Checkers

C652 Wood Checker Pieces

C652 WOOD CHECKERS
1" diameter
$8.00

The History of Checkers

Checkers has rather a checkered past. While the basics of checkers have changed little over the centuries, checkers have gone through it's share of names and rules changes. The history of checkers starts in 1400 B.C., where it was known as "Alquerque" in ancient Egypt. Alquerque was played on a 5 x 5 point board with the pieces starting in a non-symmetrical pattern.

Around 1100 A.D., the French decided to play Alquerque on a chess board instead of the standard Alquerque board, and this new game was called "Fierges"/"Ferses" which later changed to "Dames". Dames did not force a player to take enemy pieces when the opportunity presented itself. In 1535, the French changed the rules to forcing a player to take an enemy piece whenever possible, resulting in a new game called Jeu Force. In 1727, a faction of Jeu Force players in France split off from the mainstream, playing the game on a 10 x 10 square board, which became known as Continental Draughts.

In England, Jeu Force continued to be played on a 64 square board and eventually was renamed Draughts. When Draughts was taken to the New World, it once again changed its name, this time to Checkers.

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