The Basics of Backgammon Tactics – Part Two

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As we dicussed in the previous article, Backgammon is a game of skill and good luck. The goal is to move your pieces safely around the board to your inner board and at the same time your opposition moves their checkers toward their home board in the opposite direction. With opposing player chips moving in opposing directions there is bound to be conflict and the requirement for specific tactics at particular times. Here are the last two Backgammon strategies to complete your game.

The Priming Game Strategy

If the purpose of the blocking plan is to slow down the opponent to shift her chips, the Priming Game strategy is to absolutely block any activity of the opponent by building a prime – ideally 6 points in a row. The opponent’s pieces will either get bumped, or end up in a battered position if she ever attempts to escape the wall. The trap of the prime can be built anyplace between point two and point 11 in your game board. Once you’ve successfully built the prime to prevent the movement of the competitor, your competitor doesn’t even get a chance to roll the dice, and you move your checkers and roll the dice again. You will be a winner for sure.

The Back Game Plan

The aims of the Back Game tactic and the Blocking Game plan are similar – to hinder your competitor’s positions hoping to better your odds of winning, however the Back Game technique uses alternate tactics to do that. The Back Game tactic is often employed when you are far behind your competitor. To participate in Backgammon with this plan, you need to control 2 or more points in table, and to hit a blot (a single checker) late in the game. This strategy is more complex than others to employ in Backgammon because it requires careful movement of your pieces and how the chips are moved is partially the outcome of the dice roll.