In astonishingly general terms, there are three basic tactics employed. You want to be able to hop between tactics almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to achieve, to block in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most acceptable course of action at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your 2-point and then shift it into your home board as the match continues.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. e.g., if your challenger rolls an early two and moves one piece from your one-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you will be able to play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your challenger is now in big-time dire straits since they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position consisting of at least 2 of your pieces.) It should be played when you are significantly behind as this plan greatly improves your chances. The better locations for anchors are close to your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is crucial for a competent backgame: after all, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your competitor is moving their pieces home, taking into account that you don’t have any other additional checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your opponent provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this case!