Comparison

Tavla vs Honest Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

Tavla

Features
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Play classic Turkish backgammon without rotating your phone. Tavla: Online combines a wooden board with smooth dice and checker animations. JOIN A TABLE • Find a new opponent with quick matchmaking. • Invite friends to a private table. • Start as a guest or sign in with Apple or Google. EVERY MOVE WITHIN REACH • Touch and drag controls designed for portrait play. • Clear checkers and green highlights for available destinations. • Watch a checker move step by step when using multiple dice. • Normal wins, gammon and backgammon results. KEEP PLAYING • Review your match summary and history, request a rematch or find a new opponent. • Follow your league, statistics and weekly ranking. • Personalize your profile with avatars and cosmetic options. • Share emoji and preset messages at the table. Dice and moves are validated by the server. Cosmetics and ads do not change the game rules or dice in your favour. Coins are for in-game use only and cannot be exchanged for cash. Contains ads. Spend earned coins on board, checker and dice styles and keep them in your inventory. Usage analytics is enabled by default and crash reporting is disabled. You can control each separately in Settings; a previously disabled analytics preference stays off. Account deletion, privacy and support options are available in the app.

About

Honest Backgammon

Features
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I made this game because I couldn't find a single backgammon app on the store whose dice I could trust. Suspiciously lucky opponents, double after double at exactly the right moment… So I built the one I wanted to play. HONEST DICE, NOTHING HIDDEN • Against the computer, your dice and the AI's dice come from the same random generator. The AI gets no special rolls and only plays with the dice you see on the board. • Online, neither phone decides the dice: the server rolls them with cryptographic randomness. • Watch it yourself: a live dice-distribution chart for both players during every match, and full dice statistics in your profile. • Real 3D dice, thrown with physics. Tap to roll, or pick them up and shake them in your hand. PLAY YOUR WAY • Single player against a strong computer opponent • Two players on the same device: single game, or first to 3 or 5 points • Online: quick match against real players, or add friends and invite them to a match • Classic rules with gammons; resign and gammon offers like at a real table • Turn clock, undo, move highlights in the colors you choose BEAUTIFUL 3D WORLDS — OR A LIGHT 2D VIEW • Play in a traditional Turkish coffeehouse, at a creekside picnic, on an Aegean beach, by a log-cabin fireplace, in a Bedouin tent among the dunes — or on the Moon • Prefer it simple? Switch to the 2D view: a clean top-down board that uses less battery and runs smoothly on older phones MAKE IT YOURS • 12 boards, 21 dice sets and 19 checker sets (5 of each glowing) • 10 characters with their own backgrounds, and 10 free emotes to tease your opponent • Levels, XP and achievements FAIR TO PLAY • Everything that affects the game is free. Only cosmetic items are sold. • No forced ads: watch an optional ad only if you want to try an item for 24 hours. Available in English and Turkish.

Screenshots

Tavla4 screens
Honest Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tavla at none against Honest Backgammon's 10. Honest Backgammon's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Honest Backgammon sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Tavla asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tavla ships an update weekly, Honest Backgammon daily. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Tavla versus Honest Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTavlaHonest Backgammon
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size116 MB299 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperUmit CagdasGorkem Gundener

In-app purchases

None

Tavla

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Honest Backgammon

One-time10
  • Knight Cat$0.49
  • Brass$0.49
  • Yellow & Red$0.49
Show 7 more
  • Mother-of-Pearl$0.49
  • Jade$0.49
  • Creekside Picnic$0.99
  • Moon Camp$0.99
  • By the Fireplace$0.99
  • Aegean Cove$0.99
  • Desert Camp$0.99

Questions

Is Tavla free?
Tavla is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Honest Backgammon free?
Honest Backgammon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tavla or Honest Backgammon have ads?
Both Tavla and Honest Backgammon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Tavla or Honest Backgammon?
Tavla ships an update weekly, and Honest Backgammon daily. Most recently, Tavla was updated on November 6, 2026 and Honest Backgammon on November 13, 2026.

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