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Basic Strategy
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When in Rome 
By Kit Woolsey (1999).
Backgammon is, in essence, a race. Your overall plan is to take the lead in the race. If you are behind in the race you must do something about it, such as containing one of your opponent's checkers or forcing him to leave you a shot which you hit. "When ahead in the race, race. When behind in the race, don't race."
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How Shall I Win This Game?
By Walter Trice (2006).
There are only three ways to win. Whenever you see a position in which one player has a substantial advantage, he has either a big lead in the race, a strong attack in progress, or a prime that pretty securely locks up one or more of his opponent’s checkers. The three ways to win are racing, attacking, and priming. Thus in a broad sense the game-planning problem is multiple choice.
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Basic Strategy for Beginners
By Mark Damish (1995).
Tips for beginning players from the Backgammon FAQ. Topics include: distribution, exposure, blocking and priming, hitting, and anchoring.
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Game Plan Selection
By Mary Hickey (2006).
Mary's articles are about "game plan selection". Problems where you have truly reached a fork in the road and must make a strategic, rather than tactical, decision which will probably determine the course of the rest of the game.
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Basics of Backgammon
By Robert Townsend (2007).
Introduction to basic backgammon strategy -- the different game plans, bold play versus safe play, and how to think through a checker-play problem.
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Basic Backgammon Strategies
By Hank Youngerman (2002).
Your overall objective is always finding a way to get your checkers around the board and off before your opponent does. The strategy you choose is often dictated by the dice rolls early in the game and the strategy chosen by your opponent.
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Introduction to Backgammon Strategy
By Yahoo Games (1999).
A quick introduction to some of the important features of backgammon tactics. Items discussed include: the importance of the five-point, primes, slotting, avoiding being hit, the running game, the holding game, and the back game.
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Beginners Please
By Paul Money (2006).
This is the first in a course of lessons designed to take beginners up to the advanced levels of backgammon. Starting right from the beginning, we are going to learn all the techniques that underpin the games of the very best.
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Basic Strategy
By GamesGrid (1998).
Information to help players improve their game. The article is divided into eleven sections: anchoring, blocking and priming, communication, distribution, diversification, duplication, exposure, hitting, opening rolls, equity, and vigorish.
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Checker Play Posts
By Tom Keith.
Articles on the strategy and tactics of checker play from the Backgammon Galore Forum Archive.
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Vision
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What's Your Game Plan?
By Kit Woolsey (2001).
Despite the luck of the dice, having a game plan is just as important in backgammon as in chess. It may not be such a precise plan, and you must be prepared to change your plan as dictated by the dice, but you should still have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish. Having a good game plan in mind facilitates the search for good moves.
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Avoiding Burger King
By Kit Woolsey (2003).
Five common types of flawed thinking which lead to big errors: Missing a candidate move; losing the forest through the trees; misevaluating priorities; making awkward plays; and failure to cube. If you can avoid these errors, you will be playing backgammon as well as humanly possible.
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Considering All Possibilities
By Bill Robertie (2007).
Some positions involve have many possible plays which are somewhat reasonable. These positions can be very tricky, and one of the dangers is overlooking the best play altogether while sorting through the wealth of possibilities.
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The Most Common Error
By Kit Woolsey (2001).
The most common cause of error is not even considering seeing the best play. Sometimes it is a complete oversight. Sometimes you are concentrating on the wrong theme and don't see the best move because it involves a different theme. Here are a few examples from top-level competition in important matches.
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Positioning the Cue Ball
By Kit Woolsey (1999).
Expert pool players plan ahead. They don't just think the current shot; they think two or three shots ahead. The backgammon player, like the pool shark, should look beyond the immediate roll and anticipate future problems. He should ask: "What course is the game likely to follow?"
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Openings
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How to Play the Opening Rolls
By Tom Keith (2006).
In-depth analysis of each of the 15 possible opening rolls. Each roll includes a survey of the most popular ways to play the roll, advantages and disadvantages of the possible plays, and a rollout showing how Gnu Backgammon ranks the plays. The article is sprinkled with quotes from other authors about how to approach the opening rolls.
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Rollouts of Opening Moves
By Tom Keith (2006).
Rollouts of all the opening moves. Each play was rolled out 46,656 times using Gnu Backgammon at its strongest level.
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Backgammon Opening Replies
By Tom Keith (2005).
What basic principles should you follow when replying to your opponent's opening roll? Here are some points to keep in mind that will lead you in the right direction most of the time.
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Rollouts of Opening Replies
By Tom Keith (2005).
Rollouts of all the possible positions you might face when your opponent wins the opening roll. A total of 693 positions (2218 candidate plays) are rolled out.
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First and Second Moves Chart
By Stanley Richards (2007).
A chart to be used as a learning tool for mastering the first and second moves of backgammon.
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Bgonline Opening Rollouts
By Stick Rice (2007).
Extensive rollouts performed with Snowie and Gnu Backgammon. Opening rolls: 2-1, 3-2, 4-1, 4-3, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Replies to opening roll: 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5.
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What is 'Nactation'
By Tom Keith (2007).
In their book, Backgammon Openings, Nack Ballard and Paul Weaver use a special notation for labeling positions reached within the first few rolls of the game. This article explains how their notation (called "nactation") works.
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Nactation
By Nack Ballard (2008).
The term "nactation" is an amalgamation of "Nack" (its inventor) and "action notation." Nactation uses terms for actions ("run," "split," "slot," ...) and directions (up, down) that are commonly used to convey checker movements. It takes only a minute or two to learn the basic symbols. Ultimately, you can nactate an entire game or match. However, the primary purpose of nactation is to communicate play sequences and positions that arise in the first few moves of the game.
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Opening Goals
By Bill Robertie (2006).
Correct opening play is dominated by a few key goals. (1) Advance the back men. (2) Block your opponent's back men. (3) Hit your opponent's men. (4) Unstack. (5) Create problems for your opponent.
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Playing 2-1 on the Second Roll
By Bill Robertie (2007).
In this column we'll take a look at how Black should play a 2-1 when White has won the opening roll.
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Playing 2-2 on the Second Roll
By Bill Robertie (2007).
In this column we'll take a look at how Black should play a 2-1 when White has won the opening roll.
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Playing 3-2 on the Second Roll
By Bill Robertie (2007).
In this column we'll take a look at how Black should play a 3-2 when White has won the opening roll.
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Start and Return Rolls
By Peter Max Friis Jensen (2003).
Advice on how to play the opening rolls and each possible return roll for every opening.
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How to Play the Opening Moves
By Phil Simborg (2004).
Everything you need to know about making the right play first roll of the game.
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Taking a Big Step Forward
By Alex Zamanian (2000).
Making the two point with an opening 6-4 was considered by experts to be an inferior way to play the roll. Modern rollouts have shown otherwise. If you choose chosen make this play, you should try to steer away from a priming game and towards a blitzing, holding, or running game.
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Posts on Opening Rolls
By Tom Keith.
Postings on how to play the opening rolls and opening replies. From the Backgammon Galore Forum Archive.
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Early Game
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In the Beginning
By Nack Ballard and Paul Weaver (2003).
A three-part series on the first rolls of a game of backgammon. This series is suitable for backgammon players of all strengths. Part 1 aims mostly at teaching beginning and intermediate players. Parts 2 and 3 build on earlier knowledge and gradually present a greater challenge.
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Creating Problems
By Kit Woolsey (2000).
To get the best possible result, it may not be sufficient to just make the theoretically correct play. It might be better to make slightly inferior plays if these plays have a chance to induce your opponent to make even greater errors.
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The Other Side of the Board
By Kit Woolsey (2000).
Positions where what is happening on one side of the board affects the play on the other side of the board. It is necessary to get the big picture to understand the position and find the right play.
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A Look at the Golden Point
By Michael Crane (2000).
You can gain a large measure of security throughout a game by making a single point. This is your opponent's 5-point, called the Golden Point. It is the most important point for you to establish in the game.
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When Splitting is a Bad Idea
By Bill Robertie (2006).
So when is slotting to be preferred to splitting? Look for a combination of factors, some of which argue against splitting, others of which argue in favor of slotting. Consider slotting when you are in a weak position, with stacks and stripped points, and facing a strong opposing board.
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Two Opening Problems
By Bill Robertie (2006).
Although the first roll of the game is pretty well understood, backgammon gets much more complicated as we get deeper into the game. The two positions in this article occur at the third move, after Black wins the opening roll and White responds.
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Build or Hit?
By Bill Robertie (2007).
In the opening, plays that hit blots or make key points tend to dominate all other maneuvering plays. Interesting choices, however, arise when both choices are available. Do you hit, or do you make a point?
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Attacking Games
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Attack or Prime?
By Mary Hickey (2006).
When your opponent has only one checker back, the best way to contain him is by attacking. The priming approach can be effective as a prelude to an eventual attack, but not when he's at the edge threatening to escape. A blocking structure is most effective against two or more checkers.
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When it Pays to be Greedy
By Mary Hickey (2006).
Priming two or more checkers is a good rule to follow when your only goal is to win the game. But sometimes attacking is right if you are going for the gammon. How do you know if the risk is worth taking? The general rule is that you need to win twice as many added gammons as you lose added games.
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Kill or Let Die?
By Mary Hickey (2007).
In sharp-edged positions, choosing the right time to hit can be crucial. Sometimes it is best to "load your gun" (i.e., improve your board) before you "fire your gun" (i.e., hit your opponent).
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The Late Game Blitz
By Bill Robertie (2006).
In a late game blitz, one side has a blitz in progress and the other side has some sort of structure in place, which might range from a few scattered points to an imposing five-prime. The blitzer still has some checkers to extricate before he can claim the game. These positions are common, often difficult, and always important.
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Priming Games
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Primes vs Blots
By Walter Trice (2006).
Positions in which both sides are trying to contain a single blot with a prime, constitute the simplest prime-vs.-prime pattern. They deserve study because they illuminate the general problem of prime-vs.-prime strategy.
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Prime Development
By Walter Trice (2006).
Always look for a play that gives you as many points out six consecutive points as possible, even if it doesn't seem like the position before you demands a priming game plan. The best-of-six play, if it exists, will not always be the best play, but it very often will be, and if you don't go looking for it you may not spot it.
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Desperate Measures
By Walter Trice (2006).
What's the best way to win when you are trapped behind your opponent's prime? Fortune favors those who expect it, plan for it, and welcome it when it arrives.
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Prime Time?
By Mary Hickey (2006).
It is usually best to build on your strengths. If you are ahead in the race to block your opponent, then it is often best to continue with this theme.
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Playing Against a Five-Point Block
By Mary Hickey (2007).
The best way to defend against opponent's strong blockade is often not obvious. Should you run to the edge of the block? Should you counterblock his back checker? Or should you just hunker down an make whatever point you can?
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Planning to Play to Win
By Mary Hickey (2006).
A "frogboiler" refers to the belief which many hold, that if you drop a frog in boiling water he will leap out, but if you put him in cool water and gradually turn up the heat, he won't perceive the danger and will boil to death. I haven't tried this at home, and I hope you won't either, but I find the concept useful anyway.
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Exception to Attacking a Single Back Checker
By Mary Hickey (2006).
Here is an exception to the maxim, "Attack a single back checker." In the illustrated position, an attack is a blitzing play with too little ammunition to complete the blitz.
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Priming vs. Splitting in the Opening
By Alex Zamanian (2001).
When deciding between a splitting or a priming-oriented play, take a look at who is currently winning the priming game. Being behind in the race, owning better priming points, or having a better priming structure usually makes priming your best option.
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Building Structure
By Bill Robertie (2007).
One of the most difficult choices in the early and middle game is between creating structure (a blocking prime) and attending to issues on the other side of the board. Those issues vary: you might be able to hit a checker, make a defensive anchor, or escape one of your back men.
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Handling 6-Primes
By Bill Robertie (2007).
No matter how well you roll, you can't escape from behind a six-prime. However six-primes do have one weakness: it takes 12 checkers to make a six-prime, leaving only three checkers for maneuvering. If you can build some sort of block of your own, you can create cracking numbers for your opponent.
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Holding Games
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Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
By Kit Woolsey (1999).
When I first went through games played by TD-Gammon (the first neural network backgammon playing program), I looked for unusual plays which were different from what I would have done. One recurring theme I noticed was that TD-Gammon would often break up its board in a holding game for no apparent reason.
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Breaking the Anchor
By Kit Woolsey (2002).
The decision of when to break anchor is one of the most important in backgammon. Breaking an anchor is a very committal play. The anchor is gone for good and loss of the anchor exposes you to attack. On the other hand, the anchor must be broken at some time if the game is to be won. Break it too late, and you may be stuck there and forced to crunch your board.
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What to Do When Nothing Is Happening
By Walter Trice (2006).
When you are behind and hoping for a lucky break, it can be difficult to muster up the energy needed to maximize your chances. Often the problems involve subtle details of checker distribution and flexibility. But these details, in the extreme cases, can make for very large differences in equity.
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End Game Planning
By Walter Trice (2006).
Long-range planning doesn't stop in the endgame. A player holding an anchor in a defensive position, with limited choices from roll to roll, still needs to be acutely aware of the different game plans that may become available to him.
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Contact and the Race
By Walter Trice (2006).
One of the most frequently cited principles of backgammon strategy is to try to play a racing game if you are ahead in the race. But when deciding whether to break anchor, you must also be concerned with timing.
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More Contact Problems
By Walter Trice (2006).
The single most common strategic decision in backgammon is whether to intensify the conflict between the opposing armies of checkers, or to try to reduce contact and emphasize the racing aspects of the game plan.
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On Sniping
By Walter Trice (2006).
Breaking anchor is often the last strategic decision made by either player in a game. Do you break contact completely, leaving the outcome to the pip count and the dice, or to leave a blot in enemy territory, hoping to hit a shot that will decide the game?
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A Time for Letting Go
By Mary Hickey (2006).
When deciding whether to break anchor, you have to be aware of the timing and anticipate whose position is likely to break first. It can be helpful to count crossovers till you have to choose between breaking your anchor and crashing your home board.
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Playing High Anchor Games
By Paul Money (2006).
There are many situations where the checker play of the anchor holder is difficult. We are trying to learn what features of the position are important so that we can organize our thinking when we face a similar position over the board.
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Handling the High Anchor Games
By Bill Robertie (2006).
The most common type of contact position is called the "anchor game". Anchor games occur when one side escapes his back checkers to the safety of the midpoint or beyond, but the other side does not. Instead, the defender manages to anchor his two back checkers somewhere in his opponent's home board.
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Back Games
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Are You Sure it is a Back Game?
By Mary Hickey (2006).
When you have two deep points in your opponent's board, don't label it "back game" in your mind too soon. At the early stages, just having two points in the opponent's board isn't enough.
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Another Great Back Game to Avoid
By Mary Hickey (2006).
Having four checkers back on two points doesn't necessarily make a good back game. It would follow, then, that if you are likely to have a hard time even getting your two points, having a fourth checker sent back might be a pretty bad idea.
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Lifeline of a Back Game
By Kit Woolsey (1999).
Having a lifeline is often the difference between success or failure of the back game. The trick is to hold your midpoint when playing a back game and force your opponent to break his midpoint when he is playing a back game.
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Proto-Back Games
By Bill Robertie (2006).
Proto-back games are games where the defender has several men back, perhaps behind a prime, perhaps not, and can still go in several different directions, one of which is a full-fledged back game. They are full of weird and counterintuitive plays, making them some of the most fascinating positions to study.
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More about Proto-Back Games
By Bill Robertie (2007).
A proto-back game is where one or both sides have a number of men back, but the character of the game had not yet crystalized. A back game was one possible outcome, but there are other directions the game can take. Both sides need to be careful in their checker play so as not to close off other variations prematurely.
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Checker Play in Back Games
By Bill Robertie (2007).
Back games are among the most interesting, and the most difficult, of backgammon game types. Here, back games into five types: Proto-back game, back game with a prime, back game without a prime, containment game, and post-ace-point game.
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More about Back Games
By Bill Robertie (2007).
What do you do when the shape of the game has not yet been completely determined and both sides have to keep their options alive? In general, you want to go forward. Plays that contain a significant chance of going forward tend to dominate more defensive plays.
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Switching Gears
By Bill Robertie (2007).
Sometimes a game appears to be following a certain course for awhile, then a tactical possibility arises which allows one of the players to wrench the game out of its obvious direction and send it another, and more favorable, way.
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Two Interesting Back Game Plays
By Bill Robertie (2007).
Back games are among the most interesting categories of backgammon positions. Obvious plays are often wrong and counterintuitive ideas abound. Some real insight and experience is often needed to find your way to the right play.
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Back Games
By Tom Keith.
Articles on playing back games. From the Backgammon Galore Forum Archive.
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Last updated: 11 Jul 2008
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