Hardwood Backgammon vs Murdered by Midnight
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hardwood Backgammon
Experience the classic board game with this digital adaptation. Play against a strong AI, challenge friends locally, or compete with players worldwide. Features include full match play, a doubling cube, and engaging achievements.
- Single player vs AI
- Online multiplayer
- 2 player local mode
- Full match play
- Doubling cube
- Achievements
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Pull up a chair at the Hardwood Inn. Backgammon is one of the oldest games in the world -- and Hardwood Backgammon has been bringing players together for over 20 years. Whether you're a seasoned player or just learning the board, you'll find a welcoming atmosphere, good company, and a great game. Free to play, always. If you're tired of board games dressed up as casinos, you've found your Hardwood Inn. Play online with players worldwide, challenge a friend sitting next to you, or test yourself against our world-class Neural Net AI. For the ultimate face-to-face experience, our exclusive Tablet Board Mode lets you place your device flat on the table like a real backgammon board -- the UI flips automatically between players on each turn. Why Players Keep Coming Back: • A Mature Community: Moderated and friendly -- sportsmanship comes first • World-Class AI: Neural Net engine plays like a real opponent, not a pushover • Play Anywhere: Solo, online, or local multiplayer -- no internet required for solo • Tablet Board Mode: Place your device flat and play face-to-face just like a real board • Full Match Play with doubling cube support • Competitive Edge: Online tournaments and global leaderboards • Immersive Experience: Stunning environments and high-quality audio • Total Customization: Unique boards, checkers, dice, and backgrounds -- available with tokens, purchasable anytime Sign in with your Hardwood account across all our games and your cosmetics come with you. One collection, every game. Want chat, rated games, an ad-free experience, and 200 tokens every month? Plus membership is optional and affordable. More Hardwood Games: • Hardwood Spades -- the classic trick taking game • Hardwood Euchre -- Jacks are Trump • Hardwood Hearts -- avoid the points • Video Poker Duel -- competitive video poker for two Prefer a quiet game alone? All of our games can be played solo -- but for the ultimate single player experience, check out Hardwood Solitaire IV, also available on the App Store. Questions, suggestions, or found an issue? We love hearing from our players at support@silvercrk.com ____________________ Hardwood Games Subscriptions are optional and available at a rate of 1 month for $4.99, 3 months for $14.99 or 1 year for $29.99. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions will auto-renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscriptions can be managed from your iTunes account settings. Cancellation of subscriptions is not allowed. Our privacy policy may be viewed at http://www.hardwoodgames.com/about/privacy/ Our terms of service may be viewed at http://www.hardwoodgames.com/about/terms/
Murdered by Midnight
Engage in a thrilling murder mystery game set in the 1920s. Deduce the killer, weapon, motive, and time of death by following clues and interrogating characters. Play solo or with friends globally.
- Deduce murderer, weapon, motive, and time of death
- Set in a 1920s Art Deco mansion
- Highly replayable with over 483,000 possible outcomes
- Single-player against AI or multiplayer with friends
- Achievements and scoreboard
- Immersive period-specific graphics and characters
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The Murdered by Midnight board game can now be enjoyed anywhere on the go. Either play with friends or family around the world. Be the first to deduce the murderer, murder weapon, motive and time of death to solve the murder and win the game! The story takes place in the 1920’s in a fabulous Art Deco mansion, Briarwood Manor. The owners have gathered six world famous detectives and several of their friends and family to throw a “murder party”, where they’ll stage a mock murder for the detectives to solve as entertainment… as was all the rage in the 20’s. Unfortunately, things get all too real when someone commits an actual murder before the party gets started. Can you follow the clues and bring the guilty to justice before time runs out? FEATURES: MURDERED BY MIDNIGHT DELUXE - You get the heart of Murdered by Midnight for Free. When you are ready to upgrade, make a one-time in-app purchase of Murdered by Midnight Deluxe to access the game control Options or remove Ads. HIGHLY REPLAYABLE - Not including the detectives, there are 25 people at the manor during the time of the murder, this includes staff, family members and friends. Considering that the person who found the body is not the murderer, there are 22 possible suspects for the crime. With all of the combinations of people, weapons, motives and times, there are more than 483,000 possible outcomes just waiting to be explored! EASY TO PLAY, HARD TO MASTER - During a turn each player can: move to a new location, search for weapons, dust for prints, perform forensics analysis or ask a witness what they saw or who they suspect. Using these clues, the player can deduce the murderer, murder weapon, motive and time of death. SINGLE & MULTIPLAYER - Play either by yourself against one or more of our AI Detectives or with friends and family over Game Center. Enter an open match to play with anyone in the world! Multiple matches can be open at any given time. ACHIEVEMENTS AND SCOREBOARD - Multiplayer games feature a number of Achievements that can be won to keep gameplay exciting and fun. Compare your wins with your friends and family on the master scoreboard. RICH AND IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - Murdered by Midnight features beautiful, period-specific graphics and fonts designed to invoke the Art Deco feel and draw the player into the game’s environment. INTERESTING CHARACTERS - Each non-player character includes a unique portrait and mini biography to help tell the story and make the player’s feel like they are staring in their own murder mystery novel. MULTIPLE RESPONSES - Murdered by Midnight features multiple responses for each character based on the current scenario. This provides a rich and immersive story that helps to draw you into the game and keeps things from getting boring and repetitive.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hardwood Backgammon at 4.3 against Murdered by Midnight's 3.0. Hardwood Backgammon also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 26 months) and review sentiment (63% vs 33%). Murdered by Midnight's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Hardwood Backgammon sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Murdered by Midnight sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Hardwood Backgammon holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hardwood Backgammon has 166 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Hardwood Backgammon's written reviews are positive against 33% of Murdered by Midnight's.
Hardwood Backgammon ships an update every 2 months, Murdered by Midnight every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hardwood Backgammon | Murdered by Midnight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (166 ratings) — better | 3.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 166 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 26 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Silver Creek Entertainment | Appracatappra, LLC |
Customer experience
Hardwood Backgammon
Murdered by Midnight
Bugs and requests
Hardwood Backgammon
Reported bugs
5 issues- App fails to load on some devices
- Apple TV version blocks legal moves
- Controls unresponsive on Apple TV
- Unclear how to enable local multiplayer between devices
- Game becomes unresponsive during gameplay
Requested features
8 requests- Acey-Deucey game variant
- Larger, scalable game board for tablets
- Better difficulty settings based on strategy, not just dice manipulation
- More multiplayer players available
- Customizable game rules and settings
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- Ability to select teammates in multiplayer
- Penalty system for players who quit mid-game
- Improved Apple TV compatibility and local multiplayer
Murdered by Midnight
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hardwood Backgammon
- Plus Membership$4.991 Month
- 1 Month Plus Membership$4.991 Month
- Plus Membership$14.993 Months
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- Plus Membership$29.991 Year
- 12 Month Plus Membership$29.991 Year
- Pack of 80 Tokens$0.99
- Pack of 165 Tokens$1.99
- Pack of 425 Tokens$4.99
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- 1 Month Plus Membership$4.99
- Plus Membership$19.99
Murdered by Midnight
- Murdered By Midnight Deluxe$0.99
Questions
Is Hardwood Backgammon free?
Is Murdered by Midnight free?
Which has better reviews, Hardwood Backgammon or Murdered by Midnight?
Do Hardwood Backgammon or Murdered by Midnight have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hardwood Backgammon or Murdered by Midnight?
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