Checkers: Under the Radar by Placeholders

[raw]
made by Placeholders for Ludum Dare 59 (JAM)

Checkers, but you can't see the enemy. Ping the radar. Read the signal. and Capture what you can't see.

play it on itch!

Screenshot 2026-04-20 at 0.27.23.png Screenshot 2026-04-20 at 0.28.19.png Screenshot 2026-04-20 at 0.27.11.png

Difficulty can be changed at the menu

controls: -Click white pieces to move. -Click the radar tower to pulse the signal and reveal enemies for 1 turn.

made by Mati Ernst. Music and Sfx are from Pixbay

Ratings

Overall 156th 3.958⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Fun 251th 3.649⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 117th 3.894⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Theme 205th 4.094⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 366th 3.854⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Mood 317th 3.809⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Given 17🗳️ 14🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 409682
Apr 20th · 03:34 UTC
Interesting take on checkers. I lost, but it was fun to play.

The music getting more intense toward the end was really powerful. I wish I could give it a separate rating just for that 🙂
hotaloca
Apr 20th · 08:22 UTC
Nice way to mod checkers with not being able to see your enemy moods. This almost begs for more of that - eg. you being able to decide where to put signal towers, maybe those towers need to be chained - so the game gets about intel more (and maybe counter intel the enemy :). Anyway really nice entry - the music/sounds added a lot to the game (although i see you have opted out from that category - still nicely integrated).
xotraz
Apr 21st · 01:38 UTC
Well done, this checker feels like some RTS now!
rezonanc
Apr 21st · 08:50 UTC
one of the best theme implementation. well done! also i really like art style
Hibiki
Apr 22nd · 06:38 UTC
Love the mood, I like wargames.
cupofmilk7
Apr 22nd · 06:44 UTC
![Screenshot 2026-04-22 at 09.43.47.png](///raw/8f7/76/z/723ae.png)
it was really fun, it would be great if there were different maps to play
iovorobiev
Apr 22nd · 06:52 UTC
Nice spin on the checkers! Love the unusual take on the theme as well
VenomousMouse
Apr 22nd · 07:26 UTC
Ubercool! I love checkers!
HotCoffee
Apr 22nd · 07:58 UTC
Great twist on checkers. The game feels very polished & the sound design is top-notch :)
Someday Not Today
Apr 22nd · 08:03 UTC
ultra fun, great idea and gameplay addictive
LLlarsO
Apr 22nd · 08:07 UTC
It feels good to move the pieces and the little visual hints (for example the red dots for one turn) are a good addition. The signal reveal effect looks cool.

I would have liked some special levels, where you play different scenarios.

The checkers queen with the little radar is a neat idea.
I played on "normal" and had fun doing it. :)
tweekus
Apr 22nd · 08:18 UTC
Very fun! It’s much more intense when you can’t see an enemy.
JankFank
Apr 22nd · 09:55 UTC
Was greatly surprised when got king piece) No spoilers for others.
Nice idea for the game
Bewishoo
Apr 22nd · 11:10 UTC
Great idea, fun to play :) Really nice job
YALI_Lily519
Apr 22nd · 11:53 UTC
MUSIC IS SO COOL!
Vilumpulump
Apr 22nd · 12:41 UTC
It's so simple and so addictive. Great job.
Wakobu
Apr 22nd · 12:45 UTC
The game is very well polished, with smooth animation and a well rounded mood! The concept is so cool and effective! Congrats, one of the best entries I've seen so far!
LDJam user 426074
Apr 22nd · 12:47 UTC
really like the level of polish and the sound design, great combo
taking a classic idea and mixing in the radio tower mechanic makes it feel fresh and natural
doesn’t feel forced at all, enjoyed it, thanks!
skale
Apr 22nd · 17:13 UTC
The polish on this is insane. The music and visuals create such a great mood, but the real winner is the originality. Taking a game like checkers and flipping it like this shows some really unusual, high-level thinking. Congrats on a great entry!
skale
Apr 22nd · 17:14 UTC
As someone did before, I want to brag too
![Screenshot 2026-04-22 201356.png](///raw/bad/56/z/72506.png)
LDJam user 423872
Apr 22nd · 18:37 UTC
These are the most unusual checkers I've ever played. I'd like more ways to influence the signal level and placement.
torcado
Apr 23rd · 02:00 UTC
oh man this is so good. really fun idea, i could see this concept working with a bunch of different games. I really liked how the mechanics played with the existing mechanics of checkers, even adding a sorta risky way to skip turns. The hard difficulty didn't seem much harder than normal, but it was still fun :)
Really lovely sounds and atmosphere, nice visuals. great stuff!!
Wouter52
Apr 26th · 20:10 UTC
Absolutely brilliant. I don't have anything to say than positive things. The music is a banger and the gameplay feels very well thought through. I like how the pieces are paralyzed for a bit when you make a mistake. And the heart-sinking feeling when you use the tower and see the enemy all the way across the board with the little red thingy on top really shows how invested one can get
knarf
Apr 27th · 00:30 UTC
Interesting application of the theme, and cool execution ! I don't know if my win is considered as fair as i stunned my own peons on purpose :) that was smooth and quite smart :) Music and sfx feels good too. Replayability is a bit low i guess so maybe it's an idea for enhancement allowing 2 humans to play remotely ? Looks like a nice base for turn based more exotic turn based game anyway :)
Good job !
criatura_nocturna
Apr 27th · 04:02 UTC
Very stylish and the way its twist introduces hidden info and a bit of logical deduction is also really cool. Would love to see more of it.
IRKAR
Apr 27th · 08:18 UTC
Cool simple art style and i love how to feels animations also great music and gameplay was fun. Great job!![Screenshot_20260427_111445.png](///raw/25b/76/z/72cc5.png)![Screenshot_20260427_111451.png](///raw/25b/76/z/72cc6.png)
tailchaser
Apr 27th · 12:55 UTC
Love it! Fog-of-war checkers is truly great idea, I hope you'll make a fog-of-war chess as well :D
dqso
Apr 30th · 09:12 UTC
Love how the theme is used to add a fresh layer of complexity to classic checkers. Nice!
PhilStrahl
May 03rd · 01:49 UTC
Very cool take on Checkers of all things!! I never thought that old boardgame classic (which I've never played before!) could works as a survival horror game in a sense! Here’s the VOD of me playing it on stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMR3_KTESOU
LDJam user 301295
May 04th · 07:37 UTC
An excellent display of how audio and art can deliver mood in a such a good way that can make checkers feel tense :)
Kahztein
May 04th · 07:46 UTC
Very well made, and excellent level of polish! There's an cool layer of strategy with the hidden enemey pieces, I had to think about the risks whenever I was moving a piece somewhere I wasn't certain about. It's quite satisfying to win in the end, certainly more than regular checkers against an AI.

Overall great job!
brolga
May 04th · 11:13 UTC
Great game, checkers has never felt so intense ngl, nice work!
PoshDan
May 04th · 13:51 UTC
An interesting twist on checkers! The stun mechanic was a great way to cover the possibility of guesswork, and the number of stars relating to the amount of turns left is a nice touch.
killthealias
May 08th · 20:45 UTC
I'm certainly not very good at checkers, but this was a really fun take on it.