Backgammon – 3 Main Plans
Posted in Backgammon on 04/27/2024 07:25 pm by Jillian
In very general terms, there are three basic tactics used. You need to be agile enough to switch game plans quickly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of assembling a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you might manage, to block in your competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable strategy at the start of the match. You can create the wall anyplace within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you can play 6/1 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opposer is now in big-time dire straits taking into account that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position filled by at least two of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are decidedly behind as this plan greatly improves your opportunities. The best locations for anchors are towards your competitor’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is important for an effective backgame: after all, there’s no point having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your challenger is moving their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other extra checkers to move! In this case, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up until your opposer gives you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your opponent to hit them in this case!