In exceptionally general terms, there are three main plans employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between tactics almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might achieve, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the match. You can create the wall anyplace between your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as quick as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. e.g., if your challenger tosses an early two and shifts one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play six/one 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is now in big-time dire straits seeing that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or more anchors in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor spot is a position filled by at least 2 of your checkers.) It would be used when you are significantly behind as this action much improves your chances. The strongest places for anchors are close to your opponent’s lower points and also on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is critical for a powerful backgame: after all, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your opponent is shifting their pieces home, because you do not have any other spare checkers to shift! In this case, it’s more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position until your opposer provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to try and get your challenger to hit them in this situation!
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