Backgammon Elite is not elite

Quick facts

Summary: Backgammon Elite features beautiful visuals and an AI that doesn’t understand backgammon past “makes legal moves”

To start with the positives: Backgammon Elite has a really nice in-app concept – the basic game is free; you pay for additional Backgammon variants. No ads! And the board graphics are just as beautiful as the checker animations. Good job there.

My first game against BG Elite. Nice graphics, but: I’m black. Notice how white didn’t even attempt to make points?

If only it would play Backgammon. And if it would play the game, which it thinks is Backgammon, reasonably well. But it doesn‘t. And it doesn‘t.

First: as said several times: the doubling cube is an essential ingredient of Backgammon. Without it you play the much less intricate game that Backgammon used to be before the cube was invented.

Second: Sorry to say this, but this game plays like a beginner. Maybe even pre-beginner. There are many apps out there who don‘t. You cannot learn anything by playing against this app. Elsewhere you can learn so much, including how enjoyable the game can be, from eg. XG Mobile or Backgammon NJ.

My second game. Again: I’m black, white loves high stacks.

Many years ago when I was studying computer science, I spent a week or so writing a backgammon engine. It was playing poorly. I was beating it soundly most of the time. But it played much better than this engine. You know, basics like “Low stacks have a higher value than high stacks” or “ownership of the 5,4,3,… point has some value” or “the value of a blot is how many good points it can help slot – the number and hit probability of opponent stones” are real simple to do. So it‘s a total mystery to me how the developers of this Backgammon apps invest so much time into a beautiful presentation and so little time into an AI.

Still here? Then a few more facts about it. It doesn‘t feature online gaming, it doesn‘t feature matches, it has basic “who has won how often” statistics, and a “2 players pass the device back and forth” two player mode.

Off to the next one.

Update (10/2022): tried to give it another try, maybe it has improved, and wanted to get an actual XG2 rating. My game started by my opponent rolling 22 (which is an impossible opening roll) that it then moved as (NOT JOKING) 8/6 (3) 24/22. I rest my case.