Comparison

True Backgammon vs Backgammon

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

Backgammon

Master strategy and skill in this classic board game. Move your checkers, hit opponents, and use the doubling cube to increase stakes. Enjoy hours of exciting gameplay on mobile and tablet.

Highlights
  • Move checkers based on dice rolls
  • Hit opponent's checkers
  • Use doubling cube for stakes
  • Play in 1 to 15 point matches
  • Smart and adaptive AI opponent
  • Auto-save progress
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Backgammon Classic, one of the most popular board games in the world! Strategy, skills and good planning will be key to master the game. How to play? • The objective of the game is to be the first player to move all the checkers into their home board and bear them off • The roll of the dice indicates how many points, you can move your checkers • Roll a double to play twice • Hit your opponent’s checkers to remove them from the board • Use the doubling cube to increase the stakes at any point Why choose Backgammon Classic? • Start playing right away with a single touch • Tailored for mobile and tablet devices • Easy to play with a modern and relaxing look • Smart and adaptive opponent AI • Play in 1 or up to 15 points • Double the stakes anytime • Choose the controls • Auto save so that you can resume whenever you want Enjoy now hours of exciting card games with Backgammon!

Screenshots

True Backgammon4 screens
Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backgammon at Free against True Backgammon's $3.99. Backgammon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). True Backgammon's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 11 months). On 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; True Backgammon costs $3.99 up front. True Backgammon sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Backgammon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backgammon holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.6K and 735 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 48% of True Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 21% of Backgammon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

True Backgammon ships an update fortnightly, Backgammon every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
True Backgammon versus Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue BackgammonBackgammon
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (2.6K ratings)4.6 (735 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.1% of reviews — better21.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2.6K — better735
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCompuLab, Markus GömmelBlackout Lab SL

Customer experience

True Backgammon

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

Backgammon

All ratings735 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive21.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative69.2%

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

Backgammon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Backgammon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is True Backgammon free?
True Backgammon costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Backgammon free?
Backgammon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, True Backgammon or Backgammon?
Backgammon is rated higher. True Backgammon averages 4.3 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Backgammon averages 4.6 from 735 ratings.
Do True Backgammon or Backgammon have ads?
Backgammon shows ads; True Backgammon does not.
Which is updated more often, True Backgammon or Backgammon?
True Backgammon ships an update fortnightly, and Backgammon every 11 months. Most recently, True Backgammon was updated on September 30, 2026 and Backgammon on September 27, 2026.

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