Checkers Set, Classic (Tactile)
Product Features
- A great tactile version of checkers.
- Perfect for both blind and sighted players.
- Boasts wooden checkerboard with plenty of space to lay out a game.
- White squares are elevated; black squares are recessed.
- Holes in center of squares to securely hold pieces in place.
- Raised dot on white pieces for tactile discrimination.
- Measures about 14 in by 9 in by 1 in.
- Package Weight: about 1.5 pounds.
Product Description
So you're not a big fan of chess games that seem to stretch on for hours on end ... Or perhaps you're new to the idea of playing board games by touch? well, it sounds as if our completely tactile version of checkers is for you!Just like our chess sets, every detail of this adapted version of checkers is tactual, allowing blind and sighted players to enjoy it together. The wooden checkerboard itself measures almost 9" by 13" - plenty of space to lay out a game of checkers. On the board, the white squares are raised above the black ones, and the squares even have holes in the center so the pieces won't fall over. As for the plastic checkers, the white pieces have a large dot on the top, and, of course, the kings are twice as large as the pawns. And again, you don't have to know Braille to play this game!
How to Play Checkers
Directions courtesy of Future Aids, The Braille Superstore.
The origin of the Checkers board game is rather uncertain. There are 13th century paintings that depict a checkered board, which leads historians to suspect that checkers may have been invented around 1000 AD. Most people think the baord game probably originated in the south of France and Spain, though there are also traces of checkered games in the middle east.
The game of Checkers, also called Draughts, is played on a board of sixty-four squares of alternate colors, usually referred to as black and white. Twenty-four pieces, called men, also of opposite colors, are located on the game board. The game is played by two persons, and each player takes a set of twelve men.
The object of the game is to capture all of the opponent's men, or block them so they cannot be moved. The person whose side is brought to this state loses the game.
The checker board must be placed between the two players in a position where the bottom-left square is black. The players toss a coin at the beginning of the match, and the winner has the choice of taking the black or white pieces. Then each player places his twelve men on the black squares of the first three rows of his end of the board. The player with the black men must move first.
Players alternately take turns, each moving one piece of their own color. The checkers are moved diagonally forward, left or right, one square at each turn. An opponent's piece is capture or taken when the player is able to diagonally jump forward one of his men over an opponent's piece and land on an empty square behind. The player may continue jumping and capturing pieces with the same man during the same move if possible.
When a piece reaches the last row on the opposite side of the Checkered Board, it is crowned and becomes a "King." A King can move diagonally forward and backward, and also has the power of capturing pieces in both directions. Our Classic Checkers set has four wider, taller pieces to serve as kings. If you're playing with our Travel Checkers set, just flip over your peg to crown it: the other side has a tactile notch and a different color.
A Draw occurs when neither of the players can force a win.
