Comparison

Backgammon Pro vs Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

Backgammon Pro

Experience the classic board game on your mobile device. Play against friends or a challenging AI with adjustable difficulty. Enjoy features like move highlighting, match play, and automatic saving.

Highlights
  • 1 and 2 player gameplay
  • Challenging AI with 3 difficulty levels
  • Highlighting of possible moves
  • Match play to configurable points
  • Undo function
  • Automatic save
Features
Read full description

Play the classic game of Backgammon on your iPhone or iPod Touch! Backgammon Pro is the best Backgammon app available for iOS. Backgammon Pro supports both 1 player and 2 player gameplay, so you can play against friends or test your skills against a challenging computer opponent. Backgammon Pro includes a host of exciting features, including: • Outstanding AI with three difficulty levels • Highlighting of possible moves • One touch or double touch move entry • Match play to a configurable number of points • Undo function • Configurable player names and score tracking • Automatic save when you exit or suspend the app • Great graphics and awesome sound effects If you've been looking for a great Backgammon app for your iPhone or iPod Touch, look no further. Download Backgammon Pro today!

About

Backgammon

Engage in classic backgammon with AI or live multiplayer opponents. This app offers a comprehensive experience with features like a doubling cube, rule tutorials, and detailed player statistics. Play offline or online to hone your strategic skills and climb the leaderboards.

Highlights
  • Online and offline play
  • Challenge AI or real players
  • Master the doubling cube
  • Learn and improve with hints
  • Track detailed player statistics
  • Play anywhere, portrait/landscape
Features
Read full description

Challenge adaptive AI, share the board with a friend in local pass-and-play, and master the doubling cube — all free, with dice you can actually trust. The most complete backgammon experience for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision: sharpen your strategy with hints, track deep stats, and climb the leaderboards. * SMART, ADAPTIVE AI Beginner, Intermediate & Expert levels tuned to your playstyle — never a rigged board, just a smarter opponent. * PASS & PLAY Share one device and play a real match against a friend, head-to-head, no connection required. * LEARN & IMPROVE Move hints, legal-move highlights, and a full rules tutorial — go from your first roll to your first double with confidence. * REAL MATCH PLAY 1-point, 3-point & full matches, doubling cube, and the Crawford rule — tournament-standard play, not a simplified clone. * STATS THAT MATTER Elo-style rating, win/loss graphs, pip counts, and complete dice history, so you can see exactly how fair your rolls really are. * PLAY ANYWHERE Portrait or landscape, online or fully offline vs. AI. "The best free backgammon app—AI is tough, local play is smooth." – App Store review Also known as Tavla, Nardi, or Narde — this is backgammon the way it's meant to be played.

Screenshots

Backgammon Pro4 screens
Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backgammon at Free against Backgammon Pro's $4.99. Backgammon also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 52%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Backgammon Pro's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (3.4K vs 169). On rating, in-app purchases 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

Backgammon is free to download; Backgammon Pro costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backgammon Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon Pro has 3.4K ratings behind it against 169, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of Backgammon Pro's written reviews are positive against 71% of Backgammon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backgammon Pro ships an update every 2 months, Backgammon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Backgammon Pro versus Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackgammon ProBackgammon
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (3.4K ratings) — better4.4 (169 ratings)
Positive reviews51.6% of reviews70.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.4K — better169
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCLinda Mottley

Customer experience

Backgammon Pro

All ratings3,444 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews347 reviews
Positive51.6%
Neutral16.4%
Negative32.0%

Backgammon

All ratings169 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative27.3%

User reviews

Backgammon Pro

From 3.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Excellent game mechanics
  • 📊 Challenging AI opponent
  • 💻 Smooth and responsive gameplay
  • 🎨 Visually appealing graphics

Room to improve

  • 🎲 Perceived bias in dice rolls
  • 🤖 Predictable AI behavior at higher levels
  • 🕰️ Slow pace of gameplay
  • 🔇 Inability to adjust volume

Backgammon

From 169 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun and enjoyable game
  • 👍 Good graphics and design
  • 👍 Helpful tutorial for beginners
  • 👍 Can be played offline
  • 👍 Good for passing time

Room to improve

  • 👎 AI is rigged/cheats
  • 👎 Computer rolls are not random
  • 👎 Poor AI logic/plays poorly
  • 👎 App frequently crashes or freezes
  • 👎 App won't open/blank screen

Bugs and requests

Backgammon Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional app crashes
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Inconsistent behavior of undo function

Requested features

4 requests
  • Online multiplayer mode
  • Customizable game settings
  • Comprehensive statistics tracking
  • Ability to resign/forfeit games

Backgammon

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App won't open
  • App freezes/hangs
  • Two taps required for one move
  • Incorrect move selection by AI
  • AI rolls are not random
Show 4 more
  • Display graphics obscure continue button
  • In 2-player mode, no menus appear when black starts
  • Software doesn't always display who goes first in 2-player hard mode
  • UI elements cover board pieces

Requested features

5 requests
  • Fix rigged AI rolls
  • Make AI more challenging/less predictable
  • Allow users to choose layout/design
  • Reconsider placement of move/undo buttons
  • Add option for cube

In-app purchases

None

Backgammon Pro

No in-app purchases

None

Backgammon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backgammon Pro free?
Backgammon Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backgammon free?
Backgammon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backgammon Pro or Backgammon?
Backgammon Pro is rated higher. Backgammon Pro averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.4K ratings, while Backgammon averages 4.4 from 169 ratings.
Do Backgammon Pro or Backgammon have ads?
Backgammon shows ads; Backgammon Pro does not.
Which is updated more often, Backgammon Pro or Backgammon?
Backgammon Pro ships an update every 2 months, and Backgammon fortnightly. Most recently, Backgammon Pro was updated on October 12, 2026 and Backgammon on October 11, 2026.

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