In very general terms, there are 3 fundamental strategies used. You must be able to hop between tactics quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of building a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might achieve, to block in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most acceptable strategy at the start of the game. You can create the wall anywhere between your eleven-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as quick as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. i.e., if your opposer tosses an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your competitor is then in big-time trouble since they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more pieces in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be used when you are significantly behind as this action much improves your circumstances. The best areas for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is important for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break apart this right away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, seeing that you don’t have any other spare checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you can maintain your position until your opponent gives you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your opposer to get them in this case!