Across the Board: Backgammon Strategies

Luck plays a significant part in the game of Backgammon, but there are a number of strategies that players can employ for every circumstance in the game.

Backgammon is played by two people on a board made up of four quadrants (two inner boards and two outer). Each quadrant is composed of six alternating black and white "pips." The players each have fifteen black or white checkers and a pair of dice.

The Building One's Board Strategy concentrates on making more points on the home quadrant, or board. Applying this strategy, the player makes it difficult for the opponent to escape; and should the player hit the opponent's blots, the opponent will find it hard to reenter them, which would prevent him from continuing the game and thus give the player total control of the board.

In the Combination Strategy, the player builds their board while taking note of the two runners on the opposing player's home board. The Bold Play Strategy dares the player to expose their blots in order to form positions they can take advantage of, as well as to coax the opponent into hitting. By exposing other blots to lure the opponent, the player can secure Bold-protecting blots. The player takes a big risk in utilizing this strategy, as it could mean the difference between success and failure in the game.

The Escaping Strategy involves escaping from the opponent's home board. Two of the player's checkers are positioned in the opponent's home board and must escape while the opponent builds their board. To do so, the opponent must roll a 6-5 or a 6-6. Otherwise, any other combination will leave the player with two blots on the board.

The Back Game Strategy enables the player to create several anchors in the opponent's home board in order to prevent them from bearing their checkers and force them to expose their checkers to hits.

The Safe Play Strategy entails leaving as few blots as possible and making as many points on the board as possible to prevent the opponent from hitting the player's checkers. As "safe" as this strategy might appear, it does not however create much opportunity for winning the game. One must remember that such a long, grueling game as backgammon comes with its own sets of risks, and luck is still a factor as a high double-roll can allow the opponent to escape.

In conclusion, the best way to employ a backgammon strategy is for the player to closely examine the opponent's moves. Once the player determines the opponent's strategy, they can counter it with the strategy that is appropriate for it.

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