Alquerque

About Alquerque

Alquerque is the medieval line-game that draughts descends from, carried into Spain a thousand years ago and drawn on the backs of chessboards ever since. Twelve men a side on the twenty-five points of the old web, against the Netmender: step along the lines, leap what stands adjacent, and never decline a capture, for the leap is the law. Play solo, or take a seat at a live, rated table. Free in your browser, no ads, no sign-up.

How to play

Men move one point along any drawn line — every point joins its orthogonal neighbours, and the diagonals run only where the web draws them. If a man can leap an adjacent foe to the empty point straight beyond, he MUST, and the leap chains as long as it runs. Strip the far side bare, or seal it so nothing moves, and the game is yours. A game past two hundred moves is reckoned by men standing.

Controls

• Tap a manShow where he may go
• Tap a lit pointStep or leap there

Tips

Every point you stand on is a point you can be leapt from: read the landing before the harvest. The diagonal points carry eight lines and cut both ways. Trade only when the count favours you, and remember the forced leap can be a door you open for the foe on purpose.