Comparison

FreeCell vs True Backgammon

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FreeCell

Experience a classic card game with a fresh twist. Tackle daily challenges, earn rewards, and enjoy strategic gameplay with helpful tools. This version offers an ad-free experience for uninterrupted fun.

Highlights
  • Goal Progression
  • Ad-free play
  • Highlight Movable Cards
  • Step-by-step tutorial
  • Random games
  • Unlimited undo
  • Hints
Features
Read full description

Play the BEST FreeCell Solitaire game on your Apple device, made by MobilityWare -- the #1 Solitaire developer! FreeCell has a fresh new look, and a BRAND NEW Goal Progression feature! Each day you will receive new goals to tackle. Complete daily goals to gain XP and level up to exclusive titles! With this purchased version, enjoy ad-free play! FreeCell Solitaire adds a new element of strategy to the classic solitaire games Klondike. After dealing from a standard deck of 52 cards, use the four free cell spots as placeholders as you try to move all of the cards from the Foundation stacks for a win. Just like Klondike solitaire games, you must move cards from the Tableau to the Foundation cells by suit, in ascending order. Most FreeCell games can be solved, if you can find the right strategy. You've played FreeCell solitaire on your computer, and now you can play FreeCell, anywhere at any time of the day! You won’t want to play any other FreeCell solitaire game again! FREECELL SOLITAIRE FEATURES: - NEW Goal Progression - Ad-free play - Highlight Movable Cards - Step-by-step tutorial - Random games - 1 million well known games - Portrait - Landscape - Game state saved when interrupted - Unlimited undo - Hints - Auto complete to finish game - Statistics - Tap to move or drag and drop Solitaire Games Ad-Free - FreeCell Solitaire is ad-free! - Klondike solitaire or other solitaire game fans will love FreeCell! - Solitaire games can be random or one of one million well known games. Brain Games with Solitaire - FreeCell Solitaire can be for beginners or those looking for an addicting brain teaser! - FreeCell instructions included in the app. Brain Games – If you enjoy brain teasers, you’ll love FreeCell Solitaire! - Brain training with FreeCell Solitaire! Track your stats within the app. FreeCell solitaire has never been more fun! With two unique control schemes, randomized FreeCell card decks, and in-depth stat tracking, FreeCell is one of the fun addicting games you’ve been waiting for. LIKE US on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mobilitywaresolitaire For FreeCell Solitaire support: http://www.mobilityware.com/support.php

About

True Backgammon

Engage in classic backgammon against challenging computer opponents or human players online. Customize your game with various board designs and difficulty levels. Connect with friends for local or online matches.

Highlights
  • Play against computer or humans
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Modern and ornate board designs
  • In-app purchase for world-class AI
  • Local and online multiplayer
  • Voice chat with opponents
  • Optimized for iOS
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

One of the most successful backgammon games on the iPad/iPhone, one of the most powerful computer opponents in the world. ALL THE FACTS IN UNDER 30 SECONDS * Play against computer or humans. Choose from three difficulty levels. Play on a cool modern wood or metal board, or choose from beautiful and richly ornamented optional boards. Play from left or right or play using black or white checkers. Play against friends in the same room or play against people anywhere on the Internet. Your choice, your game. * One of the best backgammon AI in the world (BGBlitz) is available as an in-app purchase as your opponent or tutor. Find out how good you already are and let BGBlitz teach you how to get better. After all, who doesn't like to win? * Connect with friends by playing with them in 2-player mode on the same device or anywhere in the world over the network. An occasional game is a great way to stay in touch with friends or to meet new people. * Available for iPad and iPhone (iOS 15 or later). Optimised for the latest iOS. * You could be playing backgammon like never before in less than a minute. What are you waiting for? STILL NOT CONVINCED? READ MORE… ALWAYS READY WHEN YOU ARE - COMPUTER OPPONENT Whether in the middle of the night or during your coffee break, your computer is always ready for a match. Choose from three difficulty levels to suit your skill level. For those who want to play only the best, a world-class artificial intelligence opponent is available as an in-app purchase. Casual play or competitive match? True Backgammon has an opponent for you that is fun to play with or that is a teeth grinding challenge. PLAY WITH PEOPLE NEAR YOU - GAME BOARD MODE Imagine you are with friends and want to pass the time with a game? Or are you on the train playing against the computer and one of your fellow commuters turns out to be a backgammon player too? You don't need to carry around a real board with you all the time. Instead, True Backgammon is your board. CONNECT WITH FRIENDS OR PLAY AGAINST RANDOM OPPONENTS ONLINE - GAME CENTER Would you rather play against a human than an AI, but there is no opponent in sight? Join the growing community of people playing True Backgammon online every day on an iPad, iPhone, iPod, iMac or MacBook. There's always someone ready to play. And not only can you play with them, you can talk to them using the built-in voice chat. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER - GAME BOARDS We didn't just want to make good AI and smooth gameplay, we also wanted to make it look good. No, not just good... we wanted them to look drop dead gorgeous. We found a skilled designer and then tortured him with feedback until we were satisfied. The result is two boards (metal and wood) that look awesome, while offering little visual distraction to keep you focused on your strategy. And for those who love a little distraction, we let the designer run wild with a selection of (optional) fancy boards, rich in decoration and beautiful detail. Which is your favourite? AAAND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOARD, A MULTI-OLYMPIC CHAMPION AI - BEEE GEEEE BLITZ From time to time there is an Olympic tournament for backgammon programs. We have persuaded the creator of the three-time winner BGBlitz to make his AI available to True Backgammon users. This AI is a world class opponent for those who want to play only the best. And it is a patient tutor. BGBlitz offers a tutor mode that will point out moves that are not optimal and show you better ones. It also gives you statistics, and you can export your current game to the common SGF format to analyse it with other applications like XG2, BGBlitz or gnuBG. WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY? To cut a long story short, we have put a lot of effort into this application, not only in the gameplay, but on every level. If you choose it, we are sure you will not be disappointed.

Screenshots

FreeCell4 screens
True Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FreeCell at 4.8 against True Backgammon's 4.3. FreeCell also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 48%) and in-app purchases (none vs 12). True Backgammon's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On ads, chart position 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

FreeCell costs $4.99 and True Backgammon $3.99 up front. True Backgammon sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. FreeCell asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FreeCell holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FreeCell has 22K ratings behind it against 2.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of FreeCell's written reviews are positive against 48% of True Backgammon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FreeCell ships an update every 6 months, True Backgammon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
FreeCell versus True Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreeCellTrue Backgammon
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.8 (22K ratings) — better4.3 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews83.2% of reviews — better48.1% of reviews
Number of ratings22K — better2.6K
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#46#39 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size223 MB69 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMobilityWareCompuLab, Markus Gömmel

Customer experience

FreeCell

All ratings22,496 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews416 reviews
Positive83.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.1%

True Backgammon

All ratings2,649 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews474 reviews
Positive48.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative43.5%

User reviews

FreeCell

From 22K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Challenging gameplay
  • 👍 Smooth design
  • 🎯 Daily challenges
  • ⏱️ Ability to track records and scores
  • 💰 Worth the paid version to remove ads

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty tracking progress across devices
  • 🔧 Issues with cookie/privacy settings
  • 🎨 Dislike for new visual design changes
  • 🔕 Inability to disable daily goals and animations

True Backgammon

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 📊 Helpful tutor and analysis features
  • 🎨 Attractive and intuitive interface
  • 🕹️ Realistic backgammon experience

Room to improve

  • 🎲 Dice rolls perceived as biased towards the computer
  • 🤖 Computer opponent seen as too lucky or advantaged
  • 🧠 Difficulty level imbalance (too easy or too hard)
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

Bugs and requests

FreeCell

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when moving cards
  • Crashing issues after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to revert to previous version's design
  • Ability to sync progress across devices
  • Difficulty indicator for game levels
  • More customization options

True Backgammon

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Dice not registering correctly
  • Game freezing or becoming unresponsive
  • Issues with the human-computer move synchronization

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to play against other human players online
  • More customization options for the board and pieces
  • Detailed player statistics and progress tracking
  • Improved doubling cube functionality

In-app purchases

None

FreeCell

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

True Backgammon

One-time12
  • Playboard Orient 3$0.99
  • Playboard Neon 1$0.99
  • Playboard Neon 3$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Playboard Orient 1$0.99
  • Playboard Orient 2$0.99
  • Playboard Leather$0.99
  • Playboard Neon 2$0.99
  • Neon Package$1.99
  • Orient Package$1.99
  • BGBlitz Tutor$1.99
  • BGBlitz Gameplay Engine$3.99
  • BGBlitz Package$4.99

Questions

Is FreeCell free?
FreeCell costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is True Backgammon free?
True Backgammon costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FreeCell or True Backgammon?
FreeCell is rated higher. FreeCell averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22K ratings, while True Backgammon averages 4.3 from 2.6K ratings.
Do FreeCell or True Backgammon have ads?
Neither FreeCell nor True Backgammon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FreeCell or True Backgammon?
FreeCell ships an update every 6 months, and True Backgammon fortnightly. Most recently, FreeCell was updated on October 13, 2026 and True Backgammon on October 12, 2026.
Which is more popular, FreeCell or True Backgammon?
FreeCell currently peaks at #46 in the App Store charts, and True Backgammon at #39. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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