Ghanaian Draughts

Ghanaian Draughts

Also known as Damii or Dame, Ghanaian Draughts is the traditional form of draughts played in Ghana and parts of West Africa. It uses the same 10×10 board and 20-piece setup as International Draughts but differs in three significant ways: men cannot capture backwards, there is no majority capture rule (any available capture satisfies the obligation), and a player who is reduced to a single piece (whether man or king) loses immediately.

Setup

Board: 10×10 checkered board. Only the 50 dark squares are used. Orient the board so each player has a dark corner square on their lower left.

Pieces: 20 men (mma) per player in two distinct colours, placed on the dark squares of the four rows closest to each player. The two central rows remain empty.

First move: White moves first.

Rules

• Men movement: Men move diagonally forward only, one square at a time, to an unoccupied dark square.
• Men capture: Men capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent opponent piece to the vacant square beyond. Men can only capture forwards; backward capture is not permitted for men.
• Mandatory capture: If a capture is available, it must be taken.
• No majority rule: When multiple capture sequences are available, the player may freely choose which to take. The longest chain is not required.
• Multi-capture: After each jump, if another forward capture is immediately available, the sequence continues. A man cannot reverse direction to capture backwards during a multi-jump.
• Piece removal: Captured pieces are removed from the board at the end of the complete capture sequence.

King Promotion

When a man reaches the opponent’s back row at the end of its turn, it is promoted to a Dame (flying king).

• Flying kings: Dames move any number of unoccupied squares diagonally in any direction.
• King capture: Dames capture by jumping over a single opponent piece at any distance along a diagonal, landing on any empty square beyond.
• Kings may capture in any direction, including backwards.

The Singleton Rule

A player who is reduced to a single piece (whether a man or a king) loses immediately, regardless of whether that piece still has legal moves. This rule is unique to Ghanaian Draughts and is not found in International Draughts.

Winning

A player wins when:

• All opponent pieces have been captured, or
• The opponent is reduced to a single piece (singleton rule), or
• All remaining opponent pieces are blocked from moving.

Draws

The game is drawn when both players agree, or when neither player can force a win.

Attribution

Traditional variant. Public domain. Sources: Damii Ghana Draughts History & Rules (gamesfromeverywhere.com, archived via docslide.us); apkpure.com — X Ghanaian Draughts app description (mkisly.bcheckers).