Backgammon – 3 Main Plans
In extraordinarily general terms, there are three basic techniques employed. You must be able to hop between strategies quickly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might achieve, to block in your competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate procedure at the start of the game. You can create the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. e.g., if your competitor tosses an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opposer is now in serious difficulty since they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position consisting of at a minimum two of your pieces.) It must be employed when you are extremely behind as this action greatly improves your chances. The better areas for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with a single point separating them. Timing is essential for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your challenger is moving their checkers home, seeing that you don’t have any other additional checkers to move! In this case, it’s more tolerable to have checkers on the bar so that you might preserve your position until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this case!