Comparison

True Backgammon vs Pine Tar Poker

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

Head to head
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.

About

Pine Tar Poker

Experience a unique card game with a touch of the supernatural. Gather your deck and paper to learn a new way to play, where a little bit of magic might just tip the scales in your favor and bring a smile to your face.

Highlights
  • Unique card game mechanics
  • Supernatural elements
  • Learn to play easily
  • Focus on entertainment
  • Potential for magical advantages
Features
Read full description

Welcome partner. We don't have much around here, but we still like a lil entertainment every now and then.  Grab that deck a cards and the paper there, let me teach ya a game. Now this here game ain't gonna get ya in touch with the rhythm of the universe, but it might just put a smile on yer face. If ya think magick might help ya win... well partner, ya just might be right...

Screenshots

True Backgammon4 screens
Pine Tar Poker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pine Tar Poker at 91% against True Backgammon's 48%. Pine Tar Poker also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 12). True Backgammon's advantage is ratings volume (2.6K vs 140). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

True Backgammon costs $3.99 and Pine Tar Poker $3.99 up front. True Backgammon sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Pine Tar Poker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pine Tar Poker holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: True Backgammon has 2.6K ratings behind it against 140, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of True Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 91% of Pine Tar Poker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

True Backgammon ships an update fortnightly, Pine Tar Poker every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
True Backgammon versus Pine Tar Poker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue BackgammonPine Tar Poker
Price$3.99$3.99
Rating4.3 (2.6K ratings)4.9 (140 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.0% of reviews90.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6K — better140
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#41#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB250 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperCompuLab, Markus GömmelBird Cartel LLC

Customer experience

True Backgammon

All ratings2,649 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews479 reviews
Positive48.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative43.4%

Pine Tar Poker

All ratings140 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.7%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.1%

User reviews

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

Pine Tar Poker

From 140 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Addictive gameplay loop
  • 💡 Unique poker/Yahtzee mechanics
  • ✨ Engaging story and atmosphere
  • 🎨 Charming art style
  • 🎮 High replay value

Room to improve

  • ⏳ Story is too short
  • 🎶 Music can be repetitive
  • ❓ Some mechanics unclear
  • 📱 No cloud save feature
  • 🔥 Device runs hot

Bugs and requests

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

Pine Tar Poker

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Device overheating on iPad Pro 12.9

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more content (scratch offs, dice, roulette)
  • More explanation for items/mechanics
  • Option to turn off upgrades/powers
  • Cloud save feature
  • More story content
Show 1 more
  • Hint for broken rune stone activation

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
None

Pine Tar Poker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is True Backgammon free?
True Backgammon costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pine Tar Poker free?
Pine Tar Poker costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, True Backgammon or Pine Tar Poker?
Pine Tar Poker is rated higher. True Backgammon averages 4.3 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Pine Tar Poker averages 4.9 from 140 ratings.
Do True Backgammon or Pine Tar Poker have ads?
Neither True Backgammon nor Pine Tar Poker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, True Backgammon or Pine Tar Poker?
True Backgammon ships an update fortnightly, and Pine Tar Poker every 3 days. Most recently, True Backgammon was updated on October 16, 2026 and Pine Tar Poker on October 14, 2026.
Which is more popular, True Backgammon or Pine Tar Poker?
True Backgammon currently peaks at #41 in the App Store charts, and Pine Tar Poker at #12. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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