Basic Backgammon Strategy
Backgammon is a race, but it is a race in which you can block, hit and slow down the other runner. Most beginners try two things at once: never leave a single checker exposed and hit whenever they can. Neither rule works on its own. Good play comes from weighing what you gain against what you risk on every move. The ideas below give you a framework for doing that. If you are still learning how checkers move, start with the rules.
Opening moves
The first roll is always a non-double, because both players roll one die and ties are rolled again. A few opening rolls make a valuable point at once and have a clear best play:
- 3-1: make your 5-point (8/5, 6/5).
- 4-2: make your 4-point (8/4, 6/4).
- 6-1: make your bar point, the 7-point (13/7, 8/7).
- 5-3: make your 3-point (8/3, 6/3).
Other rolls usually bring builders down from the midpoint or start moving a back checker. Later in the game a roll of 1-1 is very strong in many positions, because it can make the bar point and the 5-point together (8/7(2), 6/5(2)).
Which points matter most
Your 5-point is the most valuable point on the board early on. It blocks your opponent's back checkers and helps close your home board. Next come the 4-point and the bar point. Points deep in your home board, the 1- and 2-points, do little blocking and are usually made too early by beginners.
Hitting
Hitting costs your opponent pips and time, since the checker must re-enter and start its journey again. It is most effective when you also make a point, when your opponent's home board is weak (so a return hit will not hurt much), or when it takes away a point your opponent badly needs. If you have a choice between hitting a third checker and closing another point in your home board, closing the point is often better, because it keeps the checkers already on the bar trapped. The old saying "when in doubt, hit" is a useful tiebreaker in the early game, not a law.
Builders and distribution
Spread your checkers so they work together. A stack of five or six checkers on one point wastes them. Checkers on points within six pips of a target point are called builders, and having several builders means more rolls will let you make the point you want. Our page on backgammon probability explains how to count those rolls.
Primes
A row of consecutive blocked points is a prime. A full prime of six points cannot be jumped at all; a checker trapped behind it must wait until the prime breaks. Even four or five points in a row are a serious obstacle. The best primes are built just in front of the opponent's back checkers and then rolled forward toward your home board.
Anchors
An anchor is a point you hold in your opponent's home board. It gives your back checkers a safe landing spot and makes it hard for your opponent to attack. The most useful anchors are on your opponent's 5-point or 4-point (your 20- and 21-points), because they are hard to prime and give good chances to hit later.
Game plans
Every position suggests a plan, and the plan can change with each roll:
- Racing: you are ahead in the pip count, so break contact and run home.
- Holding game: you are behind, so keep an anchor and wait for a shot as your opponent comes home.
- Priming game: trap enemy checkers behind a wall of points.
- Blitz: attack blots in your home board while your opponent has checkers on the bar.
- Backgame: when far behind, hold two points deep in your opponent's home board and wait for a late shot. It is risky and best learned later.
Saving the gammon
When a game is clearly lost, your goal changes. Bring your checkers out of your opponent's home board and get at least one checker off as quickly as possible, so that a single loss does not become a gammon or a backgammon.
When you are comfortable with these ideas, learn how the doubling cube changes the game.