Backgammon vs The Spades
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
The Spades
Experience the classic 4-player contract trick-taking card game on iOS. Enjoy smooth gameplay, scalable difficulty, and track your performance against 18 AI opponents. Customize your partnerships and challenge yourself to beat them all.
- Full Spades partnership play
- 18 CPU characters with varying skill
- Choose partners and opponents
- Undo play and hint facility
- Save player statistics
- Customizable graphics and sound
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The most downloaded Spades app now available !! 'The Spades' brings this classic 4-player contract trick taking card game to the iOS, based on the No.1 downloaded Spades app by AI Factory! 'The Spades' supplies classy graphics, super smooth gameplay, addictive background music and sound effects, highly scalable difficulty & much more. The game will track your wins/losses and draws against each of the difficulty levels. You can monitor how well you have performed in partnership with all the 18 CPU players provided for the game. Beat them all and partner them all! Features: -- Full Spades Partnership Play -- 18 CPU characters of varying skill (beginner to expert) -- Choose who to partner with and who to play against! -- Undo your play anytime -- Hint facility -- Backgroud Music and Sound Effects (ON/OFF) -- Beautiful Card and Background graphics -- Animation speed (Normal/ Fast) -- Saves history of your and CPU player stats -- Remove ads
Screenshots
Verdict
Backgammon and The Spades both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 65% of Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 45% of The Spades's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Backgammon sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and The Spades sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
The Spades holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15K and 8.2K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 45% of The Spades's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Backgammon ships an update every 5 months, The Spades every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backgammon | The Spades |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (15K ratings) | 4.6 (8.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews — better | 45.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15K — better | 8.2K |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 116 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | WildCard Classics Inc | UNBALANCE Corporation |
Customer experience
Backgammon
The Spades
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
The Spades
From 8.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Enjoyable game
- 👍 Good entertainment
- 🕹️ Relaxing gameplay
- 🧠 Improves gameplay skills
Room to improve
- 💸 Too many ads
- 🤖 Biased AI partners
- 🤔 Inconsistent partner behavior
- 🧠 Questionable AI decision-making
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
The Spades
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game freezes and crashes
- Scoring issues and discrepancies
- Undo feature locked behind ads
Requested features
4 requests- Option to customize game rules
- Ability to lead with spades
- More balanced AI partners
- Add-free version
In-app purchases
Backgammon
- Christmas Theme$0.99
- Acey Deucey$1.99
The Spades
- Remove Ad$5.99
Questions
Is Backgammon free?
Is The Spades free?
Which has better reviews, Backgammon or The Spades?
Do Backgammon or The Spades have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backgammon or The Spades?
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