In exceptionally general terms, there are 3 general strategies employed. You must be agile enough to hop between tactics almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of creating a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might manage, to block in the opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable strategy at the start of the game. You can create the wall anywhere within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shift it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your challenger rolls an early 2 and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 8/3. Your challenger is now in serious difficulty considering 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 higher anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point occupied by at least 2 of your checkers.) It should be employed when you are significantly behind as it greatly improves your chances. The better areas for anchor spots are near your competitor’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is critical for a competent backgame: after all, there is no point having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your competitor is moving their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other additional pieces to shift! In this situation, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to preserve your position up until your challenger provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a great idea to attempt and get your challenger to hit them in this situation!
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