The aim of a Backgammon match is to move your pieces around the Backgammon board and get those pieces off the board quicker than your opponent who works harder to do the same buthowever they move in the opposing direction. Winning a game of Backgammon requires both tactics and luck. Just how far you can move your chips is left to the numbers from rolling a pair of dice, and how you move your checkers are determined by your overall playing plans. Enthusiasts use a few strategies in the differing stages of a match dependent on your positions and opponent’s.

The Running Game Plan

The aim of the Running Game plan is to bring all your pieces into your inside board and pull them off as fast as you could. This plan focuses on the pace of advancing your checkers with absolutely no time spent to hit or barricade your competitor’s checkers. The best scenario to employ this tactic is when you believe you can shift your own checkers faster than your opposition does: when 1) you have less pieces on the game board; 2) all your chips have moved beyond your competitor’s checkers; or 3) the opponent doesn’t use the hitting or blocking tactic.

The Blocking Game Plan

The primary aim of the blocking tactic, by the name, is to stop the competitor’s checkers, temporarily, while not worrying about shifting your chips quickly. As soon as you have created the barrier for your competitor’s movement with a couple of chips, you can move your other pieces swiftly from the game board. The player should also have a clear plan when to withdraw and move the pieces that you employed for the blockade. The game becomes interesting when the opponent uses the same blocking strategy.