Backgammon NJ HD Reviews

Have to agree with Trader Wren

drewu99

In expert, it is uncanny how, when only a perfect roll will get the app out of trouble, it gets it. If you are doubled and accept rather than resign, the app starts getting doubles as if by magic. The only magic is in the programmers key strokes. The developer is the one not being honest with himself or the players.

Okay game

malettabud

It seems that incredibly convenient rolls occur with regularity anytime the win % go close to 50. I do not feel the algorithm allows for TRUE random.

Bill k

billy5163

This game forces you to out think the computer regardless of the mode. It rewards creative moves and penalizes stupid - I know first hand ?

Enough is Enough

Beancounter123

Between the absurdity of play on Expert and the rote recrimination by the developer of reviewers who point this out, I finally decided to stop wasting my time in trying to navigate the unnavigable. The game is well designed but corrupt in its play, and ultimately useless as either entertainment or a learning tool.

Game crashes

Tychiko

The game was crashing with iOS 10 . After I have upgraded to iOS 11 it crashes even more often. Another bug was introduced with iOS upgrade- when chatting the player can not see the text written - it is covered by vertical keyboard. I am very hopeful that it will be fixed with the next game update

Sorry Jimmy

TraderWren

First things first, this game will make you into a superior backgammon player. But you will suffer through suicidal frustration losing games you know you played masterfully, only to lose to a barrage of perfect rolls and/or doubles at the end. Which wouldn't even be so bad if you, the player, EVER had that luck and won a game like that. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt but I just don't buy it. On expert the app cheats. Period. The computer gets doubles 6 times between the times the player does. Yes jimmy, I counted. It has to cheat to stay competitive. If you want to get into a discussion on odds and risk, let's do that. It's what I do for a living. Your system takes unnecessary risks because it knows it won't get hurt. Constant perfect rolls. Let's ask everyone who plays this game. Ok Jimmy? How often have any of you had 3 of the computers pieces on the bar with one open spot in your home and had the computer roll the exact double it needs to bring in all 3 AND also put you on the bar at the same time? And, how many times have you, the player been in that spot and gotten that double? For me, it's happened so often, I literally EXPECT the computer to get that double. So if it's 5s the comp needs, I won't leave a piece 5 spots away from any computer piece even if it has 3 on the bar and only the 5 spot open in my home. Sorry Jimmy, I won't call you a liar and I don't think you're delusional but your AI is like Skynet, and it's learning without your knowing it. The computer gets the number it needs within 2 rolls every time. It can take the player 5-10 rolls even when he needs 1 of 2 numbers. It's a farce.

The best!

dmc75287

So why did I give it three stars? The game crashes frequently during online play, no doubt giving me a terrible game completion percantage.

Big time crasher. Is it just me?

ffbunk

I’ve owned and played this game for years. Over the past year it crashes incessantly while playing. Doesn’t matter whether playing against computer or playing an online opponent. The game just crashes and game is over. If playing the computer, sometimes, frequently, it remembers where it left off. More often than not, it reverts to a a state in the game much further back from where it crashed. When it crashes in online play, there is no way to get that game back and I would assume that ELO is lost as a result. Dev, can you figure this one out? Happens on both iPhone and iPad. Happened under iOS 10 and now iOS 11. In the past, I would have rated this 5 stars. Used to be stable and fun.

It cheats, and does downright stupid things

Omur Tasar

....like killing every time. What kind of mind would do this and ask you to pay $7.99? Only a cheater! It gets worse if you play a significant number of games. It gets more and more brain dead. There is nothing random about the game. It will rig the dice to win no matter how stupid the game becomes. I wonder why The creator would do something like this.i It cheats even when auto bear off is selected :-) what a sad way to win!

Great learning game, but what’s with all the doubles?

Brianmellow

I have downloaded and played at least eight other backgammon apps prior to this one. This backgammon app is very customizable and looks great I have always suspected that there was something odd about the number of doubles rolls generated by the random number generator. Over and over and over again, the computer opponent will roll consecutive doubles… I have gotten a fair share of fortunate doubles rolls also. I have played many hundreds of games of NJ backgammon HD. And my ELO rating is consistently above 1700, and I was a lousy player when I first started playing this game app. I’m going to edit this article further, but I just had to get this “doubles and “thing inserted because it was driving me crazy! I have noticed that the author has really gone out of his way to demonstrate how this game does not cheat. I can actually look at the next 100 rolls of the die. I can roll manually if I wish. The author states that the computer AI cannot see these upcoming rolls, and I believe that is true. Computer backgammon seems particularly prone to accusations of cheating. I have seen the reviews of this app, (and every backgammon game app) containing accusations of cheating. In NJ HD I have to remind myself that when playing “expert“ mode, the AI is going to maximize every roll. If I play mistake-free backgammon, I will match the computer in wins over time… there are games when it seems like the computer cannot lose and gets every roll, but that is going to happen, & I have a tendency to minimize how many times I have benefited from great dice roll myself. A lot of the time, when I get double dice rolls, I can’t use them because I am trapped somewhere! On another note, I have yet to learn how to utilize some of the advanced learning tools such as "play position with same rules" and playing back "auto save match files". These advanced learning features are an optional power-user app in-app purchase that I have made, and I still don't know how to access them yet. I will contact NJ software for further guidance, And will update this review. There is a sophisticated random number generator (RNG) algorithm in use with this game. The developer is very open about how it works. I have not looked at the RNG yet in detail. One very unscientific observation - doubles! According to the data, the number of doubles rolled is right in line with expected averages, But it sure seems like there are an awful lot of doubles generated. One easy solution is to simply print out the next 100 rolls and circle all of the doubles, noting how many & who is the beneficiary. If I notice any anomalies, I will update this review. One tip I would like to impart is to take the computer“HINTS“ with a grain of salt. I have noticed that the computer AI will suggest moves that sometimes are too aggressive (IMHO), leaving my checker(s) exposed and vulnerable when there is a safer alternative move available. The HINT feature is a great one, and most of the time exposes far better moves to me than I was about to make, but you should also use your common sense.

Backgammon NJ HD Reviews – Page 18