Comparison

Simple Backgammon vs Fold & Play

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

Head to head
About

Simple Backgammon

Enjoy a straightforward game of Backgammon against a computer opponent. This version omits the doubling cube for a streamlined experience. Perfect for quick matches.

Highlights
  • Backgammon gameplay
  • Computer opponent
  • No doubling cube
  • Simple interface
  • Offline play
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This is a simple version of Backgammon, with no doubling cube. Play against a computer opponent.

About

Fold & Play

Features
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Checkers, backgammon, chess, Nine Men's Morris and Ludo in one beautiful set, with no ads. Play a friend face to face on one screen, or take on the computer at three strengths. Fold & Play looks like a real folding games case: lacquered, lined with felt, with a brass hinge down the middle of every board. Play a friend face to face. Lay the screen flat between you, and each of you gets your own side of the table, turned to face you: your pieces, your dice, your buttons. It plays on iPad too, lying flat on the table between you. When you're apart, play a friend through Game Center, turn by turn, at backgammon, checkers or chess. Or play the computer, from a gentle game to a real test. Every game saves as you play, so you can put it down and pick it up later. Take back a move, or read the rules whenever you like. Each game is played properly: • Backgammon, with the bar, bearing off, gammons, backgammons and the doubling cube. Or Plakoto, the pinning game: land on a lone checker and it's pinned, not hit. • Chess, with castling, en passant, promotion, and draws by stalemate, repetition and the fifty-move rule. • Checkers by English, German or Turkish rules: English draughts, German Dame with flying kings, or Türk daması on all 64 squares. • Nine Men's Morris: place your nine stones, move them, and fly once you're down to three. Every mill takes a stone. • Ludo for two to four players, friends and the computer together. Sounds and haptics bring the dice and the captures to life, and Your Record keeps your wins, losses and draws against each strength of the computer. Optimized for iPhone Duo. Open it, lay it flat, and the fold becomes the board's hinge: backgammon's bar sits right on the crease, and the chessboard divides exactly between its two halves. Nothing you tap ever sits on the fold. Folded, every game fits the cover display. Checkers and Ludo are free to play. Backgammon, chess and Nine Men's Morris give you three free games each, then come with the Full Set: one purchase, yours for good, and shared with your family through Family Sharing. No subscription. No ads. No account. No tracking. To help improve the set, Fold & Play sends anonymous usage statistics to its developer: which games are played and how they end, never player names or anything you type. You can turn them off in Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Simple Backgammon1 screens
Fold & Play4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simple Backgammon at none against Fold & Play's 1. Simple Backgammon also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). Fold & Play's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 31 months). 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

Both are free to download. Fold & Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simple Backgammon asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Backgammon ships an update every 31 months, Fold & Play weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Simple Backgammon versus Fold & Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple BackgammonFold & Play
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 31 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhil SternCanopus Labs Ltd

In-app purchases

None

Simple Backgammon

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Fold & Play

One-time1
  • Full Set$4.99

Questions

Is Simple Backgammon free?
Simple Backgammon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fold & Play free?
Fold & Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Simple Backgammon or Fold & Play have ads?
Neither Simple Backgammon nor Fold & Play shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Backgammon or Fold & Play?
Simple Backgammon ships an update every 31 months, and Fold & Play weekly. Most recently, Simple Backgammon was updated on October 24, 2026 and Fold & Play on October 29, 2026.

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