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ITALIAN CHECKERS

Italian Checkers is played much differently then our featured Russian Checkers game. Although it is played on the same board and with the same number of pieces, Italian Checkers has very different rules.
Italian Checkers Rules
Uncrowned or regular playing pieces (Men) may move forward only, one square at a time in a diagonal direction, to an unoccupied square. Men capture by jumping over an opposing man on a diagonally adjacent square to the square immediately beyond, but may do so only if this square is unoccupied.
A Man which reaches the far side of the board, whether by means of capture or a move, becomes a King.
Men may not capture (jump) Kings and Men may not capture backwards. If there are many sequences to capture, one has to capture the sequence that has the most pieces. Men should never jump over playing pieces of the same color. Men may never jump over Kings. Kings may move forward or backward, one square at a time in a diagonal direction to an unoccupied square. Kings capture by jumping, forward or backward, over an opposing Man or King on a diagonally adjacent square to the square immediately beyond, but may do so only if this square is unoccupied. Kings may continue capturing as long as they encounter opposing playing pieces with unoccupied squares immediately beyond them. Kings may never jump over playing pieces of the same color.
Captures are mandatory. If a player is able to capture a playing piece, the player must do so. If there is more than one way to capture, a player must choose a sequence of jumps which results in the capture of the greatest possible number of opponent's playing pieces.
If there are two ways to capture the largest number of opposing playing pieces, the player must choose to make the capture with a King if possible. For example if you face a situation where you can use your King or your Man to three opposing playing pieces, you will have to choose the King to capture the three playing pieces. The king will have to be used because it is the largest number of opponent's pieces you can capture and you can capture more by using your Man. When counting the number of playing pieces to be captured in this sequence, there is no distinction between Men and Kings. However if there is more than one way for the greatest possible number of playing pieces to be captured by a King, the most Kings must be captured. If there is more than one way for the greatest and most powerful forces to be captured, a capture which results in a King being captured earliest in the sequence of jumps must be chosen.