Backgammon PlayGem vs FriendGammon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backgammon PlayGem
Engage in thrilling multiplayer Backgammon matches against friends or players worldwide. Learn the rules, refine your strategy, and compete in tournaments to climb the leaderboards. Unlock unique boards and enjoy unlimited, free gameplay.
- Multiplayer Backgammon
- Online challenges and tournaments
- Play with friends or global players
- Learn rules and perfect strategy
- Unlockable unique boards
- Leaderboard progression
- Certified dice
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The best free multiplayer Backgammon game. Join a game instantly or play with friends now! Play live backgammon with friends and players around the world with PlayGem Backgammon for iOS. Download the FREE app from iTunes and enjoy the best version of this game on the Internet. PlayGem Backgammon offers FREE play with people you know, your Facebook friends, or millions of players worldwide. This leading social strategy game attracts hundreds of thousands of people who seek to challenge themselves each day! We’ve taken one of the oldest board games and made it even more fun! Download the app today to learn the rules of backgammon, perfect your strategy, and have a great time with a super cool mobile app for iPhone and iPad. Online Challenges and Tournaments Backgammon is a game of skill and luck. It’s a challenge you can now engage in with millions of players from all over the world, so set up PlayGem Backgammon on your iOS cell phone or mobile device and start competing! Take part in matches and tournaments and let our unique matching system quickly find you another player to go up against. Or, challenge one of your real-life or Facebook friends! Fun with Worthy Opponents Have a good time playing online matches and tournaments while improving your strategy against worthy opponents. The app finds you an international player to challenge, so you both can master the rules and become increasingly better. Climb the Leader Board Gain experience (XP), level up, unlock achievements, and climb the Leaders Board to get to international backgammon fame! Invite your friends to join in the excitement, too, and find out who truly is the best player. Beautiful and Unique Boards As you’re playing PlayGem Backgammon, you can work to unlock seven beautiful and exotic boards. Each has its own special music and themes! Features Awesome additional features that you’ll find in PlayGem Backgammon include: • Live contests that are quick, simple, and smooth • Multi-platform challenges across Facebook and iOS cell phones and mobile devices • 100 percent certified dice • Best customer support • Free and unlimited gameplay! By Any Name, It’s Still The Same Players from around the world love backgammon, but they sometimes call it by different names. It doesn’t matter if you refer to it as Tavla, Dado, Tavli, Tapa, Trictrac, Tric Trac, Tabula, Acey Deucey, Narde, Shesh Besh, Nackgammon, Plakoto, Gul Bara, Takhteh, or Moultezim—they all mean the same thing, and they refer to one of the best games on the planet! Start playing with your friends or enjoy a fun match with a new international friend. If you don’t know how the rules, it’s okay! You’ll be able to learn quickly and take part in cool online challenges. Grab your dice and board, and download PlayGem Backgammon today! Players from all over the world love their backgammon board and dice, but can call this great board game by different names. Some call it: Tavla, Tavli, Tapa, Trictrac, Tric Trac, Tabula, Acey Deucey, Narde, Shesh Besh, Nackgammon, Plakoto, Turkish Backgammon, Greek Backgammon, Russian Backgammon, Roman Backgammon, Gul Bara, Hyper Backgammon, Takhteh or Moultezim, ששבש,שש בש – they all mean the same fun game, and we LOVE it! Even if you misspelled it and wrote back gammon, nackgammon, nack gamon, backgamon, bacgamon, bakgamon or anything else – we don’t mind misspellers, you’re invited to an exciting free online backgammon game.
FriendGammon
Play turn-based backgammon with friends or practice against an expert AI. Track scores, chat during games, and climb the ranks in competitive leagues. Customize your game with unique board designs.
- Play friends via contacts or username
- Turn-based gameplay
- In-game chat
- Play against expert AI
- Game review and move analysis
- Elo rating system and leagues
- Customizable board designs
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FriendGammon is a beautifully designed app made for playing backgammon with your friends. PLAY YOUR FRIENDS • Start a game with anyone in your contacts, or find them by username • Play at your own pace: games are turn-based, so you move whenever suits you • Keep a running score with every friend, and see who's ahead at a glance • Chat during games, with your conversation carried over from game to game • Full rules, with the doubling cube, gammons and backgammons PLAY THE COMPUTER • Practise any time against the computer, which always plays at expert level, doubling cube included • After every game, see your PR: a score of how well you played • Game review: see your costliest mistakes on the board, with arrows comparing your move to the best move • Games against the computer never affect your Elo CLIMB THE RANKS • Every game against a friend counts toward your Elo rating • Compete in the Beginner, Intermediate and Pro leagues and on the leaderboard MAKE IT YOURS • Choose from hand-designed boards • Undo a move before you end your turn, and replay your opponent's last turn Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ [:mav: 22.4.49]
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Backgammon PlayGem at 4.5 against FriendGammon's 3.8. Backgammon PlayGem also leads on ratings volume (16K vs 70). FriendGammon's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Backgammon PlayGem sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and FriendGammon sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Backgammon PlayGem holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon PlayGem has 16K ratings behind it against 70, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 52% and 53% positive.
Backgammon PlayGem ships an update monthly, FriendGammon every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backgammon PlayGem | FriendGammon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (16K ratings) — better | 3.8 (70 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.6% of reviews | 52.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16K — better | 70 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 398 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Playgem Technologies Ltd | Kiss My Art LLC |
Customer experience
Backgammon PlayGem
FriendGammon
Bugs and requests
Backgammon PlayGem
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to move pieces when needed
- Inconsistent behavior when opponent times out
- Freezing and crashing during gameplay
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
4 requests- Chat feature to communicate with opponents
- Improved matchmaking based on skill level
- More customization options for the game board
- Better customer support and issue resolution
FriendGammon
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Backgammon PlayGem
- 50,000 backgammon chips$0.99
- 100,000 backgammon chips$1.99
- 300,000 backgammon chips$4.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 500,000 backgammon chips$4.99
- Super Bonus$4.99
- 300,000 backgammon Chips$4.99
- 1,500,000 backgammon chips$9.99
- 750,000 backgammon chips$9.99
- 2,400,000 backgammon chips$24.99
- 15,000,000 backgammon Chips$59.99
FriendGammon
- Premium subscription (monthly)$4.991 Month
- Premium subscription (yearly)$50.001 Year
- Costa-Rica$4.99
- NYC$4.99
- Los Angeles$4.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- $5 One Time Donation$4.99
- $10 One Time Donation$9.99
- $20 One Time Donation$19.99
- $50 One Time Donation$49.99
- $100 One Time Donation$99.99
Questions
Is Backgammon PlayGem free?
Is FriendGammon free?
Which has better reviews, Backgammon PlayGem or FriendGammon?
Do Backgammon PlayGem or FriendGammon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backgammon PlayGem or FriendGammon?
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