Dama — Play the Classic Game Online Free

Dama Is One Word for Five Different Games

Ask a player in Madrid, Istanbul, Milan, or Manila what "dama" means and you will get four different boards. Spanish dama is played on the familiar 8x8 grid with sliding "flying" kings; the first known book on the game anywhere was written in Valencia in 1547. Turkish dama uses all 64 squares of an unmarked board, sets 16 pieces per side instead of 12, and moves them in straight lines rather than on the diagonal. Italian dama keeps the diagonal moves but gives its king a shorter reach, and its ordinary men cannot capture kings at all. Filipino dama plays much like the Brazilian game, on a mirrored board. One word, four boards that barely resemble each other, and a fifth tradition (Brazilian/Portuguese) that shares Spanish dama's diagonal roots but not its rulebook.

This site exists to sort that out: play the Spanish tradition free below, then read how the other traditions differ.

Explore Dama Around the World

Six starting points into the wider cluster of dama traditions and terminology:

• What Is Dama? One Word, Five Games: the full rundown of every tradition the word covers.
• Turkish Dama: Rules and How It Differs: 16 pieces a side, an uncheckered board, and moves that go straight, not diagonal.
• Filipino Dama: Rules and Street-Play Culture: Brazilian-style rules on a mirrored board, with a character all its own.
• Dama vs. Checkers vs. Draughts: untangling three names that don't always mean the same game.
• Flying Kings, Dama-Style: Spanish, Turkish, and Italian kings compared, move for move.
• How to Play Dama Online: a quick-start guide straight to the board above.

Dama Rules at a Glance

• 8x8 board, 12 men per side, on the three rows closest to each player
• White moves first; men capture diagonally forward only, never backward
• Capturing is mandatory, and you must take the longest available line
• When two lines capture the same number of pieces, take the one capturing more kings
• Kings fly: they slide any distance along a diagonal, both moving and capturing

That covers the basics. For the exact wording, including how a game ends in a draw, read the full rules of dama.

Dama Checkers: Play the Spanish Tradition Free

If you searched "dama checkers," this is almost certainly the game you were after. It is Spanish dama (dama española, or juego de damas in full) under a different, more literal name: an 8x8 board, forced captures, a majority-of-pieces rule with a kings tiebreak, and kings that glide the length of a diagonal instead of creeping one square at a time. The board above runs exactly that ruleset, with no account, no download, and three computer difficulty levels if you would rather warm up before facing a friend.

Want a live opponent instead of the computer? Play the same rules against real people at Checkers Online, our sister site.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dama?

Dama is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian word for checkers, but it does not point to one game. At least five distinct traditions (Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian/Portuguese, and Filipino) are all called dama, and they differ in board size, how pieces move, and how captures work. Our full rundown of dama's five faces walks through each one.

Is dama the same as checkers?

Checkers and draughts are two English names for the same broad family of games. Dama is what several other cultures call their own branch of that family, and those branches do not all play alike: a Turkish dama board looks nothing like a Spanish one. See the full breakdown on our dama vs. checkers vs. draughts page.

What is dama checkers?

When people search "dama checkers" they usually mean Spanish dama: an 8x8 game with flying kings, forced captures, and a mirrored board layout. That is exactly the game on this page, and you can play it free right now.

Do all dama traditions have flying kings?

Most do, but not identically. Spanish and Turkish kings both slide across any number of empty squares, though Spanish kings move on diagonals and Turkish kings move on ranks and files, like a rook. Italian dama's king only steps one square at a time. Our flying kings comparison lines the traditions up side by side.

Which dama tradition can I actually play here?

Spanish dama, above. The engine behind this site cannot support Turkish dama's straight-line moves without breaking how every other variant works, so Turkish, Italian, and Filipino dama are covered as rules guides rather than playable boards for now.

Is dama hard to learn?

Spanish dama's core moves take a few minutes to pick up: men move diagonally forward, captures are forced, and kings crown at the far row. The one rule that trips up newcomers is the tiebreak. When two capture lines take the same number of pieces, you must take the one that captures more kings. The rules page explains it with examples.