In very simple terms, there are 3 chief game plans employed. You must be agile enough to hop between game plans instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This comprises of assembling a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you might manage, to lock in your competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate tactic at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This involves locking your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. i.e., if your opposer rolls an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then toss a five-five, you can play 6/1 six/one eight/three 8/3. Your challenger is now in serious dire straits considering that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have two or more checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position filled by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It must be played when you are extremely behind as this strategy much improves your chances. The better places for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s lower points and either on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is crucial for a powerful backgame: after all, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your challenger is getting their checkers home, seeing that you don’t have other extra pieces to move! In this situation, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position until your competitor provides you a chance to hit, so it can be a good idea to try and get your opponent to get them in this case!

