Using my cool new backgammon scanner app I came across this one. Released in April only, Kerem Gonlkrmaz, quite possible with AI help, created an app that could become something really cool. Right now it is not, but it has more potential than many apps I have reviewed here. Because the engine seems to be good.
As usual, I focus on playing vs the AI on my review. The app also has several multiplayer modes, which I haven‘t tested.
Look and Feel
Now this is, well, exotic. The board is higher than wide, with plenty of space on both sides. If I switch my iPad to portrait mode, it can‘t render the whole board, but parts of it are outside of the visible area. Also checkers on the bar are placed strangely.
As you see, the app uses ads, but so far these have been very unobtrusive.
Moving is okay. If you can move, that is.
There seems to be a specific bug that often prevents moving from the 8 point. Here: doesn‘t allow me 8-6. Quite annoying.
Also, like many (weak) apps, you don‘t get an undo or confirm for your moves. You drop your second checker and the app immediately moves to the computer move.
So, much to be done, but it‘s a start.
The engine
There seem to be two kinds of Backgammon app: the ones with a strong neural-net based engine, others with a horrible rule-based engine. In the matches I played, the app played a strong, aggressive backgammon, understanding the importance of making points, risking being hit.
I would love to do a full test run of the engine to find out how strong it plays, but there is no way to practically do this. If the engine acts, it rolls, moves, and clears the roll, so there is neither a way to figure out what it rolled no what it moved.
It is not playing perfect, though – in the position below it could have moved one checker off the 21 point so it can get more hits on my checker, but instead it moved more checkers to its home board. So probably it‘s around PR 10?
Backgammon it is not
Unfortunately all this app can play is matches to 1 point. No money games, no matches, no doubling cube. And if you are not a backgammon newbie, you know how much pleasure and complexity the cube brings into the game. A backgammon without cube is, sorry, not actually a backgammon, but the thing that backgammon was before the cube was introduced a hundred years ago.
Conclusion
As long as it is so buggy, this app is not ready for prime time. In 2 matches I had 4 positions where I couldn‘t make the move I wanted to make. And some UI tweaks would really be great. But compared to other apps where the engine keeps blundering away this one has real potential. Looking forward to updates.