Checkers vs. Chess: Which is Harder?

Calculated Complexity

From a mathematical standpoint, Chess is significantly more complex. Checkers (8x8 draughts) has about 500 billion billion possible positions, and was "solved" by computers in 2007 (perfect play leads to a draw). Chess has exponentially more possibilities and has not been solved.

Strategic Depth

While Chess has more piece types, Checkers has a unique strategic depth due to the "forced capture" rule. In Chess, you can ignore a threat. In Checkers, a skilled player can force you to destroy your own position by mandating a capture.

Which Should You Learn First?

Checkers is the perfect gateway game. It teaches forward thinking, sacrifice, and spatial control without the burden of memorizing 6 different movement patterns.