Significant Goals for the Early Game in Backgammon

During the early stages of a backgammon game, both players on the opposing sides of the board need to make really determined, fast, and aggressive moves so that they can establish a really formidable position. Once you have the early game in the bag, the rest of the backgammon game will be really easy (or at least the odds will be better for you from here on).

Of course, the pace might change as the game goes on. But that does not diminish from the fact that the early game is really a significant stage in backgammon. We'll discuss a couple of significant early game strategies that you should not brush aside. By taking advantage of both backgammon strategies you avoid a whole lot of complications in the mid-game and endgame.

Our first early game goal is to make points on your home board. The first reason why this goal is really effective is that you make it even harder for your opponent to escape the back checkers. Remember that the points you make that stand in the way of your opponent's back checkers stand as roadblocks to slow down those backgammon checkers. Another important reason to remember is that checkers on your home board means that you have more checkers ready to be borne off.

When reaching this goal in the early game, make sure you take control of certain home board points first. The very first point on your home board that you should establish should be the five-point. Ideally, this should be followed by either the four-point or the six-point. And then you should establish your seven and three-points.

A significant extension of this early game goal is to land builders on your outer table. Take special care of the points seven to 12 as these are significant landing areas to cover. If you can hit checkers here then do so, and if you land checkers on your 11-point early in the game then you have a perfectly safe blot, which also works as your builder.

Our second goal is to escape your back checkers. This goal should never be taken for granted. You can avoid a lot of hassle by keeping this goal in the early game since these two checkers are the usual targets. Always keep these two checkers as close to the rest of the pack as possible. A good practice to reach this goal is to use half of your moves when getting a double for the back checkers. That way you can keep them together most of the time in your backgammon game.

If you don't have a choice but to split your back checkers, make it a point to get them together as soon as you can to avoid any trouble.

These two goals for the early game in backgammon are essential. Getting the early game right gives you a good start.