Backgammon – 3 Basic Schemes
Posted in Backgammon on 04/13/2025 09:25 pm by Lillie
In very simple terms, there are three fundamental game plans employed. You must be able to hop between strategies almost instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of assembling a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you can achieve, to lock in your competitor’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable procedure at the start of the game. You can create the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. e.g., if your challenger tosses an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is then in serious trouble 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 competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point occupied by at least 2 of your checkers.) It should be employed when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your circumstances. The strongest areas for anchors are towards your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is important for a powerful backgame: after all, there is no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to dismantle this right away, while your opponent is getting their checkers home, considering that you don’t have any other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it’s better to have pieces on the bar so that you might preserve your position up until your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this case!