In exceptionally simple terms, there are three basic game plans employed. You want to be able to switch game plans quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is comprised of building a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you are able to achieve, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate strategy at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This is composed of closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. e.g., if your challenger rolls an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 8/3 eight/three. Your competitor is then in serious trouble considering that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have two or higher anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position occupied by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It should be employed when you are significantly behind as this strategy much improves your chances. The strongest places for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with a single point separating them. Timing is important for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your competitor is getting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other additional pieces to shift! In this case, it’s better to have pieces on the bar so that you might maintain your position up until your challenger provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a good idea to try and get your opposer to hit them in this case!
This entry was posted on March 14, 2026, 7:25 pm and is filed under Backgammon. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.