Backgammon - Board Games 12+

Fun but could be better

Note: I paid for the ad free version as I enjoyed the game but not the numerous ads. I have now played for several months Pros: good clear graphics, nice “automated” mode for bearing off if short of time, doubling dice is fun and the tournaments and daily challenges add spice. Contrary to many reviews, the dice are not rigged, but reflect how true randomness works. Cons: the computer play mode should come in “easy” and “hard” modes. This one is set to “easy” only. This results in stupid computer moves: (1) The computer does not always hit my piece even when it can, when it is safe to do so for it (it has no exposed checkers) and I am winning. In other words when it MUST hit to stay in the game, sometimes it doesn’t. (2) In the hundreds of games I’ve played, the computer has never entirely blocked its home board, even when it has the opportunity. Since this is a winning strategy, this is ridiculous. (3) The doubling cube play by the computer is very mechanical and therefore not always logical. If I apply it when I only have two checkers left on my last home point, so long as the computer is within a set number of points (but not winnable) it accepts the doubling, which no normal player would. (4) it would be great if there was a “play another random live player” mode. Overall worth the money and an enjoyable way to waste some time!!

Fixed Dice!

Wish I read the reviews before downloading. The amount that say “dice fixed” and my own experience cannot be co-incidental. I very rarely got highest starting dice. Occasionally matched and lost on re-throw. I get double 1, 2 & 3, AI gets doubles 4, 5 & 6. Plenty of doubles when I’m streets ahead to help swing the averages back in my favour! Amount of times I’ve been ahead (just) but lost on last 3 or 4 throws is numerous. Amount of times I’ve been behind (just) and won is never! Great little game and can use offline when out & about but I’ll probably delete it soon.

Thanks for your reply. You may state the statistics but you’ve not listened. AI wins start most of time. Played 4 games this evening and didn’t win a start.
Sorry, I out!

Developer Response ,

Hello, thank you for your review! We apologize for any frustration you've experienced. Our game is designed with a fair and random dice rolling system that ensures equal chances for all players. Although it might sometimes appear that the computer opponent rolls more or better doubles, such streaks are a natural outcome of randomness. According to the law of large numbers, the more games you play, the closer the distribution of dice rolls will align with expected probabilities.

FAR too many very intrusive ads and the game itself cheats!

I’m uninstalling after 2 days. Firstly, there are too many intrusive ads. You have to watch an ad every few moves, which means each game or daily challenge is interrupted 3 or 4 times. I’m not paying to remove ads just because the game is made unplayable without doing so. I’ll always uninstall games which do that, on principle. Secondly, the game cheats. I’ve played, maybe 20 games (some games, some daily challenges), in the 2 days I’ve had the app. As yet, I have not won the roll to begin the game even once. Also the game throws FAR more doubles for itself than it has for me, and mysteriously, it often gets double sixes, whereas on the rare occasion I get a double, they are double ones, perhaps twos. I can see lots of people have said this in reviews and the developer insists the dice mechanism is random and fair but the ratio in the reviews here speaks for itself. Don’t bother writing another dismissive reply insisting it is random and fair. I don’t believe you and I’ve already uninstalled it. Having seen the dismissive responses to others, I’m now going to check if I have any other games or apps from this company and uninstall those too. For anyone considering the game, it’s a waste of time. It’s a mechanism to serve people with ads. A LOT of ads. Don’t bother.

Developer Response ,

Hello, we appreciate you taking the time to provide detailed feedback. We understand your frustration with the ads, and we want to clarify that they are a necessary source of funding that allows us to maintain and develop the app. However, we strive to balance this to ensure the game remains enjoyable. Regarding the fairness of the game, please rest assured that our dice mechanics are governed by a random number generator to ensure each roll is completely random and unbiased. We take claims of unfairness very seriously and continually monitor game data to uphold fairness. We understand that it may not always seem this way, and it’s unfortunate that your experience has led you to feel otherwise. We regret to see you leave and will take your comments into account as we continue to improve the game experience for all our users.