Draughts A Plenty (Checkers)

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Product:	Checkers
Date:	02/11/00 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Board can be used for other games.

Disadvantages: None.

The well known game of Checkers, as our American cousins call it, is in reality good old English Draughts played on a chess board.

However the draught board and the draughtsmen can also be used for a number of other games. There's Cat and Mouse, sometime known as Fox and Goose, for a start and also Chinese Checkers.

Two players seek to outwit each other in an attempt to get one piece from one side of the board to the other.

The Cat has four pieces, usually black and representing the four paws of the animal, are placed on the black squares at one end of the board.

The Mouse represented by a white piece is placed on any of the four black squares at the other end of the board.

The Cat is only able to move forward whilst the little Mouse can go forwards or backwards. All pieces can only move diagonally.

The Mouse makes the first move and the cat responds by moving one of it's paws. During the game the Mouse cannot move onto a square adjacent to the Cat as the Cat will get him. Likewise if the Cat's paw occupies a square adjacent to the Mouse, the Mouse must move away or be killed.

The game ends when the mouse is either killed, gets past the Cat or the Cat traps it into a corner so that it's only move is to occupy a square next to a paw. Doesn't take all that long.

At first glance it may seem like the odds are stacked in the Cat's favour but this is not the case as a clever Mouse can tease the Cat into leaving an opening for the Mouse to scamper through.

Once you tire of that you could try Chinese Checkers.

Each player lines up their pieces in three rows of four filling up the right hand corner of their side. Like this --
B is for Black, W is for White and 0 is for empty square.
BBBB0000
BBBB0000
BBBB0000
00000000
00000000
0000WWWW
0000WWWW
0000WWWW

The pieces can move forwards, sideways and backwards but not diago
nally.

A player can either move one of his pieces one square at a time or jump over his own and the other player's pieces if there is an empty square to jump in to. Multiple jumps are permitted and can be the key to winning. Pieces are not lost when jumped over and the first person to get their pieces in the opposition's corner is the winner.

At first glance this may look like an easy, peasy game to play but strategy plays a big part where setting up a long path to jump might gain you some moves. It might not if your opponent spots what you're trying to do and moves a vital piece or blocks you path. Also making sure you don't get your corner piece trapped is something to look out for.

Chinese Chequers makes a pleasant change from the standard draughts and could just be the answer to the, "Mum I'm bored" shout from the kids.

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