The Basics of Backgammon Strategies – Part Two
Posted in Backgammon on 03/12/2023 01:25 pm by Zaire
As we dicussed in the previous article, Backgammon is a game of ability and good luck. The aim is to shift your checkers safely around the board to your inside board and at the same time your opponent moves their chips toward their home board in the opposing direction. With opposing player checkers moving in opposite directions there is bound to be conflict and the need for particular strategies at particular times. Here are the last 2 Backgammon tactics to round out your game.
The Priming Game Plan
If the goal of the blocking plan is to slow down the opponent to move her pieces, the Priming Game plan is to absolutely block any movement of the opponent by constructing a prime – ideally 6 points in a row. The opponent’s pieces will either get bumped, or end up in a damaged position if she ever attempts to leave the wall. The trap of the prime can be setup anyplace between point 2 and point 11 in your game board. As soon as you’ve successfully built the prime to prevent the movement of the opponent, your competitor does not even get a chance to toss the dice, and you shift your pieces and roll the dice yet again. You’ll be a winner for sure.
The Back Game Plan
The objectives of the Back Game tactic and the Blocking Game tactic are very similar – to hinder your competitor’s positions with hope to better your chances of succeeding, however the Back Game plan uses different tactics to do that. The Back Game strategy is generally used when you are far behind your competitor. To compete in Backgammon with this technique, you need to hold two or more points in table, and to hit a blot (a single checker) late in the game. This plan is more challenging than others to play in Backgammon because it needs careful movement of your chips and how the pieces are relocated is partially the result of the dice toss.