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Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

In extraordinarily general terms, there are three general tactics used. You want to be agile enough to switch game plans quickly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you are able to manage, to block in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable strategy at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anywhere within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shift it into your home board as the game continues.

The Blitz

This is comprised of locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your challenger is then in serious difficulty since they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have closed half your home board!

The Backgame

This tactic is where you have two or higher checkers in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a position filled by at least 2 of your checkers.) It would be employed when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your chances. The better locations for anchors are near your competitor’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with a single point in between. Timing is essential for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to dismantle this right away, while your challenger is shifting their checkers home, seeing that you don’t have any other spare checkers to move! In this situation, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you can preserve your position until your opponent gives you a chance to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your opponent to hit them in this case!