iGammon vs Narde
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iGammon
Enjoy classic backgammon with a user-friendly interface. Play against AI or friends, with options for different game modes and helpful features like hints and an undo button. Improve your strategy and have fun playing anytime.
- Play against AI or friends
- Table stakes and match play modes
- Doubling cube with Jacoby and Beaver rules
- Undo button and hint feature
- Autoplay and fast-forward options
- Choose direction and checker colors
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Play backgammon against the computer or your friends. You'll have a lot of fun and you'll see your backgammon game steadily improve! "The interface in iGammon is clean and easy to use. Best of all, it just works." ---------------- FEATURES: • Large board and checkers • Fast animation • Autoplay forced moves • Fast-forward plays both sides to the end of the game for you • Undo button lets you to take back moves • Running pip counts • Choose direction of play and checker colours • Human-vs-human play. Use your iPad or iPhone as a traveling backgammon board! • Hint feature gives you a suggestion if you can't decide what to do *** Try the Hint feature! Just watch the lightbulb (hint indicator) to see if it disappears when you finish your move. If so, you can pick up the dice knowing you've make the best move. Otherwise, try something else or tap on the lightbulb to see the computer's suggestion. ---------------- MODES OF PLAY There are two modes of play: "table stakes" or "match play". In TABLE STAKES, you and your opponent start with an equal number of chips. The goal is to collect all the chips before your opponent does. Use the doubling cube to increase the stakes. If you play with the "Jacoby rule", gammons and backgammon don't count unless the cube has been turned. If you play with the "Beavers rule", a player who accepts a double may immediately redouble and still keep the cube. In MATCH PLAY, the goal is to be the first player to reach a specified total number of points. Use the doubling cube to increase the stakes. The "Crawford rule" takes the doubling cube out of play for one game when a player gets to within one point of winning. You offer a double by sliding the cube over to your opponent's side of the board. Opponent can accept the double by pressing "Take" (the game continues at twice the previous stakes), or reject the double by pressing "Pass" (he loses the game and must pay the previous stakes.) ---------------- COMPUTER PLAYER The computer AI is VERY strong. There are two levels of play: Average and Strong. Both are fun and challenging. ---------------- Thank you for all the suggestions. If you have a feature you'd like to see, please email me at tom@bkgm.com. Many user suggestions have already been incorporated into this app. I hope you enjoy iGammon. Thank you for playing! Tom Keith, August 2017
Narde
Experience a classic two-player board game where strategy and luck combine. Move your pieces based on dice rolls and aim to remove all your checkers from the board before your opponent. Enjoy single-player against AI or challenge others online.
- Strong AI for singleplayer
- Multiplayer over internet
- Hot seat multiplayer
- Scoreboards and leaderboards
- Online shop with gameboards
- Dice roll analytics
- Fair dice generation
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Russian nardes (classic backgammon) is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and a player wins by removing all of his pieces from the board before his opponent. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of board games in the world. Although luck is one of the determining factors in the outcome, strategy plays a more important role in the long run. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their checkers and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. Game features: - Strong AI for singleplayer game - Multiplayer game over internet and on one device (hot seat) - Scoreboards and leaderboards - Online shop with 12 unique gameboards - Comprehensive dice roll analytics - Random.org dice generation for fair play Play now for free!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Narde at 3.8 against iGammon's 1.9. Narde also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). iGammon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (85 vs 10). On price, ads 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. Narde sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. iGammon asks for nothing beyond the download.
Narde holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iGammon has 85 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 23% of iGammon's written reviews are positive against 14% of Narde's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
iGammon ships an update every 3 months, Narde monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iGammon | Narde |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (85 ratings) | 3.8 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 23.2% of reviews — better | 14.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 85 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Keith | App Holdings |
Customer experience
iGammon
Narde
Bugs and requests
iGammon
Reported bugs
2 issues- Dice disappear as soon as they are rolled
- Incompatible with older devices
Requested features
6 requests- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Ability to play matches (7-point etc) with appropriate cube play from the program
- Option to reverse the board
- Sound
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- Ability to change the board or the color of the checkers
Narde
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iGammon
No in-app purchases
Narde
- Disable Ads$0.99
- Oriental Pearl$1.99
- Royal Nut-tree$1.99
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- Force of Nature$1.99
- Game set "Russian Power" backgammon$1.99
- Game set "Bushido" backgammon$1.99
- Handful of coins$1.99
- Purse of coins$4.99
- Bag of coins$9.99
- Chest with coins$19.99









