Play Alquerque — Checkers' Ancestor
Before checkers, there was this: twelve against twelve on the lined board of Alfonso X's Book of Games (1283). Step along the lines, jump to capture, chain your combos, and clear the board.
What is Alquerque?
Alquerque is the missing link of board-game history: the game checkers came from. Two sides of twelve pieces face each other on a 5×5 lattice of points joined by lines — every point connects orthogonally, alternate points also carry diagonals — with only the centre point empty. Pieces step one point along a line; an enemy standing adjacent with an empty point beyond can be jumped and captured, and jumps chain into combos exactly as they would later do in checkers. Empty the enemy side, or paralyse it, and the game is yours.
The family is over a thousand years old — boards are carved into the temple roof at Kurna in Egypt, and the Arabic game qirq appears in the 10th-century Kitab al-Aghani. But we can play it today because of one spectacular document: the Libro de los Juegos, the illuminated games manuscript King Alfonso X of Castile commissioned in 1283, which describes alquerque de doze — "alquerque of twelve" — in enough detail to reconstruct. Sometime around that era players moved the game onto the chessboard's dark squares, restricted movement to diagonals, added promotion, and draughts was born. Playing Alquerque is playing checkers' childhood.
How to Play
Alquerque Tips & Strategy
Alquerque is sharper than checkers — every piece can move backward, so threats come from everywhere. These habits win.
Count the lines, not the pieces
Alternate points carry diagonals and alternate points do not. A piece on a diagonal point attacks up to eight directions; on a plain point, four. Post your pieces on diagonal points and force the enemy onto plain ones, and equal material stops being equal.
The centre is a trap for the greedy
The centre point sees every diagonal and looks commanding — but a piece there can be jumped from four lines. Occupy it only when the landing points behind you are covered, and bait enemies onto it when they are not.
Feed one, eat two
The oldest combo in the family: offer a piece where the enemy's capture lands them on a point you can jump from twice. Because chains exist, a well-built sacrifice trades one piece for two or three — the same engine that powers checkers shots, a few centuries early.
Keep a back line late
With no promotion there is no rush to advance everything. In the endgame, pieces guarding your rear lines deny the enemy safe landing points, and a compact three-piece triangle is nearly impossible to combo. Advance as a block, never as a spray.
From Temple Roof to Checkerboard
Few games can trace a lineage like this one. Scratched boards at Kurna's temple in Egypt may be nearly three thousand years old; the game travelled with Arabic culture into Iberia as al-qirq, gave Spanish its name alquerque, and earned a full illustrated chapter in Alfonso X's 1283 manuscript alongside chess and dice. Its 5×5 lined lattice became a template: Bagh-Chal plays its tiger hunt on the same lines in Nepal, Fox and Geese borrowed the cross-shaped variant in Europe, and when the pieces stepped onto the chessboard, Checkers inherited the jump.
What the descendants lost is worth experiencing: Alquerque's backward moves make it tactically wilder than checkers, and the mixed orthogonal-diagonal lattice adds a positional layer neither checkers nor Nine Men's Morris has. Games in the middle of an evolutionary chain often play like drafts — this one plays like a finished design that simply got outcompeted by its own child.
FAQ
Is Alquerque free to play?
Yes — Alquerque on vygam is completely free. You play against the computer in your browser with no download and no sign-up.
What is Alquerque?
Alquerque is the medieval board game that checkers descends from. Two players command twelve pieces each on a 5×5 grid of points joined by lines, moving one step along the lines and capturing enemies by jumping over them. When the game migrated onto the chessboard in the 12th–13th century, it became draughts — checkers.
How do you play Alquerque?
Pieces move one step along a drawn line to an empty point. If an enemy piece stands adjacent along a line with an empty point directly beyond, you may jump it and remove it — and chain further jumps in the same turn. You win by capturing every enemy piece, or by leaving the enemy with no legal move.
Why do only some points have diagonal lines?
The board's lattice gives every point orthogonal connections but only alternate points diagonal ones. Reading which points carry diagonals is the game's core skill: diagonal points have up to eight ways in and out, making them both powerful and dangerous.
How old is Alquerque?
Over a thousand years as a family — boards are scratched into ancient Egyptian temple roofs at Kurna, and the Arabic game qirq is described in the 10th-century Kitab al-Aghani. The rules we play come from Libro de los Juegos, the lavish games manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso X of Castile in 1283 — one of the oldest rulebooks in existence.
How is Alquerque different from checkers?
Three big ways: movement follows drawn lines instead of dark squares, so orthogonal moves exist; there is no promotion — no kings; and pieces can move backward from the start. Checkers simplified the board and restricted movement, but every checkers player will recognise the jump instantly.
Are captures compulsory?
In Alfonso's manuscript a piece that failed to capture could be 'huffed' — removed as a penalty — which effectively made captures compulsory. This version keeps captures optional for friendlier play; you may always choose a quiet move instead of an available jump.