In extraordinarily general terms, there are three basic techniques employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between game plans instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This comprises of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you can manage, to barricade in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable tactic at the start of the game. You can build the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your challenger rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play six/one six/one eight/three 8/3. Your challenger is now in serious dire straits taking into account that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have 2 or more checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position occupied by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It should be played when you are significantly behind as it greatly improves your circumstances. The better places for anchors are near your opponent’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is important for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your challenger is moving their checkers home, seeing that you do not have any other spare pieces to move! In this situation, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up until your competitor provides you a chance to hit, so it may be a great idea to attempt and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!
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