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National Checkers Day

Hobby · September 23

A day for checkers, the board game of diagonal moves, jumps and kings, played on a simple checkered board with two sets of round pieces.

National Checkers Day falls on Thursday, September 23, 2027. That is 331 days away.

Checkers is a two-player board game played on the dark squares of an eight by eight board. Each player starts with twelve round pieces, moves them diagonally forward, and captures by jumping over an opponent's piece into an empty square beyond it.

The rules fit on an index card, which is part of the appeal. A child can learn them in a few minutes, yet the game rewards patience and a little foresight. Reach the far side of the board and your piece is crowned a king, usually by stacking a second piece on top, and from then on it can move backward as well as forward. Win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or leaving them with no legal move.

Many people know checkers from a worn cardboard box in a closet, a park table with the board painted on, or a long afternoon with a grandparent who never seemed to lose. It travels well. Bottle caps, coins or buttons can stand in for missing pieces, and a board can be drawn on paper in a minute.

In many common rule sets, a capture is mandatory. If you can jump, you must, and players who forget this tend to find out quickly. Some families play it loose, which may explain a few old disagreements.

Ways to celebrate

• Teach someone the rules and play a first game together.
• Draw a board on paper and use coins as pieces.
• Look for a park or cafe with a checkers table.
• Try playing with forced captures if you usually skip that rule.
• Dig out an old board and count whether all the pieces survived.

Dates

All national days on September 23

Also on September 23

• National Great American Pot Pie Day
• First Day of Fall
• Go With Your Gut Day
• National Snack Stick Day

Categories: Hobby days