Dama Board Game

Dama

Dama is the Kurdish and Turkish form of draughts, and it plays nothing like international checkers. Pieces move and capture straight — never diagonally — capturing is compulsory, and you must always take the longest chain available. Online ranked play, an offline bot at three levels, and pass-and-play on one phone.

📖 How to Play

1

Open Dama

Tap the Dama card on the main menu. You can play Online against a ranked opponent, vs Bot at easy, medium or hard, or Two Players on one phone.

2

Move Straight, Never Diagonally

This is the rule that surprises most newcomers. A man moves one square forward, left or right — never diagonally. That single difference changes every tactic you know from ordinary checkers.

3

Capturing Is Compulsory

If a capture is available you must take it, and if several are available you must take the one that captures the most pieces. Captured pieces are removed as you go, and a single move can chain through many of them.

4

Promote to a Dama

Reach the far row and your piece is crowned a dama. A dama slides any number of empty squares in a straight line and captures from a distance, which makes it far stronger than a king in ordinary checkers.

5

Win the Game

You win by capturing every enemy piece, or by leaving your opponent with no legal move. Online games are rated, so a win raises your rating and climbs the Dama leaderboard.

Tip 💡: Because capturing is compulsory, a piece you leave hanging can be used as bait — offer one piece to force your opponent into a capture that opens a longer chain for you.