On-Line Checker Play Sites
A compendium, with commentary, of sites worth your time
As of November 2009, we are revising this page and gradually eliminating out-of-date reviews. We have made the editorial decision only to provide new reviews of worthwhile sites. There are plenty of poor sites out there; we're not doing you much of a service by spending our time---- and yours--- saying, "don't bother." We have eliminated sites that are not serious; sites that are obnoxious, especially play-for-money sites; and, alas, sites that have good checker play facilities but no players.
We look at several aspects of a web site:
Quality of Play means exactly what it says. How good are the available opponents?
Availability of Play describes how easy or hard it is to get a game within a reasonable amount of time. Availability and frequency of tournaments also factors here.
Interface describes both the feature set and the appearance and usability, with the feature set predominating: can you review previously played games, is there a convenient move list, etc.
Bottom line statements try to put together everything about the site to give an estimate of overall merit and desirability.
Again, it is very difficult to keep current with all of these sites. So, all ratings may not be complete or up-to-date at any given moment, and you may not agree with our ratings. Please help out: e-mail checkersites@bobnewell.net if you have more current information! Your input is REALLY appreciated!
Important note: these ratings have been often misinterpreted, so be clear on this point: sites are rated primarily for checkers. We do take into account overall value when rating a pay-to-play site, but checkers is our primary interest. We try to take into account as well the overall "feel" of a site; we'll downgrade a site that seems unfriendly, for instance.
Our intended audience for these ratings is for the most part the average "club level" player, who takes the game seriously and wishes to improve. Of course, players of all levels can and do make practical use of our ratings.
From time-to-time our qualifications for making these ratings are called into question. We have no problem with that, and we make no pretenses about our very modest checker skills. We do not claim to be more than we are. However, keep in mind that for better or worse we have thousands of regular readers and receive an overwhelmingly positive response to our work. So, while remembering who we are and are not, we do feel some justification in carrying on our work. But above all we feel the responsibility to respect our readers by being as fair and unbiased as possible.
Sites for Head-to-Head Play
Yahoo (updated November 2009)We don't care for the room/table interface very much. You have to "fish" for an available slot, or better yet, set up one of your own and wait. Results really vary although with so many players a game seems always available. Juvies hang out here in large numbers, although it's nothing like as bad as the Zone.
The board display and interface is fine; it's large enough and easy enough to use. There is the usual rating system; there are no game records; and there are some tournaments which unfortunately require a paid membership, which is very expensive (around $10 per month).
Bottom line: go here if you prefer quantity over quality and know how to sort out cheaters from real players. (Click here for screen shot.) Yahoo is another site that hasn't changed a lot over the years.
Kurnik (updated November 2009)
Kurnik, based in Poland, has become an outstanding head-to-head site, and is clearly the best overall choice today. The English interface is just fine (and there are many other languages if you don't prefer English). Kurnik provides a wide variety of game choices and a reasonable (and growing) number of checker players. International versions seem to dominate here, but if you want to play US rules there are generally a few games available, and at times quite a few. Some very skilled players are found here, including, it is said, the 3-move world champion.
The table setup is something like Yahoo, where you either fish for a slot or set one up on your own. It seems players are rather more serious than at many of the other free sites (this is a completely free site; I didn't even see any optional "premium" features).. Rooms are set up very nicely, with a wide variety of game time choices, and, get this: 3-move restriction is the default, with the range of 157 openings to select (or choose random select). Kurnik obviously wants to position itself as a top site for serious players to play head-to-head, and they are going about it in very much the right way.
At this writing, there are two automated tournaments per week, and they feature high-caliber play when they actually run. The game times are fairly short, in order to accommodate a large Swiss system tournament (7 rounds or more). The quality of play is impressive. This is definitely worth your time. The problem is that at present, three out of four tournaments are canceled due to lack of sufficient players. Still, it's worth showing up to see if the tournament runs; if more people would do that, more tournaments would run!
The board display and interface is very nice, with red and white pieces on a regulation green and buff board. The piece images are just a tiny bit fuzzy but the display is large and the overall effect is nice. Here is a screenshot.
Bottom line: the best head-to-head site for checkerists of all levels. A very well conceived site which takes checkers (and other games) seriously.
This site has a definite European flavor and is now frequented by numerous draughts players from Poland. The site is well-laid out and seems very easy to use, with a good board display. There is much potential here; the site has an elegant layout but there is much more in the way of international checkers than Anglo-American checkers. Requires Windows and the installation of a client program. We need to take a closer look at this site.
This site is certainly different, as this screenshot shows. We are not sure what to call this board display. Kiddie-style? Well, surprisingly enough, you get used to it pretty quickly and it really isn't quite as bad as it looks at first glance. We nearly disqualified this site as "not serious" except that there appear to be literally hundreds of players on-line at any given time. It's not as big as Yahoo ---- or its it? --- but it's quite something.
The quality of play seems lower-end with some better players. We need to examine it further.
Sites for Correspondence-Style Play
It's Your Turn (revised November 2009)
A paid membership allows access to members-only tournaments but there are still typically four tournaments a month for non-members (and up to five more for members), which is far more than any other site (although non-members will quickly run out of game slots and daily moves). The participation is very good, though down from the very high levels of earlier times. Beyond the first level, the play quality can be challenging. You can play either go-as-you-please or what the site calls "Pro Checkers" - 3 move restriction. Tournaments come in both formats. In addition, IYT offers "ladder" play with a number of choices of time limits, and a reasonably large number of participants (although the 3-move "Pro Checkers" ladders are conceptually broken -- you only play one side of an opening, not a pair of games).
The display is more than adequate, although there is chessboard notation around the edge of the board! The move list used to be horrible (i.e. didn't exist except as a series of screen links) and we had in fact offered an independent translation service. PDN now seems available for all new games. This is a big advance in convenience and utility for the serious player (though for 3-move restriction, errors in the notation persist). There are also good features to page through games, both yours and others. And, a nice touch: you can shield informal games from public view, but not tournament games. This seems to be exactly the right idea.
One interesting note: It's Your Turn does not maintain ELO-style ratings. This is, paradoxically, a very good thing, and must surely cut down on cheaters and computer users (but, alas, not eliminate them - not by a long margin). All the other turn-based sites keep ratings, and there are always people who will do anything, fair or not, to boost their rating.
Getting a good game is extremely easy and the frequent tournaments are attractive. A screenshot is here.
So, head on over, sign up, and start playing, right? Keep reading.
The site is poorly run and shows little regard for its customers. The customer service is widely recognized as somewhere between terrible and non-existent; the messaging system is primitive and poorly implemented (outgoing messages are not saved, for instance); and the site had some issues with its discussion forums, so the solution was to simply remove them altogether! In general it is not a "gemuetlich" site, if you know what we mean: players tend to be less friendly than on other sites, and with no message boards or club system, there is absolutely no social infrastructure. And if you have a problem, forget about getting help from the management.
Very little is done in the way of site updates and there have been no truly new games in a long time (just a few rule changes for some existing games).
So what's the bottom line? If you want a lot of checker play, a lot of tournaments, and generally good competition, it's here and there is more sheer volume than anywhere else. But you'll have to accept the rest of the package: disregard for customers, little or no support, a not-very-well-run site, and no social infrastructure. It's your turn; you decide.
GoldToken (revised November 2009)
Don't be put off by the name; this is not a "token" or gambling site. It is a site that is like It's Your Turn in that games are turn based over a period of time. You can play a certain amount for free, but memberships are quite affordable, ranging from $15 to $50 per year (oddly, prices have been going up rather than down as is the trend elsewhere), and allow for a lot of excellent interaction and participation. The display is as good as it gets, with a very appealing choice of board sizes and styles including some of the most elegant graphics anywhere. There are many useful features such as move playback. You can observe other players' games as well. Server reliability and speed is more than adequate, and the site administrator has assured members that an off-site backup strategy is in place.
A screenshot is here.
There is a very strong sense of community that seems unique to this site. Getting a game is really easy; there are enough checker fans of all skill levels through at least intermediate to make this a good site. Some high-end players are here too, including some members of the American Checker Federation and the New Zealand Checker Association.
There are checker tournaments roughly every month, although you need a paid membership for nearly all of these. There is a series of "clubs" available to paid members, and clubs often play each other or have ladders, which is a great deal of fun. The message boards and messaging systems are well done, very active, and quite uniformly courteous and polite. If you want to play a lot of checkers, joining one of the several on-site checker clubs will ensure it.
In fact, that's a feature we've neglected to mention in the past. The site administrator is adamant about maintaining a family-oriented and child-safe site. In an era of an increasingly dangerous, not to mention distasteful internet, GoldToken zealously maintains a high standard. This is something we can all appreciate. (This sometimes comes across as seemingly over-zealous censorship, but there is a process for appeals, and it all seems to work.)
GoldToken added a head-to-head playing feature a little while back, but it was not well-conceived and doesn't get a lot of use, although there are periodic tournaments and gatherings. Still, it's an additional option, and there is a "hybrid" feature that allows you to transform a turn-based game into a head-to-head game if both players are on-line and wish to do so.
The bottom line: playing on a site without putting up with constant swearing and innuendo, and run by a management staff that has a genuine interest in customers, is a pleasant experience (and unfortunately not a common one). This is possibly the top overall turn-based gaming site around. There is plenty of value for the informal player, and the site offers a rich palette of games, features, and friendly individual and community interaction; you will, however, want a paid membership.
Richard's PBeM server (Revised 20 August 2005)
This is the ultimate lo-tech hi-tech, as you will see in this screen shot. (The screen shot did not come out as well as I would have liked.) Richard's server has been serving up games by e-mail for 10 years (as of 2004) and doing it well, although there is a certain learning curve.
All games are played completely by e-mail. (There is now a site offering a graphical front-end to Richard's server, but alas, not for checkers.) You send challenges, moves, etc., by e-mail, by putting something like this in the subject line of your e-mail:
checkers move 357 chipschap secretpassword 12-16
which means, in checkers game number 357, chipschap moves 12-16. It's not as bad as you may think and you get used to it quickly.
As shown in the screenshot linked above, you get back an e-mail with a pure ASCII board display, which again is not as bad as you may think. The server replies, by the way, with lightning speed. You may or may not be comfortable with the ASCII display; you can always set up the position with a board and pieces, if you wish (not a bad idea in any event). There are, in addition, a whole host of commands to use to try out moves, check on game status, and on and on. By the way, the site is completely free and completely non-commercial, but donations are accepted (and if you use the service I think a donation would be the right thing to do).
To get a game, you issue a request to a mailing list. Getting a game does not appear to be much of a chore. However, one of the attractions of Richard's server is the incredible variety of games offered (easily topping anything else anywhere on the net), and players seem to like to try out many different games. So they don't necessarily come here for checkers. In fact, at present (January 2004) there is only one checker player with an established rating; the overall pool is pretty small. So, you might get a game but maybe not master level. That said, when I advertised for a game, I got one the next day, and it looks like a good one.
Richard's lo-tech hi-tech approach has one real advantage: all you need is e-mail. No special browser requirements, no Flash, no Java applets or Java script, not even HTML. Nothing but plain old e-mail and plain-old text display, suitable for use on anything that can get to the net. You can play on your e-mail enabled cell phone.
Bottom line: it's the ultimate in high-functionality, minimalist usability. Take along your cell phone and you can keep playing while on safari.
Brain King(Updated 19 September 2004) This is a site that has a substantial following, and it is said that many of the better players go here at times. My own exploration finds this to be the case. There are good, if infrequent, tournaments as well. The site is generally well done and well run, with some problems with server overload (there is a fund raising campaign as of early 2004 to upgrade the server). It is a European site and membership billing is in Euros, which makes perfect sense; a free membership, though, gives you plenty of play. The site used to have you play checkers with chess men, as this screen shot illustrates, but this has recently been fixed (although the screen shot needs updating!). The display now has options for very nice black and white checkers, with numeric checker notation instead of the previous algebraic-only.
This site seems to come close to It's Your Turn in terms of play quality, which is very good indeed; the features are about the same. Move lists are available for PDN download, and so are game histories. The site has much to recommend it. (May, 2006: Brain King has attracted quite a following and we will schedule a full revision of our review.)
Wyllie Online Draughts Club revised 30 April 2006
The site returned to operation in mid-November 2004 after about a year of downtime. Membership is relatively inexpensive at about $25 per year. Membership is small in numbers; when we checked it last it was perhaps a dozen or so players, but what players! We'd have to say that half or more of the members are recognized masters or grandmasters.
This doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get games with all of them, all of the time; but in the little while we've been on the site, we had no trouble finding all the play we could handle, and more. Given our own thoroughly average skills, we don't know if we would have found games with each and every elite player week after week, but these folks are most polite, courteous, and thoughtful, and we are certain that given a respectful approach, getting games on an ongoing basis is not a problem.
The site has all the features you would expect of one that caters to the serious checkerist, such as three-move restriction play, 11-man ballot play, game histories, etc. (You cannot look at other players' games, just your own.) The display is fine (screen shot to follow), and the site runs well and is well run. There is no "guest" membership, but there is a one-week trial for $1. A one-week trial period is really inadequate and you'll need a paid membership if you want to use the site after that.
The site is clearly about checkers and nothing but checkers. There is a rudimentary messaging system and a basic member's forum, but it's clear that the developer put his effort into checkers, ensuring that the serious checkerist will play in a good environment and enjoy special checker-related features that are hard or impossible to find elsewhere.
Unique to the site is the absolute requirement that you play under your real name, and the site operator takes pains to verify this. This cuts out pests and low-lifes at the very get-go.
There are now tournaments every month or so, and they are tournaments in which world-class play often takes place. Not for the faint of heart, these feature "hard" 3-move ballots and intense competition.
As of March 2005, beta-test of a "live play" option began but we've never been able to find other players on-line. This option is likely best used by pre-arrangement with another player.
This is clearly a super-high-end-play site. It is a serious and serious-minded place and is without any doubt the top checker site on the internet in terms of quality (even if not quantity). If you are a top-notch player, you'll want to be here (and may already be there). If you're the typical club-level player, interested in serioius play in a most conducive environment, WODC is for you. If you're a lower-level player, but don't mind losing (often) in return for valuable lessons and experience, and if you are sportsmanlike and polite, WODC offers you a rich checker experience unobtainable anywhere else.
If you're a whiner, a poor loser, or a pest, WODC doesn't want you. And that's a good thing, because the site operator insists on maintaining a gentlemanly (we mean the term in a gender-free sense) environment, so that checkers can be played in an enjoyable and professional manner. We imagine it to be much like a stately British draughts club from the 1880s, but carried out with modern technology.
The serious internet checkerist should, without any doubt, take a good look at WODC. It is a truly unique and very special place, and at a cost of under fifty cents per week, it provides plenty of value.
Emaildraughts
A site that's been around for a little while but somehow didn't get reviewed is emaildraughts.com. It's a completely free site, and seems fairly active; the paradigm is simple. You play against someone whose email address is known to you by starting a game on the site, and then email is sent along. When it's your turn to move, you get an email with a link to take you to your game.
The game itself uses Macromedia Flash, so you'll need to have that installed and recognized by your browser. The display is very plain black and white with black and white circles for pieces and a drag and drop movement system.
But things are a little weird. To start, it seems that the challenger can have either color and that color moves first. Then.... the double corner is on the left side. And.... the game does not enforce compulsory captures.
The double corner on the wrong side could conceivably be explained if a European variant was being played; the site has no documentation to indicate if this is the case. But the lack of a capturing rule?
Yes, it's a free site and so we can't be too demanding, but we want to play real checkers, not someone else's mistaken notion of checkers. So we won't be going back anytime soon.
A screen shot is here.
Play head-to-head on Kurnik during their busier periods, and especially play the tournaments. Kurnik is in the running for best overall head-to-head game site.
For turn-based play, It's Your Turn "has the numbers" but due to poor site management you'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it.
Gold Token offers the best balance of friendliness, cleanliness, and fun casual play, and now offers some higher-end action.
Appendix: What Style of Play is Best for You?
In our site discussions above, we've separately listed sites for head-to-head (HTH) and turn-based (TB) play. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each style, and which might be best for you?
We once suffered from some misconceptions about this, but have cleared it all up. Here are some things to consider.
Available time. We once thought that if you had just a little free time or lots of schedule constraints, you should play TB, since you just have to spend a little time each day making your moves. This idea, in fact, may be incorrect. If you have a very constrained schedule, you may actually not be able to play every day or two or three! This is especially so if your business life involves frequent or extended travel, or if you take vacations of a week or more. While some sites have vacation provisions, some do not (It's Your Turn, for instance, does not allow interruption of tournaments). This means that you're either scrambling to find a net connection or forfeiting games. And, as tournaments can go on for months and months (especially if you win a round or two) you may be making a much greater commitment than you might have thought. If you get involved in three or four tournaments, you may have 20 games going, and that can be a lot, if you want to do more than make any old move (which is a waste of both your time and your opponent's time). In addition, some tournaments run for a very long time (literally months and years). You might finish a round, and then the next round could start up three months later, at a very inconvenient time for you, and you're stuck with either playing when you don't wish to, or can't, or forfeiting your games. So, for the very busy person, HTH might be the better choice! You play when you have time and finish the games on the spot.
Play Quality. TB play, when done in the right spirit, undoubtedly produces better games, at least mostly. The reasons are that you can use reference books (not computers though as that is generally considered cheating), and you can take a really long time (many hours if you wish) to choose a move. You can play out positions on a board; you can look things up in databases; you can try every conceivable variation. (This all takes time and touches on factor 1 above.) Now, not everyone, in fact, only a few players, actually do this, so you'll find that a lot of TB games aren't played all that well. But the prospect is still there, and some of the best games found are TB.
Learning. It isn't completely clear which method of play is the better teacher; they both help you learn in somewhat different ways. With TB play, you can use lots of references. This is both bad and good. It means you'll be reinforcing your learning with good moves, not bad ones; but it also means that you might be just copying moves from a book rather than understanding what you're doing. With TB play, you can take your time and avoid most serious blunders; you can explore variants and really develop your analytical capabilities. This only translates partly into HTH or cross-board play ability, though, where powers of visualization, original thinking, and quick evaluation are all required. Some of the world's best TB players aren't so highly ranked in HTH play, and I'm sure the reverse would be true. A mix of both types of play is probably the best choice, if your free time allows for this. One difficulty with internet HTH play is that it is generally too fast, with games of 5 minutes per side, and usually even less, being dominant. 15 minute games would be a lot better, but then you'll have trouble finding players (the internet is all about instant gratification).
Enjoyment. As we've mentioned many times on this web site, "it's supposed to be fun." If it isn't you're missing the point entirely. Both TB and HTH play can be very enjoyable, although at times we find TB can become a bit of a chore (especially if you've subscribed to too many games or tournaments and things pile up). You need to try out both styles to see what suits you in this regard. HTH play seems to have, for us, a little higher "fun" factor in that we can play as much or little as we want at any given moment. There are no extended commitments which might become a burden at times.
In times to come: There are surely more out there. If you know of some that we should spend some time at and then review, write me at bnewell@bobnewell.net and let us know about them.
Errors, inaccuracies, and unfairness: Please write bnewell@bobnewell.net and let me know, so we can make amends and corrections, if warranted. Our reviews are completely independent and we "call them as we see them." However if we have made incorrect statements or given incorrect ratings, which can be refuted with facts, rather than opinions, we will be happy to make necessary changes.
Endnotes: Like the rest of the Internet "free" scene, on-line play is changing. Remember the days of free long distance, free on-line storage and all that? Free on-line play is diminishing as well, as more and more sites add "premium" options or the dreaded play for cash and play for tokens business. It isn't all bad; a site that uses paid memberships, at least when the price is reasonable, ensures that only truly interested players will be there. We do wish that some of the expensive "premium" memberships, though, which can cost $10 a month or so, offered more value. And the cash/token sites, which really are just on-line gambling all dressed up, have little appeal. We want to play checkers as a hobby and not as a gambling game. It's not backgammon, you know.
The worst trend is a downward spiral in the quality and availability of head-to-head on-line play. Yahoo has its issues, and Zone and VOG are no longer viable options, although Kurnik is on the rise.
We don't know where this will all end. It's clear that on-line checkers for the serious player will survive in some form or forms. But some judgment and selectivity is already needed and will be even more essential in days to come. We plan to try to keep our site reviews updated as best we can to keep us all in touch with the best options. Please help the cause by writing to us with your own ideas, suggestions, and comments. And do let us know about new sites or changes to old sites.
Bob Newell, Santa Fe, New Mexico; last modified 11/10/09 .
