Backgammon - Lord of the Board Wiki

Nothing new to say here, I’m sure you have all read the countless reviews on dice algorithms. The game developers promise this is randomized but there’s an odd pattern to it that makes it look purposely done. If the 1 and 6 spots are blocked at the opposing players side I promise you’ll roll a 6 1 and be stuck there. This can’t be random. For people who play this in real life they know exactly what random dice combos look like. This game will give a player 3-4 doubles in a row. Statistically if you take 2 dice throw it the odds of rolling doubles a SINGLE time is 16.6%.... the fact that some people get it 3 or 4 times in a row is not impossible but statistically not probably at all. That’s a 1 in 1296 occurrence and you can look this up. I’ve played about 600 games on the app and this has happened multiple times so developers please realize that when we say it’s not randomized we don’t mean you guys rig the games but the algorithm for the dice are extremely unrealistic and you should find the proper solution. I know I’m gonna get a message saying “ we can assure you we use the best dice algorithm blah blah blah”. I know you guys tried but please look for a better way of doing this because it ruins the game.

... if you want to understand how to thoroughly erode customer trust. Backgammon with strangers is inherently high in variance. In every free space, and in every free moment, this app asks you to spend money on the coins used to play. The way the game is set up, when you lose, you lose 100% of your stakes, but when you win, you only win 85% of the pot. That doesn’t seem so bad, reading it, until you break it down. To essentially break even, you have to win 3 games for every 2 you lose. Which means you can’t gain any ground unless you are winning considerably more than you lose. But as mentioned, there’s a lot of variance built into the game already. So, when you lose a game in an app that that captures every moment to pry a purchase out of you, it’s not much of a leap in logic to question if you’re in fact playing real people, or playing bots designed to regularly beat you in somewhat believable fashion. There’s no way for the user to know what’s going on, and the developers have made it abundantly clear that the only thing that matters is your in-app purchases. The app is fun, mostly because backgammon is fun. The app is good for playing with friends remotely. The app is poor for playing against strangers.

Think twice before you purchase coins on this site. After years of just ignoring the SUPER SPIN, I decided to give it a try. A huge mistake! The lowest amount on the wheel was 470,000 coins with a maximum of 3 million for 99 cents. Pretty tempting, right? Well, once I paid, rather than letting me spin the wheel, they just added 90,000 coins to my account. 90,000? Why? So I sent an email, the response was the “free Mega Bonus” randomly lands on a slot. Keep spinning and good luck!!!! In other words, the person did not even read my post. So, I took a screen shot of the wheel and sent it with more explanations. They then added another 10,000 coins. Again, I sent another screen shot of the wheel with more explanations. I added I did not understand why the person was ignoring the problem and demanded that they either refund me the .99 cents or let me spin the wheel to collect what is rightfully mine. At the same time, I contacted the app which I used to pay for the wheel spin and asked for a refund. This morning, again another 500,000 coins were added to my account rather than letting me spin the wheel. I am totally exhausted dealing with this game site. Never again will I purchase coins from them. It is not worth the hassle!

I have several backgammon apps, and this one is my favorite. It has good graphics and is well developed - for the most part, EXCEPT that the algorithms and dice roll are not REALLY random. Now the developer is going to respond to this by saying, “we assure you that each dice roll is random.” But you don’t have to be a statistician to realize that it is not. I’ve played thousands (literally) of games of backgammon - on live boards with live people, and also online. My win rate is typically around 60%. But as other users and reviewers have written, the win rate on this app is significantly lower - Mine is around 50% on this app. Most concerning and frustrating is that the rolls that come up seem to be fixed. I’ve seen the competitor get the exact roll they needed exactly when they needed it. It has happened repeatedly - to the point where it falls outside of the realm of a “fluke” or “random probability”. And it has happened for me and also against me. So this is not me being bitter over losing a game or two. (Even though the developer may claim that like I’ve seen on other reviews. I just question the algorithm and “randomness” of this app. I still use it because it’s still fun, but I don’t have any expectation of it representing a true, and random, game play. Enjoy!

The reason I keep coming back to this game is because of how clean it looks and quick it is. However if you’re looking for a fair game forget about it. I’ve gotten friends and family to play this game with me and they all say the same thing... they’ve never played a backgammon app this rigged in their lives. I had to come see the App Store reviews because I knew it wasn’t just me. Like people are saying, if you do everything right and are way ahead, prepare for constant doubles from the other side. Want to get out? If the game doesn’t feel like it prepare to wait. I’ve been playing backgammon since I was a kid and I had a cousin who had never played the game before download the app to play me as an experiment and no joke I could only win like 1 out of every 7 games. He made every single wrong move and left pieces open all over the board and it just wouldn’t let me win. Absolute insanity. Beyond frustrating and even though they say the rolls are completely random it is simply not even close to true. I feel bad leaving a review like this but I feel it aggravates me so much sometimes I want people to stay away if this would aggravate them too. I’m sorry..

I stick by my premise that the game is fun but the dice rolls are not realistic. I did get a response from the developer on an earlier review, but it was simply a canned one that is used over & over in different forms for other people who have voiced the same constructive criticism I gave. It didn’t bother me, and was actually kind of funny & amusing: “Thank you very much for your response!” (Building rapport) “The dice are not set in any way to be fixed or for a predetermined outcome.” (You are wrong - the game isn’t fixed). “We want all of our players to have a wonderful, unique and enjoyable experience.” (We are just good people and our product is awesome. If you think something is out of sorts, you are simply mistaken.) “We truly wish you all the best and hope you enjoy our product!” (Polite, but a dismissal just the same). I’m not offended or put off, not at all. Like I mentioned previously, the game can be fun to play so it’s not all bad. Finally, to the developers, I absolutely wish you all the best with your wonderful, astonishing and aesthetically pleasing product, and wish you all the absolute best in your future endeavors! God speed, and have a fantastic day!

If you want to play REAL backgammon, hop on PlayOk or another reputable site. This app is a complete money-grabbing sham, and for them to say otherwise is even worse. I honestly don’t know where to begin. Their “online standard” 15% minimum rake is blasphemy. Maybe if one could cash in the coins for real money, that would make sense; similar to a casino poker room. But not only are you buying coins that have zero monetary value, they skim off your winnings, making it virtually impossible to get ahead in coins. And that is even with a >50% win rate! The dice algorithm is absolutely cooked. If you’re miles ahead, prepare to see double after double after double. If you’re on the bar looking at 3 open spaces, you can almost forget about getting in. Then (you guessed it!) doubles to block you in. The game plays impossibly “lucky”. I can’t count how many times I’ve opened the game with a 5-1 or 6-2, get hit immediately, and don’t get off the bar until after the opponent has eaten 4 blots. The odds of that happening once are less than 0.1%, so the fact it’s happened on multiple occasions on this app tells you everything you need to know. Not to mention I have never had that happen in my favor. You are a fool if you give these crooks your hard earned money. If you are new to backgammon, stay far away because this is NOT how the game is played. I have played my last game on this app, and I hope many of you will be soon to follow.

I came here after a severe losing streak that seemed almost nightmarishly impossible to read truckloads of the same comments so my concerns are undoubtedly true. The second to last game I played, the opponent’s rolls for, literally, the entire game were doubles. I must’ve counted at least 12 doubles back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back. It seems as though whenever I’m on the bar, the opponent gets the perfect rolls to block me out and (as luck would have it!) I get the roll I need to get off the bar the Moment after they block me out after 8 unsuccessful attempts. For the developer to reply and say this isn’t rigged is nonsense. I’ve easily spent over $75 on this game and I’m over it. When you win, you win small and when you lose they make certain it’s on the big money games. It’s also interesting that a whopping % of my losses are to random ID’d players that are most likely bots on the developer’s end. It has gotten to the point where I will sit back and PREDICT the EXACT ROLLS the opponent will receive to completely negate any chance I have of winning. This has happened countless times as I’m sure it has happened to anyone reading this. It’s gotten passed the point of absurdity. To the developer: what does My Luck have anything to do with the fact that an opponent is rolling doubles for 90%+ of the match?

DO NOT SPEND A PENNY ON THIS GAME. GETS ONE STAR BECAUSE I COULDN’T GIVE IT 0. This game is absolute garbage. You’ll win 10 in a row and then lose 10 in a row. This game is just a money grab. They try to get you hooked by winning 3-4 in a row, then you’ll lose a 5 in a row and lose all of your $ to play, forcing you to either buy coins to play, wait hours for a small bonus to play one game, or watch adds to gain a small amount to play, usually having to watch 2-4 minutes of ads to get enough to play one game. Bad business model, not fun to play. The main problem with this game is the dice rolls. It’s one thing to just be unlucky when rolling the dice, it’s another for your opponent to get the exact rolls they need, multiple rolls in a row, multiple times during a game, multiple games in a row. I’ve played multiple games where I get shelved, and they have only one of two spaces covered, and it takes 6-10 rolls to get the piece back on the board, which is basically statistically impossible. This game is as bad as it gets when it comes to fixed games. If you are just trying to waist time, and don’t care about playing real backgammon, this is the game for you! If you like playing competitive backgammon, that is based on skill and knowledge of the game, STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME.

...the dice rolls were actually random and not almost always what the other player needs, whether to move his pieces or prevent you from moving yours. On occasion I’ve been “the other player,” getting rolls that let me slaughter my opponent. But mostly I’m the one being slaughtered, by a game that seems like it lets my opponent choose what it gets for rolls. I’ve read some of the developer’s replies, but truly random dice would give favorable rolls about 50% of the time. In reality it’s 10% to 20%. I have a suspicion that the more money you spend the better your rolls get, but I’m not wasting money to find out. Responding to developer comments about the “random number generator” used by the dice. It’s NOT random, in most games the opponent gets the rolls he needs the majority of the time and I get the rolls my opponent needs me to get the majority of the time. I’ve played thousands of games, over that many games the win:loss ratio should be something approaching 50:50, not the 20-30% I’m seeing. Player skill has no bearing when the dice constantly force him into the worst possible positions and let his opponent take advantage of that.

I gave this a 2 star because the layout is top notch, however (at least for me) it is ruined by a “horrible” dice roll algorithm! In “real life” I’m a professional backgammon player. I’ve played (real life BG) so much over the years that I’ve grown accustomed to what dice will / will not oftentimes do. My issue with this game: while playing this game I’ll oftentimes have the board to where there is no likely way my opponent can win, then all of the sudden they’ll start rolling doubles, one roll after the next, while I’ll suddenly be rolling (I.e.) a 1 and a 2. Even in some cases I’ll have my pieces almost all boarded off then if they happen to hit one of my pieces when I have no moves- then I’ll suddenly start (automatically) rolling doubles! Summary, I’ve lost many games (that I should have won- was winning by a landslide) because the algorithm rolls doubles for my opponent. I’m to the point now that it’s so frustrating I’m ready to uninstall the game and rid my self of the stress. (And FYI- there was one game in which I rolled doubles about 5 times in a row. I resigned the game and let my opponent my win, because I didn’t want to win because of a crazy algorithm.)

Love this game and can’t stop playing but it’s completely rigged. You get coins refreshed every 4 hours and on the 5th check-in, you spin a roulette wheel for bonus coins. 12 slots ranging from the lowest (which is the amount you get at every check-in ranging up to the highest point on my wheel is $12k). I’ve played about 2500 games and out of all the bonus spins, it’s never landed on any of the top 6 points. What are the odds that you would spin only 1-5 out of possible 12 over the course of hundreds of spins? The statistical odds are astronomical. Also, I go thru spurts where no matter where you have a single marker on the board, the opponent will land on each one sending you to the bar then is able to move all of his markers to his home and conveniently fill the entire space in the time of trying to get one marker off the bar. Also, the only time I roll a double 6 is when I’m on the bar- consistently almost every time but never during free play. These patterns aren’t “purely random algorithms”- it’s rigged. Don’t spend any of your money but have fun playing and marveling at the ridiculous dice shakes of the opponent.

I actually wrote a review a short time ago. After reading the other reviews, I decided to keep track of the dice rolls. They are anything but random. I kept track of how often I go first. 20 to 25% of the time is all. It should be about 50-50. I also kept track of perfect roles needed by the opponent. Statistically, it can’t happen with the frequency that it does.I also noticed that the bots within the game like to double as soon as they know they’ve got it won. Funny how after they use the double cube, the perfect rolls ensue. When you get bounced, you can have half the board open and it’ll take you seven or eight rolls to get back on. The set up of the game is awesome. The algorithm for the dice random rolls needs to be fixed. The opponent gets far too mini doubles. The odds are one in six that you get doubles. Your opponent will exceed those odds and you will fall far short. Before I submitted this review I decided to play three more games just to see what would happen. In all three games I was kicking the snot out of my opponent and they got three or more sets of doubles in their last five rolls on every game. Not possible

I really like the Backgammon program for a while, but as others have said the longer one plays the more the dice rolls change. You percentage of getting a hitting or good roll decreases greatly. I am a solid mid 1500s player on the other sites I play on, but i do not stand a chance on this site. With players getting as many as 6 sets of doubles for the a match, makes it nearly impossible to win a match. Plus the new update no longer gives you ways to earn free $$$s to play with by watching videos. I am sure this is all a way to get you to spend $$$s on their coin packages. I purchased one package to support the creators. Betting at low levels and lost every game and all the money in a vert short period of time. There is no way to compete in promotional packages to earn coins unless you bet at least $15K, so you don’t stand a chance to ever progress with this app. This game has no rating system, so you have no idea how good of a player you are up against. Sorry to say I will deleting this program and moving on to find a new program to added to my backgammon programs