Comparison

Backgammon HD vs True Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

Backgammon HD

Experience the classic board game with a modern twist. Play against friends or strangers online, challenge the AI, and compete on leaderboards. Offers multiple game variations and visually rich board designs.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer with Game Center
  • Background match-making
  • Turn-based and live online play
  • Play against AI (Easy, Medium, Hard)
  • Bluetooth peer-to-peer multiplayer
  • Multiple board designs
  • Game variations (Old English, Nackgammon)
Read full description

Play the #1 Backgammon on the App Store! Now with the best online Backgammon experience with background match-making and two ways to play online: Turn-based gameplay or 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 online: Live with Game Center - Background match-making: search for opponents while you play! - Universal. Play on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad - Single Player Games (with Easy, Medium, or Hard) - Match support! Play to 3, 5, 9 or 15 points with Doubling. Matches use the Crawford Rule - On the phone Multiplayer and Bluetooth peer to peer games - Move-Assist, highlights available moves - Unlimited “Undo” in single-player games - Extensive game statistics

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Backgammon HD4 screens
True Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backgammon HD at Free against True Backgammon's $3.99. Backgammon HD also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and review sentiment (80% vs 48%). True Backgammon's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Backgammon HD is free to download; True Backgammon costs $3.99 up front. True Backgammon sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Backgammon HD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backgammon HD holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3K and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Backgammon HD's written reviews are positive against 48% of True Backgammon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backgammon HD ships an update every 2 months, True Backgammon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Backgammon HD versus True Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackgammon HDTrue Backgammon
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.6 (3K ratings) — better4.3 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better48.1% of reviews
Number of ratings3K — better2.6K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#18 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB69 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWildCard Classics IncCompuLab, Markus Gömmel

Customer experience

Backgammon HD

All ratings3,002 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews595 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative16.0%

True Backgammon

All ratings2,649 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews474 reviews
Positive48.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative43.5%

User reviews

Backgammon HD

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 💡 Variety of game modes
  • 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Counting/display issues on new iPad Pro
  • 🐛 Pieces not aligned on iPad
  • 🐛 Dice rolls sometimes biased towards computer

True Backgammon

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What 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 HD

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Counting errors on goals
  • Pieces not lining up on board
  • Crashes when about to win

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to invite friends to play
  • More challenging difficulty levels
  • Acey-Deucey game mode

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

None

Backgammon HD

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

True Backgammon

One-time12
  • Playboard Orient 3$0.99
  • Playboard Neon 1$0.99
  • Playboard Neon 3$0.99
Show 9 more
  • 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 HD free?
Backgammon HD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is True Backgammon free?
True Backgammon costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backgammon HD or True Backgammon?
Backgammon HD is rated higher. Backgammon HD averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while True Backgammon averages 4.3 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Backgammon HD or True Backgammon have ads?
Backgammon HD shows ads; True Backgammon does not.
Which is updated more often, Backgammon HD or True Backgammon?
Backgammon HD ships an update every 2 months, and True Backgammon fortnightly. Most recently, Backgammon HD was updated on September 22, 2026 and True Backgammon on September 25, 2026.

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