Backgammon is a race game. You have two options: try to win the race by advancing forward; or, give up on the race, make a prime, wait for a shot and hit it. If you choose (or are forced to choose) to hang back and wait – you’re playing a backgame, according to some earlier backgammon strategies. Contemporary theory has a more specific treatment of defensive strategies; and, the term “backgame” is used in a more limited sense.
Defensive structures often include one or more anchors. A single anchor on an advanced point (5, 4 or 3) is a holding game. A single anchor on a deep point (1, 2 or 3) is a deep anchor game. Advanced or deep anchor games have corresponding winning strategies; the 3 point, indicated twice, illustrates the difference. Early in the game it acts as an advanced anchor, covering the outer field and affording winning expectations by either hitting an outer field shot or simply winning the race. Later in the game, often behind a prime, it is similar to the deeper points, with winning strategies reduced to hitting a late shot in the bear-in or bear-off or rolling several large doubles.
The defining characteristic of a backgame...