How to Shift a Strategy to the Back Game
What if during a game of backgammon you realize that your strategy isn't working for you? Do you know how to shift your game to another strategy? Let's take a look at a worse case scenario and see how to shift to a back game and turn things around for a losing game.
Backgammon at times would require players to shift to different strategies more than once during the course of a single game. Backgammon players ought to be flexible and are familiar with the different strategies the game offers. The back game is considered a last ditch strategy by most players to salvage a game.
It is true that the back game is not the most popular strategy around. One thing that this strategy implies is that the player employing it is really behind in the game. It also means that that player desperately needs to make a hit to shift the favor to his side.
Before considering to shift your strategy to a back game make sure you know the different elements necessary to pull off a successful back game. The very first thing a player must consider is if he holds any point in the opponent's home board. A successful back game would require a player to control an average of two points in the opponent's home board (more than 2 points would be very effective). At times a player would have to make blots and take hits just to establish these points.
Another factor a player must consider is movement. If a player's opponent has greater flexibility in his position to allow him to move around faster - then a player taking on a back game has a good chance to pull it off quite well. Why is that so? You might ask. The reason behind this has something to do with the two points you're maintaining at your opponent's home board.
If a player employing a back game moves faster than his opponent he risks breaking up the points set up in the opponent's home board. It is necessary (and not to mention quite risky) to give your opponent chances to move. If you have a prime set up, you might have to break it up.
One last element we need to set up when playing a back game is to gain control of your own home board. While letting the opponent move along, a player doing a back game should subtly move his pieces on to his own home board. Remember that the objective of a back game is to hit an opponent's checker or checkers and keep them at the bar (or at best delay that piece from getting back to the opponent's home board) while positioning your pieces to bear off or to gain ground.
The ability to shift from one strategy to another is a fundamental skill all backgammon players ought to have. A successful switch to a back game requires giving way for your opponent's movement, setting up points at the opponent's home board (may require getting hit), and steadily moving pieces to control your own home board.