Backgammon – 3 General Plans

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In exceptionally simple terms, there are three main plans employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between tactics quickly as the action of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This comprises of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you can achieve, to lock in the competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.

The Blitz

This involves closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your competitor tosses an early two and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your challenger is now in big-time difficulty since they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!

The Backgame

This plan is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at least 2 of your pieces.) It would be played when you are decidedly behind as it much improves your circumstances. The strongest places for anchors are close to your competitor’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is essential for an effectual backgame: after all, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this straight away, while your opposer is moving their pieces home, seeing that you do not have any other spare checkers to move! In this case, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you might preserve your position until your opposer provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a wonderful idea to try and get your opposer to hit them in this situation!