In astonishingly simple terms, there are 3 general game plans employed. You need to be agile enough to switch strategies quickly as the action of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you can achieve, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable procedure at the begining of the match. You can assemble the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.

The Blitz

This is composed of locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your opposer rolls an early two and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a five-five, you can play six/one six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is now in big-time calamity because they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!

The Backgame

This course of action is where you have two or higher anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position filled by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are significantly behind as this strategy greatly improves your opportunities. The better areas for anchors are close to your competitor’s smaller points and also on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your opponent is shifting their checkers home, considering that you do not have any other extra checkers to move! In this case, it’s more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you can maintain your position until your opponent gives you a chance to hit, so it may be an excellent idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!