In very general terms, there are 3 main tactics used. You want to be agile enough to hop between game plans instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to achieve, to barricade in the opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the match continues.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. e.g., if your opponent tosses an early two and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you can play 6/1 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opponent is now in serious calamity since they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have two or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a point occupied by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are significantly behind as this strategy much improves your opportunities. The best locations for anchors are near your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is integral for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break down this straight away, while your opposer is moving their pieces home, taking into account that you don’t have any other additional checkers to shift! In this case, it is more tolerable to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up until your competitor gives you a chance to hit, so it will be an excellent idea to attempt and get your opposer to get them in this situation!