Playing Collateral Checkers, one of your own pegs might be the piece you need to remove from the game. That single rule turns familiar short jumps and forced captures into a compact contest full of hard choices.
Designed for two players, this Danish abstract game keeps the approachable feel of checkers while giving every jump a second consequence. The board may look friendly, but every arrangement can become a trap.
A Danish checkers variant with a sharp twist
Designer Niko Lepka is a software engineer and part-time game designer from Denmark. New Venture Games has added his Collateral Checkers strategy game to its catalog as a portable peg game for players who enjoy direct tactical play.
The game belongs to the checkers, draughts, and dama family. Players have equal forces and take turns moving one peg or making short-leap captures. Chain jumps are a critical part of the game, too, so a well-placed first leap can open a longer sequence.
Yet Collateral Checkers changes two big expectations: pegs can move and jump in any direction, and players may capture their own pieces.
Why "collateral" is the right name
Collateral can mean unintended damage or an acceptable loss. In this game, a peg you lose on your own turn may be both.
Lepka considered calling the game "sacrificial checkers," which gets right to its central idea. When you jump a peg, that peg leaves the board immediately, including your own. That self-inflicted collateral damage can open space, shift the position, or prepare a later capture.
The board, movement, and jumps
Each side begins with nine pegs, one player using white and the other black. They start in a fixed setup on a square grid, rather than using the sliding discs common in many checker sets.
Every direction is available
On a non-capturing turn, a peg moves one space in any direction: Orthogonally (up, down, left, or right) or Diagonally (across the points of the square spaces). And this includes forward (away from the player) and backward (towards the player).
That freedom changes the shape of the game significantly. Standard checkers players will recognize the pressure created by short leaps and forced captures, as shown in this US checkers rules video, but Collateral Checkers has more routes available at every turn.
Enemy captures are mandatory
A jump leaps over a neighboring peg and lands on the empty space immediately beyond it. Jumps may also go in any direction.
If you can jump an opposing peg, you must make an enemy capture. When more than one enemy jump is available, you choose which capture to take. If no enemy jump exists, you may make a regular move or optionally jump one of your own pegs.
The same rule applies throughout a chain jump. Captured pegs come off the board at once, whether they belong to an opponent or to you.
Sacrifices and chain jumps shape the strategy
A self-jump is never required, but it can be worth the loss. Removing one of your own pegs may clear a landing square, reshape a cluster of pieces, or help build a later chain jump.
The most useful planning habit is a chain-jump setup. Don't only look for the capture in front of you. Check what disappears after the first leap and whether the new landing space creates another forced enemy jump.
Control points also matter on a small board. A peg near an active route can limit movement, invite an unfavorable capture, or become the sacrifice that changes the whole position.
Two ways to win
Collateral Checkers gives players two paths to victory:
- Capture seven or more of your opponent's nine pegs.
- Occupy the center space through three consecutive opponent turns.
The first condition rewards accurate jump sequences. The center condition creates a different kind of threat, since the player in the center must survive three chances for the opponent to dislodge that peg.
Lepka notes that players do not often pursue the center win. It is the board's most exposed and vulnerable space. Still, it can produce a surprise finish when your opponent focuses on a capture threat elsewhere.
A small peg game for many tables
The idea of capturing your own pieces sparked the game's development. Lepka tested different board sizes, piece counts, and opening configurations before settling on the final version.
Its peg pieces make it practical for travel because they are less likely to slide off the board than loose discs. That makes Collateral Checkers a good fit as a quick filler, a family challenge, a gateway abstract for younger players, or a road-trip game.
For more play resources, browse the How to Play video playlist or see the game's BoardGameGeek listing.
Lepka enjoys heavy Euro games, train games, and stock market games, while his own designs often focus on trick-taking and abstract games. One player even told him he had "out-Kinizia'd Kinizia," a memorable compliment for any designer.
Collateral Checkers starts with a language checkers players already know: short leaps, chain captures, and forced enemy jumps. Then it asks you to see your own pegs differently.