Comparison

Backgammon Online with Friends vs Nardy

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

Head to head
About

Backgammon Online with Friends

Features
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Backgammon against a real person — and you can hear them. At a table joined by an invite code you see their face too. The dice are fair: the game seed is on the table and every roll can be recomputed. No coins, no banners, no sign-up. VOICE AND FACE AT THE TABLE At an online table you can talk. The microphone is asked for once, when you sit down; say no and nothing else changes — the game simply goes on in silence. Video is switched on with a button and only at a table joined by an invite code, that is, between people who know each other; the camera is off by default. You can mute your opponent, report them, and never be matched with them again. GLASS DICE Every roll is computed from the game seed (HMAC-SHA256). The seed is shown on the table; “Verify” recomputes every die. Face, doubles and luck statistics for you and your opponent. No rigged dice, ever. BACKGAMMON AND THREE MORE RULE SETS • Backgammon: hitting, the bar, the doubling cube, the Crawford rule, gammon and backgammon. • Long nardy: the head, the 6-6/4-4/3-3 first-move exception, the six-block rule, mars and koks. • Tavla and Shesh Besh presets. Matches to 3, 5 and 7 points. A CHAMPION-LEVEL COACH Hints show the best play; the post-game review shows where points were lost. In backgammon the evaluation comes from a neural net stronger than GNU Backgammon, on your phone, offline. HONEST OPPONENTS Six bot characters from novice to master, always labelled. No fake “humans”. Two players on one phone. ONLINE WITH LIVE PLAYERS Find an opponent by rating or play a friend with a table code. Online dice come from the arbiter: the seed hash is shown to both before the first roll, and after the match the seed is revealed so every roll can be recomputed. Elo rating and a top-100 table — only for matches against real people. NO COINS, NO BANNERS Nothing you can buy makes you stronger. The Store screen holds Pro, three boards sold separately, and tips. Pro unlocks board themes, unlimited hints and the full luck history. Tips (“Support the yard”) unlock nothing — they are just a thank-you. The whole game is free. No banners and no ads mid-game — just a short video between games, and Pro or any purchased board turns it off. Any board can be tried on for a day for one video. ONE HAND Portrait board, tap a checker and tap a point, two-dice jumps in one tap, auto-move when there is no choice. Works offline. No sign-up. Interface in 19 languages.

About

Nardy

Features
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Nardy brings both games of the backgammon family to your iPhone: Long Narde, the classic of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and Short, the backgammon the world knows. Play a friend across one phone, or a computer rival with a personality. TWO GAMES • Long Narde: no hitting, one checker holds a point, one checker off the head per turn. A race of blocks and patience. • Short Narde, classic backgammon: hitting, the bar, gammons and backgammons. • Rules are built in, and the board only lets you make legal moves. A RIVAL WITH CHARACTER Take on the computer at Easy, Medium or Hard. With Apple Intelligence, your opponent picks its move in character and has something to say about it. Stuck? Ask for a hint and see the best play. PLAY WITH A FRIEND Pass one phone across the table. No setup, no internet needed. GROW AS A PLAYER • Earn XP every game and climb from Novice to Grandmaster • Keep your daily streak going • 28 achievements, also in Game Center • Stats for each game: win rate, gammons, fastest win, biggest comeback • Share your wins as a card A BOARD WORTH TOUCHING Walnut, bone and ebony with inlaid rosettes. Tap to throw or shake the phone. Add the dice widget to your Home Screen and throw from there too. EVEN BETTER ON IPHONE DUO Hold it half open, like a board on the table: the fold becomes the bar, and a snap of the hinge throws the dice. Close it and keep playing on the outer display. NARDY PRO No ads, ever. One purchase, no subscription: the Hard opponent, unlimited hints, and table themes like Mahogany, Yerevan, Card Club and Neon. Languages: English, Russian, Armenian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Greek.

Screenshots

Backgammon Online with Friends4 screens
Nardy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Nardy at none against Backgammon Online with Friends's shown. Nardy also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 11 days). Backgammon Online with Friends's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Backgammon Online with Friends sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Nardy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backgammon Online with Friends ships an update every 11 days, Nardy every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Backgammon Online with Friends versus Nardy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackgammon Online with FriendsNardy
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNTSAUTOSIGA LLCArtem Novichkov

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Backgammon Online with Friends

One-time7
  • Tea for Gocha$0.99
  • Night board$1.99
  • Tbilisi board$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Istanbul board$1.99
  • Dinner for the yard$4.99
  • Narde Pro$5.99
  • A new board for the yard$9.99
1 purchases

Nardy

One-time1
  • Nardy Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Backgammon Online with Friends free?
Backgammon Online with Friends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nardy free?
Nardy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Backgammon Online with Friends or Nardy have ads?
Backgammon Online with Friends shows ads; Nardy does not.
Which is updated more often, Backgammon Online with Friends or Nardy?
Backgammon Online with Friends ships an update every 11 days, and Nardy every 4 days. Most recently, Backgammon Online with Friends was updated on October 31, 2026 and Nardy on October 31, 2026.

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