In extraordinarily simple terms, there are three general game plans employed. You need to be able to hop between game plans instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves building a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you are able to achieve, to lock in your competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This consists of closing your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. For example, if your opponent tosses an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play six/one six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is now in serious dire straits because they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It needs to be used when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your circumstances. The best locations for anchors are towards your competitor’s smaller points and also on abutting points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your opposer is moving their pieces home, taking into account that you don’t have other extra pieces to shift! In this situation, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to preserve your position until your competitor provides you a chance to hit, so it can be a great idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this case!