Warp Checkers is a game I designed with my friend Bren back in 2018. It is a variant of checkers, meant to make the game needlessly complicated for no good reason! The full ruleset has never been playtested, but I have documented it all here. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback on this, feel free to let me know on my ask page :)
If you'd like to share Warp Checkers in any way, please just credit this page <3
Warp Checkers is based on the original game of Checkers, and as such its rules are derived from Checkers. Anything left unstated should be assumed to be identical to the original game, as described on itsyourturn.com.
The phrase "diagonally adjacent" means a square one away on the diagonal from the square in question. It does not refer to any square on the diagonal.
Similarly, "orthogonally adjacent" means a square one away on a row or column.
When reading these rules, keep in mind the difference between "row" and "column"—rows are horizontal, while columns are vertical.
To make the differences between terms more clear, certain terms will be color-coded throughout this document:
The original game of Checkers will be colored orange, while Warp Checkers will be colored green.
Piece types will be color-coded as follows:
The checker piece will be blue
The King piece will be red.
The Queen piece will be yellow.
The Fragment checker piece will be purple.
Each player starts the game with 24 checkers, arranged in the first 3 rows on their side of the board.
The objective of Warp Checkers is the same as Checkers: to capture every enemy piece, or to position your pieces such that the opponent has no available moves. If 24 total player turns pass without any piece of either player being captured, then the game ends in a draw.
Excluding the addition of Warping, and special moves of the King and Queen pieces, movement works the same as in the original Checkers. As in the original game, any form of piece movement ends your turn. Unlike the original, however, you are not required to capture an opponent's piece when given the opportunity. The same is true when chaining jumps together—you may capture enemy pieces if the option is available, but you don't need to do so.
Warping is the primary new mechanic in Warp Checkers. In Checkers, a piece on the very edge of the board may only move away from the edge of the board. In Warp Checkers, you may move toward the edge, and your piece will loop around (or "warp") to the opposite side.
For example, imagine a checker on the far right side of the board on the fifth row up. Using the warping mechanic, that piece may move to the far left side of the board on the sixth row up, if there is no piece currently occupying that location. Warps may also be done vertically or diagonally using the same principle if the piece in question is a King, a Queen, or a fragment checker in certain circumstances described below.
Warps may also be combined with piece captures. Your piece may jump over an opponent's piece on one edge of the board and land on the opposite side, or jump over a piece that is on the opposite side of the board, landing diagonally adjacent of where it was. Captures via warping may be turned into chain captures if the opportunity is available, which may include more warps.
When one of your checkers makes it to the opposite end of the board from where it started, it will be replaced with a King piece. This includes warping over the opposite end back to its original end. King piece is marked by stacking a second checker piece from outside the game onto the original.
Like in Checkers, the King piece gains the ability to move backward as well as forward. This includes warping backward. In Warp Checkers, the King gains two special moves, Swapping and Splitting.
A Queen piece is created when a player uses their turn to move one of their King pieces onto another King piece of theirs. This may only be done if the two pieces are diagonally adjacent to each other. Note that this move is different from capturing—the first King moves onto the second, not over. However, you may combine this with a capture or chain capture by jumping over an opponent's piece, capturing it, and landing on another friendly King to create a Queen. This ends your turn. A Queen is marked by stacking one King piece on top of another (for four total stacked checkers).
The Queen possesses every ability of the King, with the exception being that the mechanics of Splitting change. The Queen also gains a new special move, Cycling.
A fragment checker is a variant of the regular checker piece, and is the product of a Split. There are two differences between fragment checkers and checkers:
Unlike checkers, fragment checkers will not be promoted to a King when reaching or passing the opposite side of the board from where it started.
Fragment checkers have the unique ability to combine into a King. If you have two diagonally adjacent fragment checkers, you may use your turn to stack one on top of the other, in the same way that two Kings can create one Queen.
Just like how two Kings can combine a capture or chain capture with promotion to a Queen, you may combine a fragment checker's capture or chain capture with a promotion to a King.
In essence, a fragment checker can be combined with another into a King, but cannot become a King on its own. A fragment checker is marked by turning a checker upside-down. When you create a King out of two fragment checkers, you may flip the King right side up.
Swapping is a special move that King and Queen pieces possess. To perform a swap, simply have your King or Queen piece trade places with any orthogonally adjacent piece. This other piece may be either yours or your opponent's. To clarify, Swaps may not be performed on the diagonal.
If your King or Queen piece is on one of the board's edges, it may be swapped with a piece on the opposite edge, provided that they are on the same row or column. Effectively, this results in Swapping and Warping being compatible.
A Swap may not result in a checker warping directly from its original side of the board to the opponent's side. Performing a Swap ends your turn.
Cycling is a special move unique to the Queen. To perform a Cycle, choose a 2x2 square on the board that is inhabited by your Queen, as well as at least one other piece of either player's ownership. This square may hang off the edge of the board, warping around to the other, or consist of the four corners of the board. Once you have selected the 2x2 square, rotate the contents of the four squares within it. You may rotate them clockwise, counterclockwise, or 180 degrees.
If the 2x2 square hangs off the board, and thus warps, Cycling may become confusing. To keep track of where pieces should go, it may be helpful to move one at a time with the rules of warping in mind.
A Cycle may not result in a checker warping directly from its original side of the board to the opponent's side. Performing a Cycle ends your turn.
Splitting is the final move type in Warp Checkers, and the most complicated. Essentially, a Split involves your King or Queen piece "splitting" into multiple different pieces.
To perform a Split with a King, replace your King piece with one fragment checker, and place a second fragment checker diagonally adjacent to that King (warping is available here). If an opponent piece is diagonally adjacent to that King, the second fragment checker may capture it by jumping over, providing that the fragment checker would be moving forward, not backward. In other words, a fragment checker may spawn behind the former King if a diagonally adjacent spot is available, but it may not capture backwards. As usual, a capture created by a Split may be turned into a chain capture if the opportunity is available. If there are no available diagonally adjacent squares, and no pieces of opponents that are eligible for capturing, then a Split may not be performed in that spot, and you must choose a different move to make.
When Splitting with a Queen, you have two options. The first option is to split the Queen into two Kings—the mechanics of this are identical to splitting a King into two fragment checkers, with the exception that the King splitting off may capture backwards. The second option is to split the Queen into four fragment checkers. The process is similar to splitting a King, but instead of having one fragment checker to move, you have three. The three fragment checkers must move in different diagonal directions of your choosing, and are all subject to the standard rules of splitting. If there aren't squares or captures available for all three, then the split may not be done at that time.
Any form of splitting ends your turn, but you are allowed to first finish any captures and chain captures that resulted from the split. When capturing an opponent's piece or pieces during a Queen's Split, keep in mind that no piece may be captured by more than one fragment checker in the same turn. It is recommended to choose your moves for one fragment checker at a time to avoid this.
