How to start
- Open bigboard.games on every device and tap Start a table on one of them.
- The others join by themselves on the same Wi-Fi; elsewhere, scan the QR code or type the four-letter code.
- Lay the devices edge to edge, screens up, as the drawing shows, and pick the game.
One army, two players
Two against two plays like two-sided checkers on a double-width board: 16 files by 8 ranks, with 24 men a side on its three back ranks. The pieces belong to the side, not to a player, so on your turn you may move any of your side's men, your partner's included.
Turns go round the four players, so the sides alternate and partners take every other move of their side. Men crown on the far row of 16 squares. A side with no pieces or no legal move loses, and a resignation or a flag by either partner, on their turn or not, loses for both. Prefer every player for themselves? 4 player checkers also plays free-for-all on an octagon.
Four quarters, one board
In Home areas each device shows its player's quarter, eight files by four ranks, flush with its top edge, where it runs on into the opponent's quarter across. One side edge is left open and runs on into your partner's quarter, so no badge or button sits on that side.
The opening intro names your opponent, then Your partner with an arrow toward that edge. A side's pieces are drawn in its first player's colour, so friend and foe read at a glance, and each player's stretch of the back rank glows in their own. Auto lays the four devices as a block, two facing pairs side by side.
Draws, bots and sharing a device
Draws are counted per side: the same position with the same player to move a third time, or 15 moves by each side under Russian rules, 40 under English, with no capture and no man moved.
A bot can fill a seat and moves its side's pieces like anyone. With a bot, people sharing a device, or a friend joining from elsewhere, every device shows the whole 16 × 8 turned to its own side. Teams then follow the players' order, since the lobby has no team pick. Partners also win together in air hockey 2v2, the other team game here.
Teams: questions and answers
Can I move my partner's pieces?
Yes, a side's pieces belong to both partners, and whoever is to move may move any of them.
Does one partner resigning lose for both?
Yes, and so does either partner running out of time, on their turn or not.
Is checkers 2v2 played on a bigger board?
Yes, on 16 × 8 squares, twice the width of the usual board.
Is this Chinese checkers?
No, it's ordinary checkers with jumps and kings, played by two teams of two.