[ English ]

In exceptionally general terms, there are three chief strategies used. You must be agile enough to hop between tactics quickly as the action of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you can manage, to barricade in the opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the match. You can assemble the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the game progresses.

The Blitz

This is comprised of locking your home board as quick as possible while keeping your competitor on the bar. i.e., if your opposer tosses an early 2 and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is then in serious trouble because they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!

The Backgame

This tactic is where you have 2 or more anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be played when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your opportunities. The better areas for anchors are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for a powerful backgame: after all, there is no reason having 2 nice anchors and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your challenger is getting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it is more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you can maintain your position until your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your opponent to get them in this situation!