberstride’s name, artwork, controls and practice layouts are original; it is independent of the federation.