Backgammon vs True Backgammon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backgammon
Experience the classic board and dice game with multiple variations and play modes. Challenge yourself against AI or friends online, with helpful features like move assist and unlimited undos.
- Multiple game variations (Nackgammon, Old English, Acey Deucey)
- Single player with adjustable AI difficulty
- Online and Bluetooth multiplayer
- Match play with Doubling and Crawford Rule
- Move-Assist feature
- Unlimited Undo in single-player
- Extensive game statistics
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Challenge yourself in the deluxe board & dice game! Both the press and customers agree: Backgammon's got it in spades! __________________________________________ PRESS LOVE: Recommended by MacWorld Magazine as a Top Download for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. “Backgammon Premium is the crème-de-la-crème ‘gammon’” 9 out of 10 stars from Appaddicts.com! Nominated for “Best Dice Game” in the Best App Ever Awards hosted by bestappever.com! __________________________________________ CUSTOMER LOVE: "Elegant and beautifully laid out. The play is terrific. I play a game every break I get. The fun just doesn't stop!" "This app is awesome!!! No problems and extremely fun." "Backgammon is a great game, simple and intriguing. This app does it justice. The AI is smart and sometimes infuriating. Five Stars!" __________________________________________ Play solo or live online against friends! Great for players who enjoy Gin Rummy, Spades, Cribbage, Blackjack, or Dominos. GREAT GAME VARIATIONS: Backgammon - The classic game you know and love Nackgammon - Changing the token setup requires players to get creative. Old English - A British favorite! No more than 5 checkers to a single point. Acey Deucey - Start in your own goal tray and work your way into your opponent's! WAYS TO PLAY: Single Player- Prove you're the King against Backgammon's Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulties! Online Multiplayer- Match against friends or strangers to prove your mastery! Peer to Peer- Play against your friends on their devices with no network required. __________________________________________ FEATURES: - Single Player Games (with Easy, Medium, Hard) - Match support! Play to 3, 5, 9 or 15 points with Doubling. Matches use the Crawford Rule - Four distinct board designs - Online and Bluetooth multiplayer - Move-Assist, highlights available moves - Unlimited “Undo” in single-player games - Extensive game statistics
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Backgammon at Free against True Backgammon's $3.99. Backgammon also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 48%) and ratings volume (15K vs 2.6K). True Backgammon's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On rating, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Backgammon is free to download; True Backgammon costs $3.99 up front. Backgammon sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and True Backgammon sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Backgammon against 4.3 for True Backgammon. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon has 15K ratings behind it against 2.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 48% of True Backgammon's.
Backgammon ships an update every 5 months, True Backgammon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backgammon | True Backgammon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (15K ratings) — better | 4.3 (2.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews — better | 47.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15K — better | 2.6K |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #33 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | WildCard Classics Inc | CompuLab, Markus Gömmel |
Customer experience
Backgammon
True Backgammon
User reviews
Backgammon
From 15K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Refresher
- 👍 Bugs worked out
- 👍 Love this game!
- 👍 Fun
- 👍 Great way to pass time
Room to improve
- 🔍 Ads in middle of game
- 🔍 Ads doubled in one month
- 🔍 Too many ads interrupt the game
- 🔍 Ads During Play
- 🔍 Ads every three moves
True Backgammon
From 2.6K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Backgammon
Reported bugs
5 issues- Pieces no longer hand on the bars on iPads or iPad minis
- Doesn't work anymore with the last update of the iPhone
- Game freezes after ads
- Crashes every time I try to open it
- Pieces become minuscule after ads
Requested features
4 requests- Allow offline playing
- Turn based option
- Ability to review board before doubling
- Ability to undo moves
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
Backgammon
- Christmas Theme$0.99
- Acey Deucey$1.99
True Backgammon
- Playboard Orient 3$0.99
- Playboard Neon 1$0.99
- Playboard Neon 3$0.99
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- 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 Backgammon free?
Is True Backgammon free?
Which has better reviews, Backgammon or True Backgammon?
Do Backgammon or True Backgammon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backgammon or True Backgammon?
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