Backgammon

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In very simple terms, there are 3 chief game plans employed. You need to be able to hop between game plans instantly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This involves assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you can manage, to lock in the opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable strategy at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.

The Blitz

This is comprised of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. e.g., if your challenger tosses an early 2 and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opposer is now in serious calamity considering that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!

The Backgame

This course of action is where you have two or more anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are significantly behind as it much improves your chances. The better places for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with one point in between. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having 2 nice anchors and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break apart this right away, while your challenger is moving their checkers home, seeing that you do not have any other additional checkers to move! In this situation, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up until your challenger provides you a chance to hit, so it may be an excellent idea to attempt and get your opposer to get them in this situation!