Backgammon vs Backgammon Connect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backgammon
Engage in classic backgammon with AI or live multiplayer opponents. This app offers a comprehensive experience with features like a doubling cube, rule tutorials, and detailed player statistics. Play offline or online to hone your strategic skills and climb the leaderboards.
- Online and offline play
- Challenge AI or real players
- Master the doubling cube
- Learn and improve with hints
- Track detailed player statistics
- Play anywhere, portrait/landscape
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Challenge adaptive AI, share the board with a friend in local pass-and-play, and master the doubling cube — all free, with dice you can actually trust. The most complete backgammon experience for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision: sharpen your strategy with hints, track deep stats, and climb the leaderboards. * SMART, ADAPTIVE AI Beginner, Intermediate & Expert levels tuned to your playstyle — never a rigged board, just a smarter opponent. * PASS & PLAY Share one device and play a real match against a friend, head-to-head, no connection required. * LEARN & IMPROVE Move hints, legal-move highlights, and a full rules tutorial — go from your first roll to your first double with confidence. * REAL MATCH PLAY 1-point, 3-point & full matches, doubling cube, and the Crawford rule — tournament-standard play, not a simplified clone. * STATS THAT MATTER Elo-style rating, win/loss graphs, pip counts, and complete dice history, so you can see exactly how fair your rolls really are. * PLAY ANYWHERE Portrait or landscape, online or fully offline vs. AI. "The best free backgammon app—AI is tough, local play is smooth." – App Store review Also known as Tavla, Nardi, or Narde — this is backgammon the way it's meant to be played.
Backgammon Connect
Play a classic board game online with friends and family worldwide. Features realistic 3D dice rolls and asynchronous multiplayer, allowing you to play at your own pace. Enjoy cross-platform compatibility and track your game statistics.
- Online multiplayer
- 3D board and dice
- Asynchronous real-time play
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Swipe to roll dice
- Match play with doubling cube
- Rolling statistics tracking
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Backgammon Connect is a next-gen online multiplayer game where you can play against your family and friends from around the world! Our real 3D board and dice ensure completely fair and random rolls, and you can even swipe the dice in any direction you choose. Play against users on any device, whether for a couple of rolls or a complete match. Our platform supports asynchronous real-time play so you don’t need to complete an entire game all in one sitting. Backgammon is a fantastic and legendary board game already, we just added the latest technology to be able to improve how you can connect with friends when you can’t play in person. For how to play and gameplay tutorials, please search online! We are creating our how-to-play guides but wanted to get the game in the hands of our users as quickly as possible. Please let us know of any feature requests, as we are looking to constantly improve the app! Play Anytime: Backgammon Connect supports asynchronous multiplayer, so you can leave a game and come back to it later. Feel free to play a couple of rolls while at work or on a break, the game will wait for you. You’ll get a notification once it’s your turn again! If you and your friend are in a game at the same time, you’ll see real-time moves that they are making. Cross-Platform Play: Built using the Unity platform, our app works natively for virtually any device. You can now play with your friends across mobile platforms and devices! Real Dice Rolls: With real 3D dice, you can rest assured that the dice rolls are completely genuine and not manipulated or moved in any way. Our dice and board are designed to simulate real dice as closely as possible. Swipe to Roll: While you can easily roll using our roll button, you can also choose to tap the dice, drag your finger around, and swipe in any direction or speed that you’d like to generate a completely unique and random roll. Use this every time or when you need that perfect number to hit your opponent’s open chips! Play Multiple Games: Since Backgammon Connect supports asynchronous play-anytime gameplay, you can have multiple games going against your friends and family simultaneously! Match Play: We default to matches of 15 points, which lets you use the doubling cube to your advantage to best your opponent. Rolling Stats: Keep track of your and your friends’ rolling stats, and make sure to give them a hard time if they are rolling an unusual amount of doubles! We’re working hard to add features to the game, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with any suggestions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Backgammon at 70% against Backgammon Connect's 17%. Backgammon also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 weeks). Backgammon Connect's advantage is monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Backgammon holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon has 168 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 17% of Backgammon Connect's.
Backgammon ships an update every 8 days, Backgammon Connect every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backgammon | Backgammon Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (168 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.4% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 168 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 104 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linda Mottley | GLD Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Backgammon
Backgammon Connect
Bugs and requests
Backgammon
Reported bugs
9 issues- App won't open
- App freezes/hangs
- Two taps required for one move
- Incorrect move selection by AI
- AI rolls are not random
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- Display graphics obscure continue button
- In 2-player mode, no menus appear when black starts
- Software doesn't always display who goes first in 2-player hard mode
- UI elements cover board pieces
Requested features
5 requests- Fix rigged AI rolls
- Make AI more challenging/less predictable
- Allow users to choose layout/design
- Reconsider placement of move/undo buttons
- Add option for cube
Backgammon Connect
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Backgammon
No in-app purchases
Backgammon Connect
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Backgammon free?
Is Backgammon Connect free?
Which has better reviews, Backgammon or Backgammon Connect?
Do Backgammon or Backgammon Connect have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backgammon or Backgammon Connect?
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