Comparison

Backgammon PlayGem vs Backgammon Online

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Multiplayer Backgammon
  • Online challenges and tournaments
  • Play with friends or global players
  • Learn rules and perfect strategy
  • Unlockable unique boards
  • Leaderboard progression
  • Certified dice
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Backgammon Online

Engage in classic backgammon with real players worldwide or practice offline against AI. Unlock new boards, collect daily rewards, and compete on leaderboards. Enjoy smooth gameplay and customizable options in this modern mobile adaptation.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer matches
  • Play with friends locally
  • Offline AI practice mode
  • Unlockable new boards
  • Daily rewards and bonuses
  • Leaderboards and rankings
  • Customizable avatars and checkers
Features
Read full description

Play Backgammon Online instantly — challenge real players, unlock new boards, collect daily rewards, and enjoy classic backgammon in a modern mobile format. Backgammon Online brings the timeless board game to your iPhone and iPad with quick online matches, smooth gameplay, beautiful boards, and simple controls. Play when you have a few minutes, compete with players worldwide, or practice offline against AI. Key features: • Online multiplayer Play backgammon in real-time matches and test your strategy against other players. • Play with friends Enjoy a local game on one device or invite a friend for a match. • Offline mode Practice your moves and improve your skills against AI anytime. • New boards to unlock Progress through the game and open beautifully designed boards with different styles and themes. • Daily rewards Collect coins, bonuses, and special rewards every day. • Mini games and prizes Try the wheel of fortune and get extra rewards for your next match. • Rankings and competition Climb daily, weekly, and all-time leaderboards and prove your skill. • Avatars and customization Choose avatars and checker styles to make the game feel yours. • Fair dice rolls Every roll is random, so each match depends on strategy, timing, and a bit of luck. Whether you are new to backgammon or already know the game well, Backgammon Online gives you a fast and easy way to play classic backgammon anywhere. Download Backgammon Online and start your next match today.

Screenshots

Backgammon PlayGem4 screens
Backgammon Online4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Backgammon PlayGem at 4.5 against Backgammon Online's 4.1. Backgammon PlayGem also leads on ratings volume (16K vs 143). Backgammon Online's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (73% vs 52%). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Backgammon PlayGem sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Backgammon Online sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backgammon PlayGem holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backgammon PlayGem has 16K ratings behind it against 143, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of Backgammon PlayGem's written reviews are positive against 73% of Backgammon Online's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backgammon PlayGem ships an update monthly, Backgammon Online every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Backgammon PlayGem versus Backgammon Online: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackgammon PlayGemBackgammon Online
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (16K ratings) — better4.1 (143 ratings)
Positive reviews51.6% of reviews72.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16K — better143
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size398 MB153 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPlaygem Technologies LtdAnton Iliukhin

Customer experience

Backgammon PlayGem

All ratings15,670 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews852 reviews
Positive51.6%
Neutral6.7%
Negative41.7%

Backgammon Online

All ratings143 ratings
Positive73.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative16.1%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative19.5%

User reviews

Backgammon PlayGem

From 16K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Competitive gameplay
  • 🎨 Good graphics
  • ⏱️ Quick games
  • 🌐 Ability to play against players worldwide

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🎲 Perceived issues with dice rolls and randomness
  • 🤖 Suspicion of rigged/manipulated games
  • 💰 Aggressive monetization tactics
  • 🕰️ Slow response times and timeouts

Backgammon Online

From 143 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging gameplay
  • 🌟 Pleasing graphics
  • 🌐 Convenient online play
  • 🤝 Challenging opponents
  • 🕹️ Smooth controls

Room to improve

  • 🎲 Questionable dice rolls
  • 🔒 Pay-to-win mechanics
  • 🕰️ Slow matchmaking
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔄 Repeated opponent moves

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

Backgammon Online

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Game freezes or crashes during play
  • Pieces not moving as expected
  • Incorrect dice rolls or move validation
  • Opponent timeouts and connection issues
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add doubling cube functionality
  • Implement a scorecard feature
  • Improve customization options for boards, pieces, and avatars
  • Enhance the online matchmaking system
  • Introduce a friends/social feature to play with contacts

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Backgammon PlayGem

One-time10
  • 50,000 backgammon chips$0.99
  • 100,000 backgammon chips$1.99
  • 300,000 backgammon chips$4.99
Show 7 more
  • 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
10 purchases

Backgammon Online

One-time10
  • 5 Backgammon Empire Gems$2.99
  • 10K Backgammon Empire Coins$2.99
  • 10 Backgammon Empire Gems Pack$5.49
Show 7 more
  • Ad-Free Upgrade Pack$9.99
  • 50K Backgammon Empire Coins$10.99
  • Backgammon Empire Set 2 Discount$11.99
  • 50 Backgammon Empire Gems Pack$23.99
  • Backgammon Empire Set 2$23.99
  • 150K Backgammon Empire Coins$27.99
  • 500K Backgammon Empire Coins$69.99

Questions

Is Backgammon PlayGem free?
Backgammon PlayGem is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backgammon Online free?
Backgammon Online is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Backgammon PlayGem or Backgammon Online?
Backgammon PlayGem is rated higher. Backgammon PlayGem averages 4.5 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while Backgammon Online averages 4.1 from 143 ratings.
Do Backgammon PlayGem or Backgammon Online have ads?
Both Backgammon PlayGem and Backgammon Online show ads.
Which is updated more often, Backgammon PlayGem or Backgammon Online?
Backgammon PlayGem ships an update monthly, and Backgammon Online every 6 days. Most recently, Backgammon PlayGem was updated on November 13, 2026 and Backgammon Online on November 12, 2026.

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