Help For Dama

Introduction

Welcome to the network Dama server. Dama is also known as "Turkish Checkers" or "Armenian Checkers". The rules of Dama are below. The dama "challenge" and "set" commands are described below. Other commands are the same for all pbmserv games.

dama challenge userid1 userid2 [ -diagonal ]

Start a new game between userid1 and userid2.

The -diagonal option enables diagonal movement, so pieces can move diagonally as well as horizonally and verically. This is another checkers variant which is sometimes called Armenian Checkers.

dama set userid password [ options ]
or
dama move board userid password option

Selects optional ways of viewing the board. Available options:

    flip    : Rotate the board if you are playing Black (default)
    noflip  : White is always at the bottom.

    large   : Large board display (default)
    small   : Small board display

Rules of Dama

Dama is played on an 8x8 board. As shown below, each player starts with 16 men on his second and third ranks. The light color (White) moves first, and players alternate turns.

The winner is the last player to complete a legal move. Normally a player loses when all of his pieces are captured, thus leaving him with no legal moves. But a player also loses if his remaining pieces have no legal moves.

      A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 
  8 |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::| 8 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
  7 |*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*| 7 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  6 |*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*|*C*| 6 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  5 |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   | 5 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  4 |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::| 4 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  3 |:C:| C |:C:| C |:C:| C |:C:| C | 3 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  2 | C |:C:| C |:C:| C |:C:| C |:C:| 2 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   
  1 |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   | 1 
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+    
      A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H

Men move 1 space straight forward or sideways. They may jump in the same directions over an adjacent piece to an empty space immediately beyond. The piece which is jumped over is captured. A series of jumps with the same piece may be done in a single turn.

When a man ends its turn on the far row of the board it is "crowned" and becomes a King.

Kings move any number of spaces horizonally or vertically, and may jump in the same manner, jumping over a single piece and landing in any empty square beyond.

If a player has jumps available, he must jump. If a piece can continue jumping, it must. If a player has a choice of jumps he must choose the series of jumps which captures the most pieces.

When making multiple jumps, unlike Checkers or Draughts, each piece is captured and removed from the board as it is jumped. It is also illegal to make a 180 degree turn when jumping.

When the -diagonal option is in effect, men move 1 space forward, sideways, or diagonally forward. Kings move and jump in any direction, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.