Backgammon

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In very general terms, there are three general tactics employed. You want to be agile enough to switch strategies quickly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This consists of assembling a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to lock in the opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable course of action at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anyplace between your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game continues.

The Blitz

This consists of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your opposer rolls an early two and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play six/one 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your challenger is then in big-time dire straits due to the fact that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!

The Backgame

This strategy is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point occupied by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be used when you are extremely behind as this strategy much improves your circumstances. The better places for anchors are close to your opponent’s lower points and also on abutting points or with one point separating them. Timing is critical for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your competitor is shifting their checkers home, considering that you do not have any other extra checkers to shift! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a great idea to attempt and get your competitor to get them in this situation!