Backgammon – 3 General Plans
by Karla on Saturday, June 21st, 2025
In very general terms, there are three fundamental plans employed. You must be able to hop between game plans almost instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves assembling a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you are able to achieve, to block in the competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable strategy at the start of the match. You can create the wall anywhere between your eleven-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. e.g., if your competitor rolls an early two and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your challenger is then in serious trouble due to the fact that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or more anchors in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at least two of your checkers.) It needs to be used when you are significantly behind as this strategy greatly improves your chances. The strongest places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on adjacent points or with a single point in between. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: besides, there’s no reason having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your opponent is shifting their checkers home, seeing that you do not have other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you can maintain your position up till your opponent provides you a chance to hit, so it can be a great idea to attempt and get your challenger to hit them in this situation!
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