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| It’s true that you can win a game without knowing anything about the settled repertory of tricks and strategies. But this only happens occasionally. If you would like to become really good and successful, be careful of the tactics presented below! You won’t regret it! Bear in mind that besides strategy you need experience that may be gained over multiple games. Your success, however, depends on three factors: on strategy, experience and luck. The last one is an objective and variable element, one cannot help not being lucky. But knowing the instructions and playing according to them will do. By playing backgammon, the strategies described in this article will come automatically. You’ll see! |
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To begin with, let’s stress it again that you don’t need any gambling experience in order to play a backgammon game. You can become successful just by paying attention to some basic strategies. This article will be the very first step for you in this sense. If you keep in mind the recommendations underlined in the following lines, you can easily start to play your first backgammon game on your own!
Talking about backgammon tactics you should know from the beginning that there exists a sort of opening theory. Don’t be afraid, this theory is not as complicated as it is in the case of chess, so it won’t make you get confused. The reason for which this start-up strategy is not so detailed is that after starting the game, a range of possible roll combinations may occur, making it possible to establish a whole theory. Although there are complex computer analyses describing the opening scenes, players suddenly find themselves in the midst of the game, so there is no reason for entering into details. Generally speaking, the players play backgammon according to some general strategies depending on the situation they find themselves, or their checkers. In order for one to become successful, flexibility is essential, as well as the ability to switch among different strategies in the different conditions of the backgammon game.
Let’s start with the simplest strategy, namely staying clear of being hit or blocked. On the other hand, this also means that one intensely tries to hit and block the other player, and thus sending the opponent’s checkers on the bar. Some players call this strategy as the ‘running game’, because of the intention of the players to move around the board as quickly as possible. Most of the times this guarantees that player’s success that is ahead and thus, cannot be hit. In case this basic strategy fails, you can choose another strategy called a ‘holding game’. This means holding a certain point on the opponent's side. The controlled point’s name is anchor, and it may serve as a tool for hitting one of the opponent’s checkers. But you have another chance with the anchor, namely throwing a big double with which you can enter into a new running game. Don’t forget that in case you possess at least two such defensive anchors, keep them on neighbouring points!
Second, the strategy called a ‘priming game’ is a tricky mode of creating a wall of one's pieces. This wall is called 'prime', and it involves a certain number of successive points. This keeps the opponent's checkers which are behind the wall from moving. Be careful as after a six-point wall no checker can escape if the wall is not broken! Moreover, you can make a prime even more effective creating a ‘blitz’. Can you guess what this refers to? It’s a clever strategy by which one tries to occupy the whole home board very quickly while the other player stays on the bar. You can make use of your opponent’s inability to re-enter his or her checker from the bar, as until re-entering, no checker-move is possible. So you can easily gain a real advantage and increase your winning chances! Moreover, if you’re clever and lucky enough, you can win by a gammon or backgammon as well!
Third, let’s see what can you do if you are already behind but you still want to save your neck? The best strategy for you in such a case is the one called ‘back game’. You have to place at least two anchors to the other player’s home board, and in the same time you have to build a wall in your own board. This step will impede the other player’s pieces and your chances of hitting them will increase as they are forced to be moved home in order to win the game. By moving home, your opponent’s pieces are very likely to be hit by your defensive points. Keep in mind though that this back game strategy should not be used as a start-up game plan, but only as a rescuer scheme!
Fourth, there are two basic strategies referring to the placement of the pieces. Duplication means placing one’s pieces in such a way that the other player needs exactly the same dice throws to achieve his objectives. This is useful, as throwing the same numbers many times is not so probable. So if you put all of your pieces in such a way that the other player has to throw a three to bump any of them, you are very likely of not being bumped more than once. The other strategy called ‘diversification’ is a more complex trick implying a placement of your pieces in such a mode that any thrown number may be used.
Remember that if there is only one piece on a point it can be hit anytime, which implies starting over its way. However, if there are at least two pieces on a point of one’s own, these are under cover. More than that, these pieces can also block the other player. Blocking means building primes in one’s home board in front of the other player’s pieces with no gaps between them. This way the opponent’s checkers cannot escape, particularly if you have six such points in a row. This is called prime, and it’s very useful for you to keep this structure as long as you can!
Next, keep in mind that hitting should be made with a lot of care! It is not always useful, but when doing it, you should hit the most advanced pieces! Avoid it for instance if your opponent already has two or more pieces on the bar. In this case it’s better to make a new point for you than to hit. Be careful for your opponent’s home board getting powerful. Try to prevent his making too many points in his home board, as this renders it more difficult for you to re-enter in case you are hit. On the other hand, it’s recommended for you to cumulate points in the other player's home board!
A final strategy refers to the distribution of your pieces. The best is to have an equal division of your checkers. For instance, it’s considerably better if you have three pieces on two different places, than having four pieces on one and two on another point. It’s not good to have six or more pieces on a single point! Remember that if you manage to have an equal distribution of your checkers, your dice rolls will become ‘luckier’. Last but not least, don’t forget to measure your standing while playing and making decisions! Be attentive in deciding on a doubling cube or on beginning to bear your checkers off. Creating a winning game scheme is not as easy as one would believe! Thinking logically doesn’t always work in backgammon, that’s why the various strategies should be born in mind.
The above-described backgammon strategies are just a few of the many existing ones, but they are enough to get started! To conclude with, remember that you can choose between many interesting games to play on a backgammon board and inventing a new one is also possible. However, while playing, you should always be careful of the strategies in order to be successful! |
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