Backgammon Premium vs Original Backgammon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backgammon Premium
Experience the classic board game with a modern twist. Play against friends or strangers worldwide, test your skills against AI, and track your progress with detailed statistics. Enjoy multiple game variations and visually appealing board designs.
- Online multiplayer via Game Center
- Background match-making
- Single-player vs AI (Easy, Medium, Hard)
- Match play with Doubling and Crawford Rule
- Move-assist and unlimited undo
- Extensive game statistics
- Multiple board designs and game variations
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Play the #1 Backgammon on the App Store! Now with the best online Backgammon experience with background match-making and live games via Game Center. Challenge your friends, play against random opponents, compete for leaderboard glory, and earn achievements. - - - - - - ** Recommended by MacWorld as a Top Download for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad in their November 2010 issue. ** “Backgammon Premium is the crème-de-la-crème ‘gammon’” 9 out of 10 stars Appaddicts.com! ** Nominated for “best dice game of 2009 in the 2009 Best App Ever Awards hosted by bestappever.com! - - - - - - Backgammon is believed to have started in Persia, eventually finding its way to Britain with the Roman conquest in the 1st century and was played by Emperor Claudius who even had his carriage equipped with a playing board! It became such a gambling mania that it was declared illegal under the Republic. Playing on the history of the game, there are 6 visually pleasing, rich board designs; Egyptian, Roman, Medieval, Victorian, Modern and Classic. We also offer, out of the box, two classic game variations: “Old English” and Nackgammon. “Old English” is the most popular game variation in England. Nackgammon is a more challenging variation designed to add more creativity and skill to the game. With integrated Bluetooth Peer-to-Peer support you can play with your friends over Bluetooth with no network required! You can also play against the computer in either Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulties. Features: - Play live against opponents worldwide with Game Center! - Background match-making: search for opponents while you play! - Single Player Games (with Easy, Medium, Hard or, soon, with our brand-new Expert player) - Match support! Play to 3, 5, 9 or 15 points with Doubling. Matches use the Crawford Rule - Move-Assist, highlights available moves - Unlimited “Undo” in single-player games - Extensive game statistics - Designed for iPhone & iPad
Original Backgammon
Experience the classic board game of backgammon. Compete against AI, a local opponent, or players online. Be the first to move all your pieces off the board to win.
- Play against computer AI
- Local multiplayer mode
- Online multiplayer matches
- Traditional backgammon rules
- Checkers movement and removal
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Play the traditional game of backgammon against the computer, a friend on the same device, or someone over the internet. The objective of the game is to move all of your checkers around the board, until they are all in your home. When they are all home, then you can start moving them off the board. The first player to move all their checkers off the board, will be the winner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Original Backgammon at Free against Backgammon Premium's $2.99. Original Backgammon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Backgammon Premium's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 33%) and rating (4.6 vs 3.3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Original Backgammon is free to download; Backgammon Premium costs $2.99 up front. Backgammon Premium sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Original Backgammon asks for nothing beyond the download.
Backgammon Premium holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon Premium has 6.6K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Backgammon Premium's written reviews are positive against 33% of Original Backgammon's.
Backgammon Premium ships an update every 2 months, Original Backgammon every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backgammon Premium | Original Backgammon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (6.6K ratings) — better | 3.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.6% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.6K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #16 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 123 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | WildCard Classics Inc | MOBILEFUSION APPS LTD |
Customer experience
Backgammon Premium
Original Backgammon
Bugs and requests
Backgammon Premium
Reported bugs
3 issues- Pieces don't line up with board on iPad Pro
- Game freezes and crashes on newer iOS versions
- Opponent can quit mid-game without penalty
Requested features
5 requests- Add pass-and-play mode for local multiplayer
- Improve dice roll randomness and fairness
- Optimize game for latest devices and OS versions
- Provide more board and piece customization options
- Implement an undo/redo feature
Original Backgammon
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Backgammon Premium
- Christmas Theme$0.99
- Acey Deucey$1.99
Original Backgammon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Backgammon Premium free?
Is Original Backgammon free?
Which has better reviews, Backgammon Premium or Original Backgammon?
Do Backgammon Premium or Original Backgammon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backgammon Premium or Original Backgammon?
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