Backgammon Strategies

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In astonishingly general terms, there are three basic tactics employed. You need to be agile enough to hop between techniques almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This consists of building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as deep as you are able to manage, to lock in the competitor’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable strategy at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the match progresses.

The Blitz

This is composed of closing your home board as fast as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. e.g., if your challenger rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is then in big-time trouble because they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!

The Backgame

This strategy is where you have 2 or more pieces in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a position consisting of at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It must be employed when you are extremely behind as it much improves your chances. The best places for anchors are near your opponent’s smaller points and either on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: after all, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your challenger is shifting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other spare checkers to shift! In this case, it is more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position until your challenger provides you a chance to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your opponent to hit them in this situation!