Checkers
Checkers — frequently asked questions
- Is Checkers on Steam?
- No. Checkers is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
- What platforms is Checkers on?
- Checkers is available on Atari 2600.
- When did Checkers release?
- Checkers was first released on December 31, 1980.
About Checkers
Everybody knows how to play Checkers, right? You're in for a surprise. Checkers is no longer just a one-on-one game. Now, the whole family can gang up and play against the Activision computer at three levels of challenge. Before you start playing, read these instructions carefully to review the basic rules and learn how to pick up and move your checkers.
Summary via IGDB.
Checkers on Wikipedia
Checkers, also called Draughts, is a 1952 video game developed by British computer scientist Christopher Strachey. It is one of the first computer programs in the early history of video games, possibly the first game to display visuals on an electronic screen, and the first game written for a general-purpose computer. It first became operational during the summer of that year on the Ferranti Mark 1 computer at the University of Manchester. In Checkers, the player competes against a rudimentary artificial intelligence in a simulation of the board game of the same name; the game ends when all of either player's pieces have been captured or obstructed by the opponent.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Game details
- Platforms
- Atari 2600
- Developer
- Activision
- Publisher
- Activision
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
Details via IGDB.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America Activision | Standard | AG-003 | Scarce+ |
| North America Sears | Text | 49-75156 | Scarce |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1980
- Controller
- Atari Joystick
- Players
- 1 - 2
- Authenticity
- Low
One of Activision's very first cartridges, a plain, well-made checkers game that collectors buy for the logo.
Alan Miller designed Checkers, and it was among the first games Activision released in 1980, after Miller and David Crane left Atari in August 1979 to found the company. It plays standard checkers: diagonal moves, forced jumps, and a win when your opponent has no pieces or no legal moves. You can play against the computer at three difficulty levels or against another person.
Video praised it on release but noted the computer rarely pressed home a winning position. Writing later, Brett Alan Weiss judged it better than Atari's Video Checkers for graphics, control and a faster computer opponent, but with fewer options and less difficulty.
How it was made
Designed by Alan Miller and released by Activision in August 1980, part of the company's first wave of cartridges.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 2 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
Before you buy
Low risk; no reproductions are documented and loose copies are inexpensive. The box and manual carry much of a complete copy's value, so buy loose to play and inspect the box closely if you are paying for packaging.
Checkers screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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