What's the golden point, and why does everyone want the 5-point?

Watch two decent players open a game and you'll notice they both want the same square of board. It's the 5-point, and it has a nickname: the golden point.

Here's what makes one triangle worth more than its neighbours.

Where it is

Your 5-point is the fifth point from the end of your home board, counting from your own side. Your opponent has one too, five from the end of theirs, which is your 20-point.

Both get called golden. If you hear someone talk about the golden anchor, they mean the one in your opponent's home board: two of your checkers sitting on their 5-point, which is the best place in the game to be stuck.

Why it's worth so much

Four reasons, and they stack up.

It blocks the escape. Your opponent's back checkers start deep in your home board and have to get out past your side. The 5-point sits directly in their way, at the awkward end of that journey.

It starts a wall. Hold the 5, 6 and 7 and you have three points in a row in front of them. Add more and you have a prime they can't jump at all.

It costs them numbers. A checker on the bar enters on the point matching the roll. Own their entry points and the fives stop working, so they sit there while you build.

It's a safe landing spot. Checkers coming home need somewhere to stop that isn't exposed. Your own 5-point is the most useful of those.

That's why 3-1 is the best opening roll

Roll 3-1 and you make the 5-point immediately, with nothing left exposed: 8/5, 6/5. Every strong player plays it the same way, and it's the only opening roll nobody argues about. The first move article has the rest of them.

Most of the time you won't roll 3-1, and the first few turns become a quiet argument about who gets there first.

When not to chase it

The golden point is valuable, not compulsory.

If you're well ahead in the race, you don't need a wall; you need to run. If chasing the 5-point means leaving two checkers exposed for a turn when your opponent has a strong board, the price is too high. And if your opponent has already made it, stop looking at it and build what you can.

A point you own is worth more than a point you keep almost making.

The short version

• The golden point is the 5-point, in your own home board.
• The golden anchor is your opponent's 5-point, your 20-point, the best place to be stuck.
• It blocks their escape, starts a wall, takes away their entry numbers and gives yours somewhere safe to land.
• 3-1 makes it straight away, which is why it's the best opening roll.
• Don't chase it when you're ahead in the race or when it costs two exposed checkers.