In exceptionally general terms, there are three general techniques used. You need to be agile enough to hop between techniques almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you can manage, to block in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable course of action at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anyplace inbetween your eleven-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.

The Blitz

This consists of locking your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your challenger tosses an early two and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one 8/3 8/3. Your challenger is now in big-time trouble taking into account that they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your home board!

The Backgame

This tactic is where you have 2 or more checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point filled by at least 2 of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your chances. The best locations for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for a competent backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no reason having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to break apart this right away, while your competitor is moving their pieces home, seeing that you do not have any other extra pieces to shift! In this situation, it is more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position up until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a great idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!