In very general terms, there are three fundamental game plans used. You must be agile enough to hop between techniques almost instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to achieve, to lock in the opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable strategy at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anyplace within your 11-point and your 2-point and then shift it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your opposer tosses an early 2 and moves one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play six/one six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your competitor is then in big-time trouble seeing that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or higher anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your checkers.) It should be employed when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your opportunities. The better locations for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and also on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is critical for an effectual backgame: after all, there is no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, owing to the fact that you don’t have other spare checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position until your competitor gives you an opportunity to hit, so it may be an excellent idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this case!