This position shows the shape school can sometimes be right.  Yet a good principle still travels with three or four clear examples.  As here.  The principle stems from the query:  How do I manage three loose runners hell-bent on a pub crawl?  Bet I’m not the first father to obsess over this question.  Right?

Look at the top four choices after the roll is played. 

The worst is three widely spread runner blots plus an extra outfield blot on the 10pt.  When seeking a harbor, spreading the blots gives your opponent more combos.

Next, the game play leaves two deep runners plus that extra outfield blot.  Think of it this way.  Defence, especially in running games, must orchestrate these three runners.  And runner defence is based on relationships.  Especially, how many relationships?  Three connected runners have triple the number of helpful relations as two connected runners.  Hence the black checker on the 10pt is plain wrong.  It ignores the grand pub crawl strategy —  namely, to safety the black runners as cadres.

Therefore, the second best play cuddles the three runners on 24pt-22pt-15pt which are at least on the same side of the board but not always in direct contact between all three.

Hence the best play.  B/20 24/21 which brings all three runners within whispering distance. 

How do I manage three loose runners hell-bent on a pub crawl?

the baron

The shape school.  Good shape.  Just looks right.  Looks natural.  Look at the shapes, stare at the shapes, and compare.  Doesn’t always work. But always look carefully.