The 1.75″ (4,45 cm) checker size is overwhelmingly popular in American tournament play, and is therefore generally referred to as “Tournament Size” on this side of the Atlantic.  The size of the checkers will largely dictate the proportions of the playing field, and you will find that most sets with 1.75″ checkers provide a comfortable reaching distance to checkers in all corners of the board. This size also allows a player to take in the entire board position with a single gaze.

While some players love to play with big 2″ checkers, many of their opponents will find the size makes playing more difficult, both physically (straining to reach checkers) and mentally (needing to look at different parts of the board separately).  However, if a maker reduces the space between opposing points in the middle of the board (see discussion below), a comfortable reach may be achieved even with these larger game pieces. Before investing in a plus-size set, you should try it out with these aspects of “playability” in mind.

Sets with smaller 1.5″ checkers are generally very comfortable, and gain some ease of portability. As checkers get even smaller, to the 1.25″ range, they become a bit more difficult to manipulate, and may get knocked around by the dice. Smaller sets are also less friendly to spectators, a vital consideration in chouettes.