Comparison

Xiangqi Watch vs Backgammon Sage Pro

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

Head to head
About

Xiangqi Watch

Features
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Play Xiangqi like never before — right on your Apple Watch. Experience the classic strategy game of Chinese Chess in a fast, modern, and beautifully designed format built specifically for the wrist. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, this version makes it easy to jump in, think fast, and enjoy every move. Multiple Ways to Play • Play vs Computer – Challenge a built-in AI anytime • Local 2 Player – Share your watch and play side-by-side • Network Play – Battle friends remotely using a simple friend code • Designed for Apple Watch • Digital Crown Zoom – Smoothly zoom in and out for precision control • Drag & Drop Moves – Intuitive piece movement made for a small screen • Clean, Focused Interface – No clutter, just strategy Smart Gameplay Features • Replay Moves – Review key moments and learn from every turn • Valid Move Enforcement – Only legal moves allowed (no mistakes) • Check & Checkmate Alerts – Stay informed as the battle unfolds • Red vs Black Classic Setup – Authentic Xiangqi experience Play Anytime, Anywhere Perfect for quick matches on the go or longer strategic battles. Whether you have a minute or an hour, your next game is always just a glance away. Sharpen your mind, challenge your friends, and carry one of the world’s greatest strategy games on your wrist. Download now and start your next match.

About

Backgammon Sage Pro

This app acts as a personal backgammon coach, offering analysis, practice, and progress tracking. It features a powerful AI engine, board position analysis, and game review to help players of all levels improve their skills.

Highlights
  • AI-powered backgammon engine
  • Position analysis with AI justification
  • Import board positions from photos
  • Play against adjustable bot strength
  • Analyze recorded games and matches
  • Track progress with performance metrics
  • Drill weaknesses with custom quizzes
Features
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Backgammon Sage Pro is your personal backgammon coach, powered by the strongest backgammon engine on the market today. Play, analyze, and improve, calculating in the cloud so you get the strongest evaluations even when you're on the move. Whether you're learning your first prime or sharpening a tournament game, Sage shows you the best play, explains why, and tracks your progress over time. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Analyze a position: Quickly set up a checker play or cube action position and analyze it at your choice of strength, with AI justification of the best decision. • Import from a photo: Photograph a real board and the position opens in Sage, ready to check and analyze. • Play a world-class bot: unlimited and match games at adjustable strength, with live performance feedback and post-game analysis. • Analyze your games and matches: Every game you play, against Sage or friends, is recorded and analyzed. See where you went wrong and why. • Track your game: See Performance Rating (PR), error themes, and progress across multiple player profiles. • Drill your weaknesses: Quiz yourself on the exact positions where you went wrong, zeroing in on parts of the game where you need work. • Train your pip count: Race the clock counting pips, then take on the global leaderboard. • Plain-English insight: Sage AI explains the ideas behind each position, with backgammon strategy and tactics instead of equities and probabilities. • Import your history: Bring in XG and online match files to build a complete database of your play. POWERED BY A WORLD-CLASS ENGINE Backgammon Sage Pro is powered by the open source backgammon engine, Open Sage. Open Sage is a modern standard for backgammon engines, demonstrated to outperform other commercial engines at similar evaluation strength. You can find more information on Open Sage at its github page: https://github.com/markbgsage/bgsage. FOR EVERY LEVEL New players get clear, expert guidance. Advanced players get the depth: expanded dice distribution, cloud rollouts, modern market window information for cube decisions, and the precision serious study demands. This is a strategy and analysis tool. No gambling is involved. SUBSCRIPTION Backgammon Sage Pro offers full access through a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription. Pricing is shown in the app before you confirm. • Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. • Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://sage.bgsage.ai/terms Privacy Policy: https://sage.bgsage.ai/privacy

Screenshots

Backgammon Sage Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Backgammon Sage Pro at Free against Xiangqi Watch's $1.99. Backgammon Sage Pro also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Xiangqi Watch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On 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

Backgammon Sage Pro is free to download; Xiangqi Watch costs $1.99 up front. Backgammon Sage Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Xiangqi Watch asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Xiangqi Watch versus Backgammon Sage Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXiangqi WatchBackgammon Sage Pro
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—4.6 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—10 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Subscription
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNhuBao NguyenBackgammon Gaming Technologies LLC

In-app purchases

None

Xiangqi Watch

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Backgammon Sage Pro

Subscriptions2
  • BG Sage Pro - Monthly$8.991 Month
  • BG Sage Pro - Annual$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Xiangqi Watch free?
Xiangqi Watch costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backgammon Sage Pro free?
Backgammon Sage Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Xiangqi Watch or Backgammon Sage Pro have ads?
Neither Xiangqi Watch nor Backgammon Sage Pro shows ads.

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