To play checkers online with a friend for free, open Pure Checkers, choose a nickname, create a room with a zero-coin buy-in and share its invitation. Your friend joins in their own browser. In a standard room, both of you press Ready Up to start.
Neither player needs to register for a free game. You need an internet connection and a browser on each device; there is no app installation step. A phone and a computer can play together. The walkthrough below uses a private room without a clock, so you can discuss moves without a turn deadline.
Before you invite: choose the room settings together, share the room’s invitation link, and check both player names before readying up. “Free” and “Friendly” describe different things.
These screenshots come from a local build using two separate guest profiles, Alex and Riley. Numbered markers identify the controls. The pictured QR code belongs to a temporary demonstration room; create your own invitation rather than scanning the illustration. Open any screenshot to inspect the controls at full size.
The site FAQ has short answers about guest access, accounts and other playing options if either player is visiting for the first time.
1. Choose a nickname and create your room
Open Play, keep the suggested nickname or enter your own, and press Play. On a first visit, the lobby may show the Bot tab. Switch to Rooms, then choose Create Room.
Leave Buy-in (coins) at 0 for a free game. Select a turn timer of 30s, 60s or 90s, or choose None to remove the turn clock. For a first game together, None lets you stop and explain a capture without rushing.
Turn on Private room if you want to invite your friend without listing the room publicly. Decide whether to allow spectators; the example turns them off. Then press Create Room and wait for the Game Room screen.
Private means the room is hidden from the public list, not protected by a separate password. Treat the invitation as something to share with the people you want to join.
2. Send the invitation link or show the QR code
While the second seat is empty, your room shows a QR code, Share link and Copy link. Use Share link to open supported sharing options, or Copy link and paste the invitation into your usual conversation with your friend. Sharing availability depends on the browser and device.
If you are together, your friend can point their phone camera at the QR code and open the detected address. If you are apart, send the link. The QR and link lead to the same room; your friend does not need to search through the room list.
Use these invitation controls instead of copying the waiting-room address from the browser bar. That address opens your session view; the invitation carries the code another player needs to join.
Your friend can arrive with an existing account or guest session. Opening a free invitation in a fresh browser can create a guest automatically. In our screenshots, both guests chose their names before opening the invitation.
3. Check the names and press Ready Up
When your friend arrives, both names appear in the room. Check that the second name belongs to the person you invited. In a standard room, each player presses Ready Up on their own device. A Ready badge means that player has accepted; it does not make the other player ready.
Once both are ready and connected, the colour reveal leads into the board. Red moves first, so hosting the room does not guarantee the first turn. Wait for Your turn, select a piece and choose a highlighted destination.
Pure Checkers uses backward captures for men and flying kings. If one of you learned different rules, read the movement and capture guide before your first match. A compulsory jump can explain why a move you expected is unavailable.
The quicker option: Play Someone Nearby
Under Quick Play, Play Someone Nearby creates a private, free room with a 60-second turn timer and spectators allowed. Despite the name, its shared link also works when your friend is elsewhere.
This shortcut automatically readies the players and starts when the second player joins while both are connected. There is no separate Ready Up step. Use Rooms → Create Room instead when you want to choose the clock or spectator setting beforehand.
The separate Find Opponent button enters matchmaking. It does not reserve a seat for the particular friend you intend to invite.
Free games, ratings and playing on a phone
Free means no coin buy-in. Friendly means the game is unrated because a guest or bot is participating. Two registered human players play Ranked games, including in a private, zero-coin room. Privacy does not switch ratings off, and the creation form has no independent ranked toggle.
On a phone, tap a piece and then its highlighted destination; dragging is unnecessary. Keep the browser connected. Choosing None removes the turn clock, but it does not make the room a correspondence game that waits indefinitely through disconnections.
If a connection drops, let the reconnecting view settle before making another move. After a server restart, a recovered game may ask you to Resume game. Follow the state shown on the board rather than assuming a previously selected piece is still actionable.
If the invitation or start does not work
An invitation is useful only while the room remains available. If it is closed or full, ask your friend to check the room and send a current invitation. Finish or leave an existing session before joining another one.
Back minimizes a waiting room; it does not close it. Use Close room as host, or Leave as the invited player, when you intend to depart. If a standard room is waiting, check both Ready badges and whether either player is reconnecting.
If your friend cannot play, close the room and use the Bot tab, choosing Easy, Medium or Hard. A standard room with an empty seat also offers Add a bot. The computer guide explains the difficulty levels, and these beginner openings give you lines to practise until your friend returns.