Order of play: One player takes the white pieces, the other the black. In human vs. computer play, the human plays white. Players alternate turns, laying down one piece per turn. If no legal moves are available, player loses a turn.
Legal moves: A player may lay a piece on any unoccupied square on the board which captures at least one opponent piece.
Capturing pieces: A piece is captured when it is surrounded on two sides, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, by two pieces of the opposite color. It is possible to capture pieces in more than one direction at once with a single move.
The end of the game: The game is over when all the squares on the board are occupied, or when neither player has a legal move available.
Strategy: In general, board position is more important than material gain. Edge squares are more important than interior squares, and corner squares are most important of all -- once a corner is occupied, it can never be recaptured, whereas the interior squares will most likely change hands several times in the course of the game.