Russian Draughts is a browser-based board game that runs instantly, with nothing to install. The core of it is chess & checkers. There is no sign-up, no launcher and no wait — press play and you are in.
About Russian Draughts
Russian checkers/Draughts (Shashki or Russian shashki) is the most popular type of draughts played in Russia, Eastern Europe and Israel. The goal of the game is to capture all the opponent’s pieces or prevent him to make a move. - The King can move diagonally to any free square, backward or forward. - If after capturing an enemy’s piece you still have an allowed a jumps move then you must continue the jump sequence (jump is mandatory). - The jump with a simple piece is done both forward and backward.
How to play Russian Draughts
Getting started takes about ten seconds. On desktop the arrow keys / WASD do the moving; the full mapping is in the table below. The game runs in portrait, so on a phone you can play one-handed, and on desktop it stays centred rather than stretched out of shape. The second run is always better than the first — that is the whole learning curve.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Mouse | Navigate menus and interact |
| Arrow keys / WASD | Move |
| Spacebar | Primary action |
On mobile: Tap and swipe directly on the screen. The game is built for portrait, so you can play one-handed without rotating your phone.
Why it is worth playing
Russian Draughts is easy to start and harder to master, which is the balance the best browser games hit. That is a rarer quality than it sounds.
At a glance
- Free to play with no account required
- Runs in the browser — nothing to download or install
- Portrait layout, comfortable one-handed on mobile
- Keyboard and mouse on desktop, full touch support on mobile.
- Chess & Checkers gameplay — The oldest strategy games there are
- Added to our catalogue from a 2022 release
Frequently asked questions
Is Russian Draughts free to play?
Yes, entirely free. Russian Draughts costs nothing to play, asks for no card and has no paid tier hiding behind it.
Do I need to download or install anything?
No download, no installer, no plugin. Russian Draughts is HTML5, so the browser plays it directly.
Can I play Russian Draughts on my phone?
Yes — mobile is fully supported. Tap and swipe directly on the screen. The game is built for portrait, so you can play one-handed without rotating your phone.
What are the controls for Russian Draughts?
Keyboard and mouse on desktop, full touch support on mobile. Mouse — navigate menus and interact; Arrow keys / WASD — move; Spacebar — primary action.
Can I play Russian Draughts fullscreen?
Yes. Use the fullscreen button in the top-right of the game player to expand it to the whole screen, and press Escape to come back out.
What kind of game is Russian Draughts?
Russian Draughts is a board game built around chess & checkers. If that is the sort of thing you enjoy, the related games further down the page are picked using the same tags.
