I think Jump Checkers has pretty deep strategy. Between deciding to split jump or force your your way to the King Row, it can be pretty tough in the early going. When it gets near to being all Kings is when you find yourself checking far to make sure before making it all Kings.

AbigailII: Jump Checkers might not ever win any popularity events, but the game itself is unique as compared to so many of the Checkers variants on this site, which all seem to just be the same game with minor diferences. Jump Checkers has a completely different play feel to it. Much more Chess like. No double jumps, capturing is optional, split jumps, direct capturing of pieces, three distinct stages of play as the game develops. Various strategies for breaking through for a King or trying to foil your opponent's attempts to get a King or two for himself. Even sacrificing material for positional advantage can happen a lot more often than in Checkers and Checker variants though of course nothing like doing so in Chess.

It has no luck in it, so I suppose it'll never break the top sixty amongst those that just have to have some dice or other random mechanism in their games to have fun, but for those of us that like playing game where the outcome is mostly or wholely dependent on what the players do as compared to some outside factor, this is the kind of game I would rather play. AS far as I know, the game is balanced as to which side has the advantage at the start of the game, unlike some games here where one side has an often overwhelming advantage.(Maharaja Chess, Horde Chess) or a slight advantage (Pente), or where it is not determined if one side or the other has an advantage, but the play for each side is different for each side and dependent on who goes first as in Atomic Chess.

As for how many games are played as to determining if those games are more popular than ones that are played less, I'm not so sure that is the only way to gauge a game's popularity. Some games just take longer to play and require more study to play them well as compared to games that you just want to play a quick game of and not overly tax yourself in making the best move possible. Compare Ludo to Dark Chess or Embassy Chess. Games like Backgammon can be played on a very high level, but the best move is often times the only move and this makes for a faster game too. And then there's the luck factor which can make all the study in the world moot if you keep rolling double sixes and fives all game. I could quite easily play a few hundred games of Baclgammon on this site at one time with a short time limit as compared to say 80 games of Dark Chess with a longer time limit and even then I might make poor moves or run out of time. I've never played Ludo, but it looks quite a bit like "Sneak Around the Wigwam" and I know I could play at almost expert level of that and play fast as compared to just a couple games of Extinction Chess against a good player.

Fencer reads this board, though he seems to be more of a Chess variants fan than Checkers variant fan. Least ways when there was a flurry of Checkers variants added a few months ago, he was reading here often.

I'm still waiting for Jump Checkers to get added to the site. It'll take the Checker's variant world by storm. :)

Fencer: Good morning! I just woke up myself. We do indeed live in different time zones.

I'll see what I can do, post it back here in a few days, and send you a copy too. It may not shrink in size much since so much of the game is completely different than regular Checkers. I can just list the differences and that should be a lot smaller, though that might not tell one how to play the game. I suppose it will make it easier for a regular Checker player to know what's coming and be ready by the second game.

coan.net: I posted how to play Jump Checkers right on this discussion board eleven posts back on December 8th, 2007
Checkers variants (8x8) (Walter Montego, 2007-12-09 01:42:49)
and some pointers on how to play right after that post. It's an obscure game that I'm sure would not make any lists as you suggest. It first needs to have a few people play it and see if they like it or not. I think just from that post one could program Jump Checkers for this site. IF Fencer has any questions about the play, I'll be happy to answer them.

Two months have gone by since I posted about Jump Checkers and you about International Checkers. Neither game is avaiable here as of yet, but a slew of other games are. Obscure games I might add, plus some that were just made up and put into play right here because Fencer or someone else wanted to play them. I think Jump Checkers would be a great addition to the site. It'd certainly help its reputation as a player's and inventor's place to play. I don't know International Checkers, but you make it sound as if it is a widely played game, so I'm kind of puzzled why it isn't on here too.

Gabriel Almeida: Why not have those games and Jump Checkers? Those games you mention are all just slight variations of the same game. Yes, that makes them different games, but not as much as the differences between Atomic, Extinction, Embassy, Loop, Dark, or Giveaway Chess variants. As for Jump Checkers, it truly is a different kind of Checkers. Play a couple of games and see for yourself.

You got me curious about the Checkers games that are on this site. That's a rather strange and incomplete list, I will agree with you there! It looks rather skewed towards Czech versions too, which I assume is the flying Queen/King rules. This might have something to do with where Fencer is from?

Just regular ol' Checkers has a few variants in the playing rules that I'm sure aren't available as choices here, either. I never play Checkers, but it is a challenging game. I sure wouldn't play the game online as it can now be played perfectly by machines and computer programs. Is there a Dark Checkers version? Would it be or is it as playable as Dark Chess is?

I'm still rooting for Jump Checkers. Maybe Fencer will never add it, but at least he knows of the game, and now you do too. He's added other obscure games here and I've seen him add games that were made up on the fly, like how Ambiguous Chess was added to the site. Jump Checkers may not be widely known or even played any more, but it isn't just some game out of the blue. Well, yes I guess it is! :) And if it does get added, I'll play it. And you'll get an invitation too.

Yeah, that was rather underwhelming, but I suppose I'll go ahead and post the rest just in the case a Checker Variant enthusiast might give the game a try and have some questions about the play.
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A King is a lot stronger than a Man. A Man just has two movement places compared to a King's six. A Man can be blocked just by putting any piece in front of it though such a blocked Man can jump over the blocking piece if it can make a capture or split jump. A Man can only capture by jumping over any piece first, whereas a King can capture simply by moving sideways or jumping over any piece forwards or backwards and landing on an opponent's piece and a King can capture a King straight across too. A King early in the game can clear out the opponet's backrows very quickly by capturing moving sideways, so you have to prevent your opponent from getting a King unless you are able to get one yourself. A split jump can fight off a King as it can be split apart moving one of the Men sideways. This can keep a King away from the split jump or force the King next to the split jump and then to jump over the split jump to get past it safely.
The Men can make split jumps and this can be a powerful set up. As the split jump is moved apart you can relay the Man forward and get behind the opponent's defense. A split jump is vulnerable to attack right next to it though and a good threat is to immediately jump one of your Men towards the split jump setting up the capture of the split jump on the next turn, thereby forcing your opponent to play out the split jump instead of letting him keep it there threatening you.
When the game is nearing the all Kings stage you have to be carefull because when the last Man is off the board the Kings get the extra capturing move and this can be a lot of trouble if you haven't prepared for it.
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Walter Montego: (1. November 2007, 00:04:12) No, a piece may jump over any piece to make a capture. The piece that is jumped over remains where it is.
Kings can jump any piece and do not have to make a capture unless the jumping lands on a piece. Nothing happens if a Kings jumps a piece and lands on an unoccupied square.
Men can only jump an opponent's piece if they make a capture or a split jump. Men MAY NOT jump an opponent's piece and land on an unoccupied square. Men can always jump over their own side's piece (King or Man) and land on an unoccupied square.

A split jump is a special move. Only the Men can make it, never a King or Kings. To do a split jump a Man must jump ANY piece of EITHER player and land on a Man of HIS side. The two Men occupy the square together. Yes, there's usually not room enough to accomodate them so you might lean one on the other or you can just have them side by side in the square overlapping into the unused colored squares, just don't stack them on top of each other as it'll look like a King and that is not what it is. If you're playing in a noisy enviroment or with someone that's not paying too close of attention to the game for some reason, you might also point out to your opponent that you just made a split jump. This can help prevent confusion or an argument from developing.

I'm not sure if I'm clear on the jumping. All jumps in Jump Checkers cover the same distance. The piece that's going to do the jumping must be right next to the piece that's going to be jumped. When the jump is complete, the piece that did the jumping is on the square immediately on the other side of the jumped piece. That's it. No roaming or flying Queens. It looks like a jump in regular Checkers except that the piece that is jumped over is never captured.

Men can capture in two ways. (1) By jumping ANY piece and landing on the opponent's piece in the immediate square after the jumped piece. (2) By moving off of a split jump. When one of the two Men that occupy a square in a split jump is moved it must go to one of three squares. Orthogonally sideways or forward straight across. If an opponent's piece occupies the square, it is captured.
Kings capture in four ways. (1) They can jump any piece and land on an opponent's piece. (2) They can move orthogonally sideways and if the square is occupied by an opponent's piece, the piece is captured. (3) If an opponent's King is orthogonally straight ahead or behind the King, the King may move to capture the opponent's King by occupying that King's square. (4) At the stage of the game when the only pieces on the board are all Kings, a King may capture an opponent's King by moving diagonally two squares. (This move looks like a jump and landing on a King without a piece being jumped)

Captures are optional. No double jumps. In Jump Checkers you have to guard your pieces similar to how it is done in Chess. Trades are like that too. The not having to make a capture rule is one thing that makes Jump Checkers a lot different than most Checkers variants. Having two Men on one square is different too. And no double jumps is another. Kings are a lot stronger than Men, so make sure you don't let your opponent get a King unless you can get one yourself or have a defensive line that the King can't break up or else that King will eat up all your pieces in a few moves and the game will be over. When you have two Men in a split jump, you can control the three squares that one of the Men must move to when the split jump is broken up. A King can't easily fight against a split jump unless he can position a piece to jump onto the split jump. As I said earlier, one way to fight split jumps is to immediately jump a piece towards the square with the split jump's two Men on it. This threatens to capture the two Men in the split jump and it attacks it from the diagonal. The split jump Man leaves orthogonally. It'll take a few games of play to see how to use split jumps to your advantage and also how to thwart them. Though this may seem obvious, you should never make a split jump that is subject to immediate capture! You'll lose two Men and I can't imagine a position where that would be a favorable outcome.

I'm assuming your search for Jump Checkers came up empty?

Kevin Hill in 1975 made this game up while him and Steve Owens were having a discussion about how to play Checkers. I used to play it a lot back then, but it more or less died out. Talking with Bepop on this site got me to remembering the game. Like Kevin's Embassy Chess, he hasn't gotten around to setting up a web page or site about the game. He says it'll happen soon. I saved some of the conversation with Bepop and will post it in a day or so if there's any questions about the play if someone wants to give Jump Checkers a play or two.
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Jump Checkers is set up like regular checkers on an 8 × 8 board. The play of the game is only on the 32 dark colored squares. There's two kinds of pieces in the game, Men and Kings. So far it's like regular Checkers, eh? Jump Checkers is won in the same manner as regular Checkers; the player that moves last wins the game.

The Men move one square diagonally forward. They may also jump over one of their own Men or Kings and land on the unoccupied square directly afterward (Chinese Checkers style). The Men may not jump the opponent's Men or Kings unless they are making a capture or split jump. A capture by a Man is made by jumping over ANY piece and landing on the square directly after the jumped piece that is occupied by the opponent. The enemy piece is removed from the board. There are no double jumps and capturing is not mandatory. Strictly optional.
A split jump is similar to a capture, except that the Man lands in a square already occupied by a Man of his side. When this happens, both Men occupy the square together. They are not put together into a King, but remain two separate Men. When one of the Men in a split jump is moved his place to be moved to is one of three squares. Either directly across orthogonally or to one of the orthogonally side squares. If the square is occupied by the opponent, it is captured. The Man left behind in a split jump is just a regular Man again and moves like he did before becoming a part of the split jump. If the opponent can move to a square occupied by two Men in a split jump, he captures them both if he chooses to move there. Kings may not be a part of a split jump, only the Men. If a split jump Man is moved to a square held by the player with a Man, it is a split jump and the two Men are as usual in a split jump.
When a Man reaches the last row of the board he is promoted to a King. This is done in the usual way by placing a Checker on top and crowning him. A King can move like a Man and also has extra movement and capturing abilities. A King may move one square diagonally in any direction. A King may move sideways orthogonally to the next square that's part of the board. If a King moves sideways to such a square and it has an opponent's piece or split jump there, it is captured. A King may move straight across forwards or backwards orthogonally only to capture an opponent's King. A King cannot make this move to capture an opponent's Man or an opponent's split jump, only a King, and a King may not make this move without capturing. A King may jump any piece and land on the square directly afterwards without making a capture. If a game becomes a game where all the pieces on the board are Kings, a King gets one more capturing ability. When it is all Kings, a King may capture another King that is two squares away diagonally. (Think of it as if the King had jumped a piece and landed on the King)

That's the rules. :) It's simple enough, but it plays a lot differently than regular Checkers. It can get complicated too.

This is a good variant. Any chance of getting it added to the site? I can post a general how to play if anyone is interested right here.