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 Backgammon Elite. Nice graphics. But the engine... I‘m black. Notice how it didn‘t even seem to try to make a board?
If only it would play Backgammon. And if it would play the game, which it thinks 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. And there are many apps out there who don‘t. You cannot learn anything by playing against this app. You can learn so much, including how enjoyable the game can be, from eg. XG Mobile or Backgammon NJ.
My second game against Backgammon Elite. Still nice graphics. I‘m black. Notice how, again, it doesn‘t attempt to make points?
Many years ago when I was studying computer science, I actually 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 Backgammon apps invest so much time into a beautiful presentation of such a poor engine.
You‘re 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.
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