Comparison

check vs Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

check

A streamlined chess application for playing live games, practicing tactics, and reviewing matches. Offers customizable clocks and board themes for a focused experience.

Highlights
  • Live online games
  • Computer challenges
  • Local multiplayer
  • Tactical puzzles
  • Game review
  • Customizable chess clock
  • Board themes
Features
Read full description

chess, without the clutter. check is a focused place to play, practice, and review chess. start a live game, challenge the computer, share one device, solve a quick tactic, or use the built-in clock at the board. PLAY YOUR WAY • Find players, send invites, and play live online games with real-time moves. • Take on Stockfish with four strength choices, from beginner to expert. • Play local chess with another person on the same device. • Leave a computer, local, or online game and resume it from the main screen. SHARPEN YOUR TACTICS • Solve 600 tactical positions across mate, best-move, material, and defense challenges. • Choose a difficulty from beginner through expert. • Ask for a hint when you need a nudge. REVIEW THE GAME • Turn on move ratings during computer games for immediate feedback. • Replay computer and local games move by move with concise notes. • Revisit the board position behind every move. BRING YOUR OWN CLOCK • Use a dedicated digital or analog chess clock for over-the-board games. • Start with bullet, blitz, and rapid presets, or create your own. • Choose sudden death, Fischer increment, Bronstein delay, or US delay. MAKE IT YOURS • Choose from monochrome and color board themes. • Use light or dark mode while keeping the board front and center. No ads. No clutter. Just chess.

About

Backgammon

Features
Read full description

A beautiful board. A thoughtful game. One more roll. Backgammon brings the classic game to iPhone and iPad with tactile boards, dice and checkers. Settle into a game against the computer, pass your device to a friend, or keep a match going from wherever you are. No ads interrupt the board. PLAY YOUR WAY Play offline against Easy, Medium or Hard computer opponents, or take turns on one device. Invite friends through iCloud and Game Center. Keep unlimited games open, return when you’re ready, and start a rematch when the last checker is home. TOGETHER NOW. ANOTHER TURN LATER. SharePlay brings a saved iCloud game into a live session. Talk over FaceTime while you play, then continue the same game later with your score and progress intact. SharePlay is free for everyone. MAKE THE BOARD YOURS Classic Tournament is free. Optional Pro opens all 22 board styles, from wood and leather-inspired surfaces to Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver. Explore light and dark appearances and choose from 24 app icons, including two golden icons. Refined material icons support light, dark, tinted and clear Home Screens. Let your icon follow your board or pick it independently. ONE MORE GAME Open the free tutorial book from home or during a game: 24 concise lessons, automatically repeating moves on premium boards, progress dots, challenges and a selectable text reader. Read the rules guide and follow the race with pip counts. In Game Settings, choose a single game or a match to 3, 5 or 7 points. Longer matches support the doubling cube and Crawford rule. Roll and finish turns automatically, or review your tentative moves before confirming. Play in portrait or landscape on iPhone and iPad. Work toward 40 achievements and collect checkers and emblems. Try the Bear-Off Trial and challenge friends through Game Center. MORE WITH PRO. MADE POSSIBLE BY YOU. Pro adds Expert, Master and Ultra computer levels, position history to revisit saved moves, a Pro badge, and Live Activities for up to three online games. Follow the latest synced position from your Lock Screen, see game status in Dynamic Island on supported devices, and tap to return to play. Position history does not provide expert move grading. Live Activity updates depend on connectivity and Apple’s system delivery. Choose Yearly or Lifetime Pro to support the independent developers at Ocho and help keep Backgammon ad-free. Unlimited open games, all play modes, tutorial book, rules guide and achievements remain free. Pro expiry never limits your open games. Eligible Apple Accounts can try Yearly Pro free for 7 days after confirming an Apple subscription. Annual billing begins after the trial and renews automatically unless canceled. Manage or cancel in Apple Account settings. Lifetime is a one-time purchase with no trial; it does not cancel a separate annual subscription. Local prices are shown before purchase. Restore Purchases is available. Requires iOS or iPadOS 27 or later. Computer and same-device games work offline. Online play requires internet access and the relevant Apple services. SharePlay requires both players to have the app and access to the same shared iCloud game. App and book available in English, Dutch, Spanish, German, Japanese, French, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. Ocho won the 2026 Apple Design Award for Delight and Fun with Grug. Questions or feedback: hi@ocho.so Website: https://playbackgammon.co Privacy: https://www.ocho.so/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

check4 screens
Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backgammon at Free against check's $2.99. Backgammon also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). check's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On review sentiment, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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; check costs $2.99 up front. Backgammon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per year. check asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

check ships an update every 2 weeks, Backgammon every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
check versus Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametercheckBackgammon
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB167 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArjun MahantiOcho

Customer experience

check

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Backgammon

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

check

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Backgammon

Subscriptions1
  • Backgammon Pro Yearly7 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Backgammon Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is check free?
check costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backgammon free?
Backgammon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do check or Backgammon have ads?
Neither check nor Backgammon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, check or Backgammon?
check ships an update every 2 weeks, and Backgammon every 5 days. Most recently, check was updated on November 14, 2026 and Backgammon on November 15, 2026.

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