In astonishingly general terms, there are three main strategies employed. You must be able to switch tactics almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This comprises of assembling a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to barricade in your opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most adequate course of action at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the game advances.

The Blitz

This is composed of closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is now in big-time calamity considering that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!

The Backgame

This plan is where you have two or more checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point filled by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It would be employed when you are decidedly behind as this strategy greatly improves your opportunities. The best locations for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break down this right away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, considering that you do not have other additional checkers to shift! In this case, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you might preserve your position until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your opposer to hit them in this situation!