In extraordinarily general terms, there are three basic game plans employed. You must be able to switch tactics instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you can manage, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anyplace between your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This involves locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early two and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play six/one 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opposer is now in serious dire straits seeing that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have two or more pieces in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It should be played when you are decidedly behind as this strategy greatly improves your chances. The better places for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with a single point in between. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: besides, there is no point having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your opposer is shifting their pieces home, seeing that you don’t have any other extra pieces to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position until your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your competitor to hit them in this case!