Backgammon – Three Basic Schemes

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In astonishingly simple terms, there are 3 chief strategies employed. You must be able to hop between techniques quickly as the course of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you might manage, to lock in the opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable course of action at the start of the game. You can build the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match continues.

The Blitz

This is composed of closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your competitor on the bar. i.e., if your opposer tosses an early 2 and shifts one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opponent is now in big-time dire straits due to the fact that they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!

The Backgame

This tactic is where you have two or higher pieces in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor is a point occupied by at least two of your pieces.) It should be used when you are significantly behind as it much improves your chances. The better locations for anchor spots are near your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is critical for an effective backgame: besides, there is no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your challenger is moving their checkers home, considering that you don’t have other spare checkers to move! In this case, it’s more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you can maintain your position up till your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it may be a great idea to attempt and get your opposer to hit them in this case!