The Right Equipment

Official rules and the quest for nice checkers and draughts equipment

Most new checkers and draughts players do struggle early on to get the right equipment sorted.

While it is easy to get some cheap board and just play… is it the same joy as having a decent board and pieces to look at? Didn’t think so eighter. So let’s look for the right equipment for your new passion.

In order to keep it smooth let us just use the standard of the World Checkers and Draughts Federation (WCDF).

This is the most widely agreed standard. While other local associated Federations might vary with board and pieces the variations will only be minor.

This is the most widely agreed standard. While other local associated Federations might vary with board and pieces the variations will only be minor.

The right board

According to the rules it should be

• The draughtboard is composed of 64 squares, alternately light and dark arranged in a square array of 8 rows and 8 columns and bounded by a neutral border.
• The official draughtboard for use in all major events shall be of Green and White (or off white/cream) colors for the dark and light squares.
• The size of the squares of the draughtsboards should be between 4.5 and 5 centimeters.

The right pieces

• At the beginning of a game, one player has 12 dark-colored discs (referred to as “pieces” or “men”), and the other player has 12 light-colored discs.
• The official draught pieces shall be of RED and WHITE colors for the dark and light pieces, respectively. These are sometimes referred to as “Black” and White” in the games’ literature.
• The pieces shall be a cylindrical shape of uniform diameter, measuring not less than 3 centimeters nor more than 4 centimeters They shall be of a uniform design with a height/thickness of not less than 5mm (3/16 inches) nor more than 9mm (3/8 inches).
• If other light and dark colored pieces and board are used the colors of the men must make a distinct contrast with the color of the squares of the board.

Now it brings up the question where to buy it? I would like to recommend the following two main sources.

Where to buy?

The American Checkers Federation Store

Their store will give you the right pieces (as in the picture above) and board and has many other useful resources like membership, books, game transcripts, etc.

The homepage has as well a lot a wealth of other resources and useful tips so check it out some more while your at it.

Alternatively your local chess or board game store

The right board

You will find a green and buff or green and white game board at almost every local board game or chess store. Your local search engine is your friend here.

The right pieces

Keep in mind the 5 to 9 mm above. You will find a rich resource of checkers pieces of various price points and sizes. Just enter checkers in the search bar and you will see plenty of available options.

Sure there are plenty of other sources but while doing research to write this article and browsing various pages. I found the two given to provide the best quality items and price range.

Trust this article will bring you on the track of getting your right equipment. If you do have any suggestions or comments just contact me in the contact section.