Checkers and Variations of

John Barnhill

Checkers is not a single game but a family. Checkers (or Draughts as it is known in England) may have been played in Ur, modern-day Iraq, as early as 3000 b.c.e. Archaeologists carbon dated a game that resembled modern Checkers, although the board and number of pieces are different and the rules are not fully known. Less cloudy is the history of Quirkat . Egyptian inscriptions and paintings as early as 1600 b.c.e. contain references to a game like Checkers, and Quirkat was played throughout Egypt in 1400 b.c.e. Even temple walls held depictions of the game, which was played on a 5 × 5 board. Although pieces moved along the intersections of lines, rather than diagonally as in the modern game, it used flat circular pieces in light and dark colors and had the same objective—take the opposing pieces. Plato and Homer refer to the game, and Ramses III ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.