Checkers vs. Chess

These board games have been here for the long ride. You can find these classics in your home with the ol' board or even online on numerous websites to entertain you. Both are strategic games that use an 8×8 grid with alternating colored squares. But when it comes down to it, which one do you pick? Chess or checkers? In this slogging thread, the random community discussed which game they prefer.

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, Tunahan AŞIK and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.

A lot of board games come and go, but the question remains: who wins in checkers vs. chess? :chess_pawn:

Fabricio Gonçalves Jack Boreham Mónica Freitas Limarc Ambalina Linh Smooke Daniel Guzman What's your opinion?

CHESS!! Not only a cool looking game but fun and requires a lot of skill. Plus, who doesn't want to command an army!

Jack Boreham You have a point! Do you usually play chess?

Sara Pinto I play both but checkers is part of my childhood: I used to play it with my dad and try to beat him. So, though chess looks stylish, I'm a fan of the simplicity of checkers.

Sara Pinto I do and I love it

Chess is cool and complex, checkers is simple yet complex, but those doesn't change the fact that go is the best.

Mónica Freitas I played both as well, my brother taught me. But I was not the best at chess and really got frustrated when I lost, so I usually went with checkers as my go-to board game haha. It turns out to be one of my favorite board games

Jack Boreham I have to ask, did you see "Queen's Gambit"? Did it make you want to become a chess master? 😂

Tunahan AŞIK Ah yes! I've been curious to try it out! Do you play go often?

Sara Pinto I get it. I think it's pretty common to find a board of checkers in Portuguese households. More so than chess. Maybe that's why we're more attached to checkers.

Sara Pinto I haven't, but I want to watch it. I've heard amazing things. What is it about?

Mónica Freitas It really gives kind of a homey feeling, doesn't it? Do you still play?

Jack Boreham I'm the worst at giving previews for movies and series without spoiling them haha. It's about a girl who takes an interest in chess from a young age. The series is about how the game became part of her life. I liked it a lot, and what I noticed was that many people took an interest in chess as well after watching it. You should watch it!

Sara Pinto it does. Not as often as I used. Kinda miss it

Sara Pinto is it kinda like her life plays out like a game of chess?

Mónica Freitas I challenge you to go ahead and play some checker today haha

Jack Boreham Not quite, more like they way she handles her talent to play the game and the way it changes her

Abeer What's your take on this?

Sara Pinto We'll have to find a partner first ahahah

Sara Pinto My vote goes to Chess. So many different strategies and tactics in that game. I read an article about how to create a chess AI and all I remember the number of computations needed to get a set of optimal moves was some insanely high number. On top of that, I know new tactics are being made to this day. That being said, Checkers has a surprising amount of complexity for a game that’s so “straightforward.”

Abeer I can see how chess can be a more intricate game, and for that, I think it can be more alluring. I can imagine that since checkers is a more simple game, it has fewer strategies compared to chess (correct me if I'm wrong). Do you usually play any of these?

Sara Pinto I used to play a good amount of chess and checkers as a kid. I think that stopped once I got my first video game console. 😅