In exceptionally general terms, there are three chief plans employed. You must be able to hop between game plans quickly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves assembling a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to manage, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable tactic at the begining of the match. You can build the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quick as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your challenger tosses an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you can play six/one six/one eight/three 8/3. Your opponent is then in big-time difficulty because they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more anchors in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It must be employed when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your circumstances. The best areas for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on abutting points or with one point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having 2 nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your opposer is shifting their checkers home, seeing that you don’t have any other additional pieces to shift! In this case, it is better to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your opponent gives you a chance to hit, so it may be a wonderful idea to try and get your challenger to hit them in this situation!