Alquerque

How to play Alquerque?

Alquerque is a very old game played on a 5x5 grid with diagonal lines and is considered one of the precursors of checkers. Each player has 12 pieces; pieces move along a line to an adjacent empty square or jump over an adjacent opponent’s piece to an empty square on the same line, capturing it. Capturing is mandatory, and if consecutive captures are possible, the chain continues. On the Oyun Treni website, you can play against the computer at three difficulty levels, against another player on the same device, or online with a friend.

1. Each player has 12 pieces. The spot in the exact center of the board is empty at the start. You make the first move (red).
2. The pieces move one space at a time along the lines on the board (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines) to an adjacent empty space.
3. If the space immediately behind an adjacent opponent’s stone is empty, you can jump over it along the same line to capture that stone; the captured stone is removed from the board.
4. You must capture a piece. If you can capture pieces in succession with the same piece, you must continue the chain; the choice of which pieces to capture is up to you.
5. You win if you capture all of your opponent’s pieces or prevent them from making any moves. If no pieces are captured during the 60 moves, the game ends in a draw.

Alquerque strategy tips

• Don't leave your stones unprotected; a stone with no open space behind it where an opponent could move into cannot be captured.
• The central point is the point on the board with the most connections; a piece placed there poses a threat to capture in multiple directions.
• Since you are required to capture a piece, you can deliberately sacrifice a piece to your opponent to force them into a position where they are vulnerable to your capture sequence.

Alquerque history

Alquerque is a very ancient board game whose name derives from the Arabic term "el-kırkat" and which is considered a precursor to checkers. It was widely played in the Islamic world and in Spain during the Middle Ages, and its rules were recorded in King Alfonso X of Castile’s Book of Games, dated 1283.

Later, when the same gameplay logic was transferred to a grid-like board without lines, the game of damas emerged. Alquerque’s 5x5 diagonal board shares the same grid pattern today as the Game of the Tiger (Bagh-Chal).

Other names: Qirkat, Al-Quirkat, Twelve-piece Alquerque