iGammon App Reviews

The more difficult you make it the more it cheats. Dont ever except the double cube. After that youll never roll a double and the AI will roll 3 in a row. It is impossible to beat this game if you play table rules or harder. Never in my life have I seen some one or something so lucky at rolling exactly what it needs to get off the bar and strike a piece 9+ places away. It is truly just frustrating and unfair.

Im bummed that I had to delete this game. The game itself is fast and really nice to play. Only problem is that it is way too frustrating playing a game the developer designer to be unfair. The rolls are too hard to overcome. Dont waste your $$ or time with this app.

Yeah, it cheats. Plain and simple. No human player could ever match its probability of really great rolls, or its conspicuous ability to deny you re-entry in a simple three point board when either of you have blots lying around. Its good practice, though. Just dont let it get you steamed. I like the Tutor feature, but oftentimes when I take its advice Im sorry! I give it two Stars, but would rate it much higher and play it much more if it didnt CHEAT! Ha ha! Happy, or Disappointed you ask? Disappointed.

Ignore the whiners. This is a good game that can help make you a better player. Had some issues with iPhone 5 or iOS 6. Sometimes resulted in upside down board. Uninstalling and reinstalling fixed. The dice are fair. Game doesnt cheat but at expert level, AI play is very strong. Stronger than at least 95% of human players. E Tutor mode and hints are nicely executed though has some surprising ideas for endgame. Alternatives view like gnubg would be nice but maybe too much for iPhone screen. Orientation lock is great for bedtime play. For speedy play, set for one-touch moves and "fast" animation. Auto-play is good near end-game. No stability issues on my 3GS or iPhone 4. Suggestions: Add some short, simple sounds for moves, rolls, etc. (asynchronous of course, no music please, respect mute switch). Moved pieces should be highlighted; dice color match each players stone-color and remain visible after opponent moves so I can tell what changed. To appease the whiners, maybe allow human-rolled dice input. Maybe keep dice stats by player with fairness analysis after a few hundred rolls. Then again Backgammon NJ bends over backwards to prove fairness and it gets the same stupid complaints by players who dont think they win enough.

Ive been playing this for years now. I just read all the complaints about unfair dice. Im not sure if its true, and Im not sure if I would have noticed anyway. The AI usually beats me, but I hadnt suspected cheating. Im used to playing GnuBG on my computer, which is also a very good opponent, but the two have different styles of play. I usually play a match to 7 on expert level with tutorial mode on. As for the interface, its very natural. There is no sound, but there is no wasted time with excess animation - its all about gameplay. I would like to see an "autoplay forced moves" feature for when you dont have the cube and are stuck on the bar. The autopilot feature sort of does this, but you have to turn it off manually. As for the logic, there seem to be some problems with the AIs doubling logic. It often tells me that doubling is a bad idea when Im losing a post-Crawford game, with no hope of getting a triple game. Other than that, it seems reasonable most of the time. One big annoyance is that the AI NEVER resigns (at least in match mode). It will decline a double, but if it has the cube, this just wastes time when its obviously going to lose.

I dont know why programmers cant write code based on chance. Play this a few times and youll see that the moves the developer makes are mathematically impossible.

Sometimes it goes out of its way to let you win, like playing the wrong disks when going out. But this game is definately rigged. When your guy is trying to get back on the board you get the same roll multiple times & Al always gets more doubles at strategic times. Sad because it is a great interface. Its so "lucky", you can almost predict every roll by asking yourself "what is the most advantageous roll for the AI here?" & voila! There it is!

Its plays perfect mathematical strategy so it beats you. Why is that unfair? Lol. This is a great app. Buy it!

Probably the best backgammon interface and look. But!, the dice algorithm is quite flawed by design or lack of it. The developer should redo the dice algorithm to make the rolls more honest and believable. The ai just gets way too lucky with the rolls....I have played bg for thirty years in the real world and online. Never seen such a rigged dice.

Like many others here, I cannot believe that the dice are truly random. Dont download unless you want to feel extreme frustration.

Being someone with a stats education background and also a lifelong backgammon player I was curious if this app was lucky or if it really cheated. I logged all the computer rolls and analysed the distribution of 100 games. The verdict is in: I can say with 87% confidence that this app does in fact cheat.

Nice layout, interface and game play. I play multiple times per day. But.... I suspect that dice are not truly random. Ive never seen the AI get stuck needing certain rolls but I have been similarly stuck for many rolls.

This app is either rigged or random dice rolls have run against me in a BIG way! I challenge the author to reveal his code! Sometimes, I wonder if this app is part of a psychology experiment to see if people will keep playing a losing game if the movement action is really enjoyable (i.e. smooth and fast). Ive uninstalled this app several times because the AI rolls seem too lucky, yet I keep reinstalling it because I love the fast movement the best of all the backgammon apps Ive tried. For those that want to know how to make it fast: I have all the "Movement" settings turned "on" for very fast play, and I like that a lot! Also, you can have it fast-forward for you via the menu on the right side of the board, but dont do it if you are going to gammon because it will do the doubling cube and the AI will decline. Update: As much as I love the movement action, Ill be uninstalling today; just seems too rigged to me! Maybe it isnt but until the author reveals the code, Im out. Im going to search for a new backgammon app. Crash report: "Restart" button causes app to crash a lot.

I dont car what others say about this game, the odds are constantly more in favor of the computer ai. Im already an expert level player and saw that immediately.

This game always wins since the house always rolls doubles.

The game really cheats.

Its game is a winner. The tutor teaches you how to play a statistically sound game. It can be infuriating, but when your infuriating your friends and colleagues with great moves that help you win, you dont mind that the computer slapped you around once in awhile here and there. I stand b the rating years after I wrote it. I see things better irl because of this game.

Um ok. Any 5 star review "expert player"... Is full of it. If you are a real player you know, no game is ever played out as the ones in this game are. The dice are indeed rigged but not as most reviews simply put it, but it seems that the AI knows who they want to win. The pip count is the deciding factor running the show. Very rarely will you beat them in a double game and it is extremely rare to win a game once doubled by the AI. You must play in a completely unorthodox way (incorrect way) to win. The AI ABSOLUTELY knows the following dice in advance, as it seems they set them selves up for it, and open up, or dont at all the wrong times (once again pip count runs the show and the AI knows whos getting the higher rolls) They always land smoothly in the time of need. High doubles for the computer is pretty much a guarantee around the 12-16th turn. LEARNING FROM THIS GAME WILL MAKE YOU A WORSE PLAYER. The "hints" are absolutely incorrect. Do not believe these reviews. It seems they factor in the odds at that exact roll and possibly the next. However not the risk/reward long haul, Which is essentially the beauty of backgammon.. The hints also seem to favor what the AI wants you to do. Given they want you to win or lose. The hints will make you a lousy player. The hints are completely off especially at the end when bringing your troops home.

Its s shame that after looking at a lot of Backgammon games, this one has a smooth interface, fast action and intuitiveness when moving your pieces where others fall short. However, when it comes to fair play, dont expect to win. These dice are anything but random. Saying they are rigged is an understatement at best. Ive managed to fool the AI and win pretty consistently but it was after many hours of manipulation which is not what Im looking for in a game like this. It would get five stars across the board from all of the users if it were only playing fair. It doesnt. And to you five star tools, give me a break. Either you are fake reviews or you are too naive to think what happens when playing this game could actually happen in a real board game. If you get off on looking at candy through a window, by all means, continue to play.

Don’t waste your money on this crappy version of Backgammon. I have been playing both Backgammon and Acey-Deucy in countries all over the world since 1973. After 42 years of continuous play I can say with great authority that this game is intentionally set with the odds desperately in its own favor, or Tom Keith (the author) is a terrible programmer. When I read the reviews, I just thought that those who gave it poor ratings were neophytes, but I now know that those who gave it a good rating must be friends of Tom.