rod03801: It seems to me that the strategy is to sometimes avoid hitting an opponent when in a normal game you would hit them? Then, sometimes if you are behind, you might want to leave many pieces uncovered, to force your opponent to hit you? I think it is less of a hazard to have men left open, especially in the early positions, and try extra hard to make a block by your home base, then force your opponent to make a hit on you and back them up, something like that. But then sometimes, i try to play it a lot like a normal game, and get it to a race as soon as possible!