Backgammon – Three Basic Strategies
Posted in Backgammon on 06/29/2025 11:25 am by MadisynIn extraordinarily general terms, there are 3 fundamental plans used. You want to be agile enough to hop between strategies quickly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you might manage, to barricade in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most acceptable tactic at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. e.g., if your opponent rolls an early two and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you can play six/one 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opponent is then in serious difficulty considering that they have two checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have two or more checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It should be used when you are significantly behind as this plan greatly improves your chances. The better areas for anchors are near your opponent’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with one point in between. Timing is crucial for a powerful backgame: besides, there’s no reason having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your opposer is moving their pieces home, taking into account that you do not have any other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it’s more tolerable to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up till your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it can be a great idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this situation!