Checkers Arcade

Summary

The gift-giving holidays are quickly approaching and with them comes the inevitable stress around what and how much to give. If you happen to have a friend or loved on who enjoys activities that stimulate the intellect then I have good news for you. For only a couple of dollars and a printout of this post, you can give your friend a “Checkers Arcade” set that could occupy them for the rest of their lives. All that Checkers Arcade requires is a standard American Checkers set having an 8×8 board and 12 discs per side in two colors. If you don’t already have a Checkers set laying around then you can usually find one for a dollar or two at your local dollar store or thrift shop. With this simple kit, you can play a surprising number of interesting games that offer everything from light fun to dense strategic puzzles. Below I’ll provide some details and rules for some of my favorites. But first, let me take a quick moment to talk about how I’ve categorized the games in this post. First, the word “Decision Horizon” reflects the scope of player decisions and the kinds of moves that players need to consider in a typical game. The values are: Immediate: Short, immediate-action horizon. Local: Mid-range action horizon, often focused mostly on local positions on the board. Far-reaching: Long-range planning horizon with a focus on long-term goals. While deciding which game to play can be informed by its complexity, often the true deciding factor is how much time is available to play at all. Therefore, the reference guide below is sorted by expected play time. Almost all of the games are 2-player games, but I added a couple that support 2-4 players. Game Players Decision Horizon Play Time Short Description Ricochet Roombas 2-4 Local 10 min Be the first to find the shortest path from a specific disc to a goal disc. Checkers Go-Moku 2 Local 10–15 min A quick duel to assemble a line of 5 discs to eliminate your opponent’s discs. Halma 2 Local 10-15 min A quick jumping game where yo...