Backgammon – 3 General Strategies
In astonishingly general terms, there are three basic plans used. You must be agile enough to hop between game plans almost instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of building a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you are able to achieve, to barricade in your competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable tactic at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play six/one six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opposer is then in serious trouble since they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher pieces in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your pieces.) It would be used when you are decidedly behind as this action much improves your chances. The strongest locations for anchors are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with a single point separating them. Timing is essential for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break down this right away, while your competitor is shifting their checkers home, taking into account that you don’t have any other additional pieces to shift! In this case, it is better to have pieces on the bar so that you might maintain your position up till your challenger gives you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your opposer to hit them in this situation!
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