Backgammon strategy

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games in the world, having been around for at least 5,000 years. It’s a game of skill and strategy, with two players competing to move their pieces around the board and bear them off before their opponent does.

While luck plays a part, it’s ultimately your strategic decisions that will decide who wins or loses. In this article, we’ll look at some of the key Backgammon strategies to consider when playing Backgammon so you can increase your chances of success!

Back game – return from the dead

The back game is not a starting game strategy, and you shouldn’t use it on purpose.

You only should use it when you are in a bad situation in the game – when you got hit with a few pieces and are really behind in the race. The strategy states you should remain an anchor or two until a blot appears and then hope for the right dice, during this time you should also secure more points in his home in case hitting will happen.

When the hit happens, you already secured most of the points (or all of them) in your home. Now it’s the time to break the anchors you made and bring back the rest of the pieces home, while your opponent still struggles with re-entering from the bar.

Holding game – waiting for the right moment

The holding game Backgammon strategy is commonly used when you find yourself behind your opponent in the number of pips.

The main objective of this strategy is to maintain control of a point on your opponent’s side of the board. 

The ideal locations to control are either the 20-point or the bar-point, as they offer the greatest likelihood of hitting your opponent’s checkers as they try to move them toward their home board.

Additionally, these points can be used to block your opponent’s progress.

Priming game – a well-built wall

In the priming strategy, you should secure as many consecutive points as you can – also called priming.

6 consecutive secured points are called 6-prime and it is the ideal prime because the opponent couldn’t pass this prime. Looks like that:

Notice how the black piece cannot move regardless of the dice. 

You can do priming at any part of the board, favorably close to your home, but there always keep in mind that the prime should be between the opponent’s piece and his home. This strategy for Backgammon can be a game changer.

Running game – strong pip count

This Backgammon strategy is another strategy that you should apply only at the right moment. What is the right moment? when your pip count is much better than your opponent’s pip count. 

In this strategy, you basically try to move all your pieces to your home fast as you can while trying to pass all the opponent’s pieces. The goal is to be the first one who moves all his pieces to his home because you know you have a better pip count.

Blitz – attacker mode

The blitz is known as the attacking Backgammon strategy. This is a more advanced strategy because you need to be initiative and aggressive. 

In this strategy, you should hit your opponent’s pieces with the intention to keep them on the bar. Once you hit his pieces you start bringing your pieces to your home and try to secure more points. As the blitz continues, it becomes more and more difficult for your opponent to re-enter from the bar. 

The perfect blitz is to secure all the points in your home while your opponent’s pieces are on the bar. We really love to use this strategy for Backgammon.

Best Backgammon strategy

There is no perfect Backgammon strategy. Every strategy needs to be applied at the right moment. 

A good Backgammon player knows to play all the strategies, read the board, and play the right strategy according to what happens on the board. 

For example, if you have a significantly better pip count it is time for the running game strategy, when you are really back in the race, the running game is a bad strategy, and the back game strategy is the best way. 

So the best Backgammon strategy will be the adapt strategy – adapt to the situation that happening on the board. Of course, this is an advanced strategy, but with good practice, you will master it.

Backgammon strategy for beginners

When starting to play backgammon, applying all the Backgammon strategies and mastering them all, can be difficult and overwhelming. 

Our tip to beginners who trying to find a strategy for Backgammon is to pick one at a time. Read the 5 Backgammon strategies we wrote about and choose one to practice. Practice it until the strategy feels natural to you. 

After this pick the next one and play it with the previous strategy. At this point, you have 2 Backgammon strategies to play with. continue this process until all 5 in your pocket.

If you are a beginner this article can help you.

Backgammon doubling cube strategy

When using a doubling cube in a game, there is a doubling cube strategy you can use in order to win more matches. You shouldn’t be afraid to double. if you have an advantage in the game you should raise the stake of the game. If the opponent agrees to the double request you can win and get more points, if he refuses, you win the game. So be fearless with the doubling cube. 

This strategy for Backgammon can win you a game without bearing off. This is an advanced strategy and you need to develop sense when to double.

As a general rule, if you have fewer pieces left and fewer pips in a bear-off, you should double. In addition, There is the 25% rule. The 25% rule states that if you expect to win 25% or more of the time, you should suggest a double or accept a double.

Backgammon bearing off strategy

When bearing off there are 2 cases. The first one is when you bearing off and there are no opponent’s pieces that can hit you in the future. The strategy here is to bear off when you can – don’t move unnecessary moves with your pieces. 

The second case is more tricky. When there are opponent’s pieces that can hit you in the future (must be in your home), you need to be more cautious. The first obligation here is to not make blots and bearing off is the second priority. With this in mind, try to keep an even number of pieces on each point that can be hit – this rule of thumb will help you a lot of the time.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, backgammon is a game of skill and strategy that requires you to think strategically about the moves you make. By understanding the various strategies such as holding, priming, running, and blitzing you can increase your chances of success in this exciting game. The key is to combine these Backgammon strategies in order to create a winning strategy for yourself. With practice and experience comes improved skills so don’t be afraid to take risks and try out different approaches when playing Backgammon! Enjoy!