Please read before you start your first game in the ArenA.
General
Entering a move is simple, but requires a fairly strict format. First and foremost:
- Put the cursor on a square to get the coordinates and the piece, if present.
- The applet does not accept shorthand notation.
You must comply with the required format.
- However, the applet is basically a board and, provided the format is correct, will accept illegal moves just as a physical board would. There's an extended 'undo' function that allows you to take back any number of moves, provided the opponent cooperates by taking back his.
- With the command menu you can undo your last move, end a game by accepting a loss, or negotiate a draw.
Specific
- To move a piece, specify the start- and end square, seperated by a hyphen (-), e.g. 'd3-d4'.
If you wish, you may use traditional notation: '31-27'
- To make a capture, specify the start- and end square, and every square in between, seperated by a hyphen, 'e6-e4-c4' ('23-32-21').
You may add an 'x' to denote capture, e.g. '23-32-21x', or replace the hyphen by an 'x', e.g. '23x32x21', but neither is necessary.
Specifically: if a king must capture two pieces in a straight line, that are more than one square apart, it must specify one of those squares for the stop in between. For instance, with a king on e3 (37) and opponent's pieces on e5 and e8 (28 and 14), the move must be entered as either e3xe6xe9 (37x23x10) or e3xe7xe9 (37x19x10).
- Promotion follows automatically upon reaching the backrank.
- If you find yourself blocked or wiped out or otherwise in a lost position, please choose 'Resign' from the command menu to acknowledge and officially end the game.
On a personal note: I think there's a better way of notation than the traditional one - but most draughts players don't :)
New
- The Draughts applet is now 'clickable'. When moving a piece, click it first. Next click the square you want to move it. In a capture, click all squares your piece will visit in sequence, up to and including the endsquare. They will be marked and the corresponding move will appear in the "your Move" field.
- To clear, click on the bottom-right button [>>>|] (go to end). Now you can start over.
- The click method only works in the end position. When you're happy with the move, enter your password and click "Submit move" as usual.
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