Comparison

Kōnane vs Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

Kōnane

Experience an ancient Hawaiian board game similar to checkers on an 8x8 grid. Challenge the device, play with friends, and climb leaderboards with Game Center achievements. Enjoy beautiful graphics and learn Hawaiian words with pronunciations.

Highlights
  • Tutorial for learning gameplay
  • 8x8 game board
  • Play against device or friend
  • Game Center leaderboards and achievements
  • Adjustable difficulty and hints
  • Coral and lava rock game pieces
  • Hawaiian glossary with audio
Features
Read full description

Welcome to kōnane, a game played by the ancient people of Hawaii! Legend has is that King Kamehameha could not be defeated. Can you become a master of kōnane as well? --- FEATURES --- - Learn to play by viewing the tutorial. Gameplay is similar to checkers. - Play games on an 8 by 8 board. - Play against the device or share and play with a friend. - Earn your place on leaderboards and obtain achievements in Game Center. - Various settings to control aspects such as difficulty and the inclusion of hints. - Beautiful graphics to include coral and lava rock playing pieces. - Hawaiian glossary with visual and audio pronunciations.

About

Backgammon

Features
Read full description

Backgammon is one of the oldest and most rewarding strategy games ever created. This app teaches you how to actually play it well. LEARN BY DOING 8 lessons take you from board setup through opening moves, hitting and re-entering, building primes, bearing off, the doubling cube, and advanced positional strategy. Every lesson puts you at the board with interactive positions so you build real understanding, not just memorize rules. PUT YOUR SKILLS TO THE TEST 8 practice scenarios drop you into real game situations. Figure out the most efficient bearing off sequence. Decide whether to hit or make a key point. Evaluate opening rolls. Manage an endgame race. Each scenario gives you immediate feedback so you know exactly where your thinking went right or wrong. PLAY AGAINST THREE AI LEVELS Beginner opponents let you learn at your own pace. Intermediate opponents play solid positional backgammon. Advanced opponents build primes, anchor behind your position, evaluate the race with pip counts, and make sharp doubling decisions. As you improve, your opponents keep up. YOUR GAME, YOUR DATA Game history, win rates, and lesson progress stay on your device. Game Center achievements and leaderboards are there if you want them. Everything works offline. NO ADS. NO TRACKING. EVER. Most free backgammon apps make money by showing you ads every other turn and selling your data to third parties. This app costs $0.99 because we'd rather sell you a great backgammon game than sell your attention to advertisers. One purchase, everything included, nothing else to buy. WHAT'S INCLUDED - 8 structured lessons across Fundamentals, Building Your Game, and Strategy - 8 practice scenarios with real board positions and feedback - 3 AI difficulty levels with distinct play styles - Full rules engine including the doubling cube - Pip count display for evaluating race positions - Game history and detailed statistics - Game Center achievements and leaderboards - Completely offline, completely private

Screenshots

Kōnane4 screens
Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Kōnane at every 6 weeks against Backgammon's every 3 months. Kōnane also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.1). Backgammon's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99). On ads, 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

Kōnane costs $1.99 and Backgammon $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kōnane ships an update every 6 weeks, Backgammon every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kōnane versus Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKōnaneBackgammon
Price$1.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.5 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInstant InteractiveThomas Gamull

In-app purchases

None

Kōnane

No in-app purchases

None

Backgammon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kōnane free?
Kōnane costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backgammon free?
Backgammon costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Kōnane or Backgammon have ads?
Neither Kōnane nor Backgammon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kōnane or Backgammon?
Kōnane ships an update every 6 weeks, and Backgammon every 3 months. Most recently, Kōnane was updated on September 24, 2026 and Backgammon on October 8, 2026.

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