Backgammon – Three General Techniques

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In exceptionally general terms, there are three main plans employed. You need to be able to hop between game plans quickly as the course of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of assembling a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you might achieve, to block in the opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate strategy at the start of the match. You can assemble the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.

The Blitz

This involves locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your opponent rolls an early 2 and moves one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your competitor is then in big-time calamity considering that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!

The Backgame

This plan is where you have two or higher checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum two of your pieces.) It would be played when you are decidedly behind as this action greatly improves your opportunities. The best places for anchor spots are near your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with one point in between. Timing is crucial for a powerful backgame: besides, there’s no point having 2 nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your opponent is getting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other additional checkers to shift! In this case, it is more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to preserve your position up till your opponent provides you a chance to hit, so it may be a good idea to attempt and get your challenger to hit them in this case!