In astonishingly general terms, there are 3 chief tactics employed. You want to be agile enough to switch game plans instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This comprises of building a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might manage, to lock in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most acceptable procedure at the start of the game. You can create 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 closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. For example, if your challenger tosses an early 2 and moves one piece from your one-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play six/one 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opposer is now in big-time difficulty considering that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have two or higher anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position filled by at least 2 of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are decidedly behind as it much improves your chances. The best locations for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s lower points and either on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effectual backgame: besides, there’s no point having 2 nice anchors and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this straight away, while your opponent is shifting their checkers home, because you don’t have any other additional pieces to move! In this case, it’s more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you might preserve your position up until your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a good idea to try and get your opposer to hit them in this situation!
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