Backgammon Early Game Strategy

Writen by Levente Galambosi

The early game targets

When you play backgammon it is very important that you are able to change your play at once. From time to time you will need to take it easy and play constructive, sometimes you will have to go ahead with full speed. In the beginning you are required to play real aggressive and quick game. If you dont reach your early game goals you are certainly going to have problems in the rest of the game.

1. Make points in the homeboard

There are two reasons why this is important. First, it will mess your upponent's game by limiting his chances to enter from the bar if you hit his checker. If you make to additional points his chances are much worse to get back to the game than if you would have only the six-point. Second, by making points in your home board also means that you those checkers are already ready for bearing off when the time comes.

Please remember that some points are more important than others. If you maneuver your checkers to the edge of the board or very close to it you limit yourself as to which checkers you can move. On your home board the most important points are the 5-point, then 6 and 4-point and then the 3-point in this order.

If you are unable to make points in your homeboard, make points as near to the homeboard as possible. If you manage to block points 7 through 12 you'll see how difficult it is for your opponent to escape his back checkers. In addition, making any points between 7 and 12 are excellent storage points for bringing the checkers in to your home board.

2. Move your back men

You should keep an eye on your back checkers - if you let them get blocked you'll have a hard time winning the game.

Move your back men gradually forward from the beginning of the game so that you keep them in contact with the other checkers. If you create a large gap between your back men and the rest of your checkers, your back men will be vulnerable during their escape towards the home board.

Tips on moving your back men: If you happen to roll a double you should use half of the roll to bring up your back men. That way you move both the same amount of points eliminating the possibility of them getting hit. Use the other half of the roll to make points elsewhere on the board.

Split your back men when you can't think of a good move. That can be a little risky but well, backgammon is about taking calculated risks. Once you have split your back men try reunite them as soon as possible.

Final words

As mentioned above, if you won't reach your early game targets you'll end up in trouble. Your troubles will seem the get worse as soon as you have a few dollars at stake. You'll be thinking hard whether there was something you could've done differently and if you do manage to get out of trouble, well, then you were pretty lucky.

When you accomplish your early game targets you are in a far better position. You can start concentrating on the work to be done and you won't have to tackle problems each time as they arise. So don't loose your head, maintain your focus and work hard towards your early game targets and you have much better chances to win the game.

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Beginner backgammon players might find useful the online backgammon tips and instructions at WinningBackgammon.info. Upcoming backgammon sites are also reviewed and the backgammon strategy article listing is regularly being updated.