In astonishingly general terms, there are three general plans employed. You must be agile enough to switch game plans almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to block in your opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most acceptable course of action at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anyplace inbetween your eleven-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. e.g., if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opposer is then in big-time calamity since they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It should be used when you are significantly behind as it much improves your opportunities. The best places for anchors are close to your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is integral for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no reason having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break apart this straight away, while your competitor is shifting their pieces home, because you do not have anyother additional pieces to shift! In this situation, it’s 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 can be a great idea to try and get your competitorto hit them in this situation!
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