Backgammon Strategy Guide
Backgammon is an ancient strategy game that contains certain elements of chance but is based primarily on skill. As such, the strategy for backgammon has been studied extensively for years and there are countless books devoted to the subject. The focus of this article is to touch on some of the basic approaches players may take to winning a backgammon match.
Opening Moves
Choosing the correct opening move in a game of backgammon can give you a major head start over your opponent. If you play backgammon for fun against other amateurs, these opening moves will get you off to an even better start.
The best opening roll you can get in backgammon is a 3-1. This sounds like a small roll but it allows you to immediately close your 5 point. For a complete list of the best opening moves, refer to this list:
2-1: You can split your back pieces in your opponent's home board and bring one checker down. You can also slot your 5 point and bring one checker down (13/11 and 6/5).
3-1: Close the 5 point (8/5 and 6/5).
4-1: There are a couple of options with this roll but usually you'll want to split your back checker and bring one down (24/23 and 13/9).
5-1: The best move for this one is also splitting your back checker and bringing one down (24/23 and 13/8)
3-2: Bring your back checker up and bring one down (24/21 and 13/11).
4-2: Close the 4 point.
5-2: Bring two checkers down or drop one from midpoint (13/8 and 24/22).
6-2: The best opening move for this roll is widely debated but generally your best move is to attack the bar right away.
4-3: You have several options with this opening roll depending on how the match is going but generally moving one up and bringing one down is the best play (24/21 and 13/9).
5-3: Close your 3 point (8/3 and 6/3).
6-3: Split your checkers and bring one down from midpoint. The purpose here is to get the 18 point and get a builder on the 10 point (24/18 and 13/10).
6-4: The most popular move with this opening roll is to move two checkers at (8/6 and 6/2).
6-5: A popular move with this opening roll is called Lover's Leap in which you move one of your back checkers to your midpoint (24/13).
Playing Strategies
The Backgammon Blitz
The backgammon blitz is an aggressive playing style in which your goal is to attack your opponent's checkers, close as many points in your home board as possible and keep your opponent stuck on the bar. This tactic is somewhat risky but it's extremely frustrating and effective when executed correctly.
When attempting a backgammon blitz, you will want to spread your checkers out across the board, preferably with more than one checker per point so you can't be hit. If you do have to take a point with just a single checker, make sure you keep it out of hitting range of your opponent.
After that, the rest of your backgammon strategy will consist of making as many points as possible in your home board and hitting your opponent as often as possible. The blitz is a powerful strategy but it will fail if your opponent manages to make an anchor.
Block and Prime
In this strategy your goal is to trap your opponent's checkers by building points directly in front of them without gaps in between your points. The most important points to control are the 5, 4 and 7 points in that order. If you can establish these points as early as possible, it will give your opponent all kinds of trouble.
A prime is an arrangement of checkers in which you control 6 points in a row. This creates a wall and traps your opponent in your home board. After that you can then try to block as many points as possible in your home board.