Comparison

Backgammon Arena vs The Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

Backgammon Arena

Compete against real players worldwide in this classic dice board game. Master strategy and luck across multiple game modes, from beginner to expert levels. Enjoy fair dice rolls, HD graphics, and social features like chat and gifting.

Highlights
  • Compete with real players
  • Fair dice roll with secure RNG
  • Multiple live game modes
  • Daily coin bonuses
  • Global tournaments
  • In-game chat
  • Play with friends
Features
Read full description

About Backgammon Board Game Backgammon is the ultimate king lord of dice games! A challenging and addicting game with millions of fans all over the world! Backgammon Basics and Rules / How to Play Each player has a piece set of Backgammon checkers. In front of him/her is the home board where he/she should bear off while the side across is the starting point. This means the opponents starting point is exactly on the opposite side. The objective is to remove all of one's own checkers from the board before one's opponent does. When a player leaves a checker single, the opponent has the option to make a blot, plus leave the checker temporarily out of game. Once the player has moved all his fifteen checkers into his/her home board, might commence “bearing off”. Hints: If during a game a player has not been able to bear off neither of his checkers, the other player scores a gammon, a double victory, which counts twice a normal win (doubling). Backgammon Arena offers 6 live Game Modes (different rooms and themes) according to your progress. Start your unlocking journey, enjoy the trip with unlimited games! 1. Newbies (learn the tricks at level 1) 2. Amateurs (rush for the win at level 2) 3. Professionals (pro race unlocked at level 4) 4. Experts (high stakes matches unlocked at level 6) 5. Super VIP Players (unlocked by superiors at level 8) 6. Gods! (unlocked by the unbeatables at level 10) Backgammon Arena is multiplayer and can be highly competitive among elite dice gurus. Luck is needed but long practice is Gold! Test your skills and strategy, win one match after the other, have fun with buddies, level up, enjoy prestigious trophies, earn amazing prizes and become the master of the best and most popular dice game! Get in this premium club! Join the worldwide community of Backgammon champions! Backgammon Arena Features • Compete with REAL players: no robots / no artificial intelligence opponents. • FAIR dice roll and PLAYING: Backgammon Arena uses a "cryptographically secure" random number generator, implemented by the OpenSSL library, for all random aspects of the game. This is a state of the art RNG that is guaranteed to generate uncorrelated and unpredictable values. • Quality, hd graphics in each mode. Deluxe royale backgammon version with: • Daily coins BONUS: instant win. • Global TOURNAMENTS for elite players. • Different bet, earnings and settings: In each new Game Mode, you have the chance to win more Points and Chips for each victory while game completion can be achieved either on one or on three wins as you elevate across modes. More over quick decisions are needed while the time to play each one's turn, is reduced, as you progress. • In-game CHAT with your oppenents (Online feature). • "Play with a FRIEND" option: invite your chums to an extreme buddy challenge! • Fireworks effects to celebrate a match win! • Daily, weekly and monthly Leaderboards and CHARTS for TOP players • "Share the fun" feature by sending GIFTS (special items) to your friends even when they are offline. The game is popular in certain countries like Egypt, Greece, India, Turkey etc. Apart from the classic game, many variants exist, known with alternative names around the globe such as Tavli or Tavle, Tawla or Tavla, Tapa, Tabula (table for Romans), Gamao, Narde or Nardi, Nackgammon, Hypergammon, Gammon, Acey Deucey, Shesh Besh, Portes, Plakoto, Fevga, Mahbusa, Gul Bara. Backgammon is oftened considered a type or parlour games or part of social casino style games.

About

The Backgammon

Engage in classic backgammon matches online against players worldwide or offline against an AI with adjustable difficulty. Enhance your skills with detailed game analysis and practice tools. Enjoy a free, feature-rich experience with customizable rules and visually appealing boards.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer games
  • Offline AI opponent
  • 5 difficulty levels
  • Rating and ranking system
  • Match replay and review
  • Customizable rules
  • Hint facility
Features
Read full description

Play online games against players all over the world! Play against the offline AI to improve your skills! Enjoy the classic board game completely Free with The Backgammon. *Online Games - The Backgammon Quest* You can play online games against backgammon players all over the world completely free! The Backgammon Quest provides the features below to make your online games more exciting and competitive: -Rating system -Ranking table -Watch other player's live games -Match against your friend using a keyword -View replays of previous games If you make a Quest account you will be able to enjoy other boardgames such as Go, Chess, Shogi, Othello and Gomoku with the same account. *Offline Games* There are 5 levels of difficulty which should be challenging for everyone. Also we have provided very useful features for beginners to learn and improve your game. Please select the match length and the rules as you want, and enjoy this game of skill and strategy. Collect medals by defeating computer in the 'Challenge mode'. We have provided a more challenging and thrilling game mode to test your skills. The Backgammon offers you the following features that makes the game more enjoyable and challenging: -- Strong Backgammon AI -- 5 Difficulty levels -- Human vs Computer, Human vs Human (sharing a single device) -- 6 types of match length -- Doubling cube (ON/OFF) -- Crawford rule (ON/OFF) -- Beautiful boards and piece sets -- Hint facility -- Review mode during a game -- Save/Load game records -- Autosaves your current game -- Saves history of your matches -- Dice Statistics -- Manual dice input (ON/OFF) -- Show possible moves (ON/OFF) -- Show PIP count (ON/OFF) -- Background music (ON/OFF) -- Auto-move when forced (ON/OFF) -- Animation speed (Normal/ Fast) -- Music and sound effects (ON/OFF)

Screenshots

Backgammon Arena4 screens
The Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Backgammon Arena at 4.3 against The Backgammon's 2.3. Backgammon Arena also leads on review sentiment (26% vs 8%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). The Backgammon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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 Arena sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. The Backgammon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backgammon Arena holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71 and 64 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Backgammon Arena's written reviews are positive against 8% of The Backgammon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Backgammon Arena versus The Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackgammon ArenaThe Backgammon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (71 ratings) — better2.3 (64 ratings)
Positive reviews25.7% of reviews — better8.1% of reviews
Number of ratings71 — better64
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB324 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperLazyLand LTDUNBALANCE Corporation

Customer experience

Backgammon Arena

All ratings71 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative12.7%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive25.7%
Neutral20.0%
Negative54.3%

The Backgammon

All ratings64 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral10.9%
Negative64.1%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive8.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative85.6%

Bugs and requests

Backgammon Arena

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

The Backgammon

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Ads block the game board
  • Ads won't go away, requiring app restart
  • Game freezes frequently
  • App crashes and closes unexpectedly
  • Game rolls back after restart
Show 5 more
  • Timer issues (losing time when not on turn, clock resetting)
  • Videos play in the background and cannot be exited
  • Disconnection results in a loss
  • Cannot move pieces that should be movable
  • Count is sometimes off

Requested features

6 requests
  • Option to buy a version with no ads
  • Improve sound settings (separate BGM and SFX)
  • Add a chat option for online play
  • Improve controls and piece manipulation
  • Option to choose dice button position
Show 1 more
  • More frequent updates based on user feedback

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Backgammon Arena

One-time10
  • 500 Chips2 variants$0.99
  • 2000 Chips$2.99
  • 2000 Backgammon Chips$2.99
Show 7 more
  • 30 Diamonds$3.99
  • 5000 Chips2 variants$4.99
  • 400 Diamonds$10.99
  • 15000 Chips$10.99
  • 150 Diamonds$13.99
  • 40000 Chips$21.99
  • 40000 Chips$23.99
None

The Backgammon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backgammon Arena free?
Backgammon Arena is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Backgammon free?
The Backgammon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backgammon Arena or The Backgammon?
Backgammon Arena is rated higher. Backgammon Arena averages 4.3 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while The Backgammon averages 2.3 from 64 ratings.
Do Backgammon Arena or The Backgammon have ads?
Both Backgammon Arena and The Backgammon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Backgammon Arena or The Backgammon?
Backgammon Arena ships an update every 2 months, and The Backgammon every 2 months. Most recently, Backgammon Arena was updated on September 18, 2026 and The Backgammon on September 2, 2026.

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