Which points are best for backgame strategy?

DeadCube · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

If I am pretty far behind in the game, I have head that a good strategy can be to work on my backgame, building anchors in my opponent’s home board. My question is, if I have six checkers in my opponent’s home board which three points should I occupy for the best results?

teklanika · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 6

It’s pretty hard to come by a well timed backgame with three points. If you have six checkers back that means you only have nine in your own homeboard to use to contain the checker that you hit. It will be much faster and easier for your opponent to re-enter the game and return to his home board than it will be for you to get all six of your checkers to your home board if you have hopes of winning the game.

It’s much better to focus on a one-point or two-point backgame while creating a prime in your home board. That way, when you hit your opponent their checker will be trapped on the bar for as long as it takes for you to roll all of your checkers into your home board.

Hope this helps!

Helerike · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 10

I’m gonna have to disagree with the advice given to avoid the three-point backgame. Setting up anchors on three points is only a bad idea if you HAVE to contain an early hit. However, if you have anchors on three points early in the game it will make things a lot more difficult for your opponent. Personally, I like to anchor on 1-3-5, because I feel as thought it spaces things out. I know people who like 2-3-4 or 4-5-6, but really I think that the random roll of the dice makes them all effective.