In very general terms, there are 3 main tactics employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between game plans quickly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you might manage, to block in your opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable course of action at the start of the match. You can create the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match continues.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. For example, if your opponent tosses an early 2 and moves one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play 6/1 6/1 8/3 eight/three. Your challenger is then in big-time dire straits taking into account that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It needs to be played when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your chances. The best places for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with one point in between. Timing is essential for a powerful backgame: after all, 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 apart this right away, while your competitor is getting their checkers home, considering that you don’t have any other extra checkers to move! In this case, it is more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position up till your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your opponent to get them in this situation!