In extraordinarily general terms, there are 3 chief plans employed. You want to be able to hop between game plans almost instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you are able to manage, to barricade in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable course of action at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your competitor is then in serious difficulty because they have 2 pieces 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 competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a position occupied by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It would be employed when you are decidedly behind as it much improves your chances. The better places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with one point separating them. Timing is critical for a competent backgame: after all, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break apart this right away, while your opponent is moving their checkers home, considering that you do not have any other extra checkers to move! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this situation!
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