Comparison

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online vs Better Backgammon

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

Head to head
About

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online

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

Better Backgammon

Features
Read full description

Stop losing to players you know you should beat. Better Backgammon is the daily training app for serious players who want to feel themselves getting measurably better. Not a game. Not a tutorial. A focused drill engine that sharpens the instincts that win real matches. EVERY DRILL IS POWERED BY TOURNAMENT EQUITY The same equity analysis used by top tournament players is built right in. Cube decisions, opening rolls, pip counting, positional play - you train against the math, not someone's opinion. Ground truth, every time. BUILT FOR DAILY HABIT Beautiful board. Smooth animations. Fast drill flow. The cube animation you have always wanted. Better Backgammon feels like part of your morning routine - not a chore you avoid. Five minutes a day builds the instincts that take years to develop any other way. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Watch your accuracy sharpen across drill categories over time. Bring what you practice straight to your next live game or online match on Backgammon Galaxy, Play65, or Backgammon NJ. SERIOUS TRAINING, BEAUTIFUL DESIGN Built native for iOS by someone who actually loves this game - and was tired of tools that felt like homework. Serious enough for tournament prep. Beautiful enough to open every single day. Perfect for club players, online competitors, and anyone who has used GNU or hired a coach but wants something they will actually practice with daily. Download Better Backgammon and start training like the player you want to be. BETTER BACKGAMMON PREMIUM Drills require a Better Backgammon Premium subscription. Choose Monthly at $3.99/month (US) or Annual at $39.99/year (US). Annual includes a 7-day free trial for eligible subscribers; annual billing begins after the trial. Monthly has no free trial and billing begins immediately. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Browsing the curriculum and lessons is free. Terms of Use: https://www.betterbackgammon.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.betterbackgammon.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online4 screens
Better Backgammon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Better Backgammon at none against PlayGem Backgammon Live Online's shown. PlayGem Backgammon Live Online's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. PlayGem Backgammon Live Online sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Better Backgammon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online ships an update monthly, Better Backgammon every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PlayGem Backgammon Live Online versus Better Backgammon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayGem Backgammon Live OnlineBetter Backgammon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (16K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings16K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size400 MB40 MB
Age rating+174+
DeveloperPlaygem Technologies LtdBetter Backgammon Inc.

Bugs and requests

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online

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

Better Backgammon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

PlayGem Backgammon Live Online

One-time11
  • 50,000 backgammon chips$0.99
  • 100,000 backgammon chips$1.99
  • 300,000 backgammon chips$4.99
Show 8 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
  • 15,000,000 backgammon Chips$99.99
2 purchases

Better Backgammon

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Better Backgammon Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is PlayGem Backgammon Live Online free?
PlayGem Backgammon Live Online is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Better Backgammon free?
Better Backgammon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PlayGem Backgammon Live Online or Better Backgammon have ads?
PlayGem Backgammon Live Online shows ads; Better Backgammon does not.
Which is updated more often, PlayGem Backgammon Live Online or Better Backgammon?
PlayGem Backgammon Live Online ships an update monthly, and Better Backgammon every 5 weeks. Most recently, PlayGem Backgammon Live Online was updated on November 3, 2026 and Better Backgammon on October 28, 2026.

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