The Basics of Backgammon Strategies – Part Two

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As we have dicussed in the previous article, Backgammon is a casino game of ability and luck. The goal is to shift your pieces safely around the game board to your home board and at the same time your opposition shifts their checkers toward their inside board in the opposite direction. With opposing player checkers shifting in opposing directions there is bound to be conflict and the need for specific tactics at particular instances. Here are the last two Backgammon techniques to round out your game.

The Priming Game Plan

If the aim of the blocking tactic is to slow down the opponent to shift his checkers, the Priming Game tactic is to completely block any activity of the opposing player by constructing a prime – ideally 6 points in a row. The opponent’s pieces will either get hit, or end up in a bad position if he ever attempts to escape the wall. The trap of the prime can be established anywhere between point two and point eleven in your half of the board. Once you’ve successfully built the prime to block the activity of your competitor, the opponent does not even get to roll the dice, and you move your checkers and toss the dice again. You will be a winner for sure.

The Back Game Plan

The objectives of the Back Game technique and the Blocking Game tactic are very similar – to harm your competitor’s positions hoping to improve your chances of winning, however the Back Game tactic relies on seperate tactics to do that. The Back Game tactic is commonly used when you’re far behind your opponent. To compete in Backgammon with this plan, you need to hold two or more points in table, and to hit a blot (a single piece) late in the game. This technique is more challenging than others to use in Backgammon because it requires careful movement of your checkers and how the pieces are relocated is partially the outcome of the dice roll.