Tell me more ×
Board & Card Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who like playing board games, designing board games or modifying the rules of existing board games. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 13 down vote favorite

What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers? What are the official conditions for a "no winner game"?

share|improve this question
1  
Small nitpickery: the correct term is 'draw' in Chess and Checkers. 'Stalemate' refers to a particular kind of draw in chess - namely, when a player is unable to move - that's all but impossible to achieve in Checkers. – Steven Stadnicki Mar 3 at 4:16

2 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

According to the American Checker Federation (see rule 12), a tie game is called a draw. The conditions for a draw are similar to the 50-move rule in chess. Basically, one player asks the other to prove he can win (or get closer to winning) in the next 40 moves or the game ends in a draw. I imagine this would only really occur in high level play, perhaps by several kinged pieces moving endlessly around the board with neither side gaining an advantage.

A condition like a stalemate in chess (where a player has no legal move to make) results in a loss for the player whose turn it is to move.

share|improve this answer
up vote -3 down vote

There is no such term, because there is no such thing as a stalemate in checkers. It is always possible for at least one player to win, although in some cases that would require extraordinarily poor play by the other player.

EDIT to reply to comment:
I know this is really getting into semantics, but the question is about terminology. Your position seems to be that "stalemate" and "draw" are synonymous. I believe "stalemate" is merely the specific case where a player must move but cannot make a legal move, resulting in a draw. The very rule you cited states that, in checkers, if one player cannot make a legal move, the other player wins. By definition, that's not a draw, so in my mind, that's not a stalemate.

share|improve this answer
3  
From Wikipedia -"A player wins by capturing all of the opposing player's pieces or by leaving the opposing player with no legal moves. The game ends in a draw, if neither side can force a win." – Pat Ludwig♦ Jan 9 '11 at 16:48
@Pat, please see my edit. – Lord Torgamus Jan 9 '11 at 17:15
1  
flickr.com/photos/perry_g/2064013288 Looks like a stalemate to me. There are several other stalemated checkers images on google as well. – Pat Ludwig♦ Jan 9 '11 at 17:57
3  
@Pat, that's not a stalemate. It's a loss for the player who has to move next (but can't, obviously). – Kristo Jan 10 '11 at 2:01
@kristo - -1 for my reading comprehension! Good catch. – Pat Ludwig♦ Jan 10 '11 at 2:43

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.