There is a wide variety of servers available to play backgammon on, and naturally there are pros and cons with most of them. They largely fall into two camps; those which you need to download and install software on your machine to use (Gridgammon, FIBS), and those which run inside your browser (Galaxy, Heroes, Dailygammon). See below for more detail about technical requirements.
For money sites, cash up front is usually required to start an account. Only play with money you can comfortably afford to lose.
| Runs on: | Download required? | Clock? | Ratings? | Match files? | Actively developed? |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GridGammon | Windows Mac, up to Mojave (see below) | Yes | No | Yes | Saved to your machine | No |
| Backgammon Galaxy | All | No | Mandatory | Yes (see below) | Downloadable | Yes |
| Backgammon Studio Heroes | All | No | Optional | Yes | Emailed to you | Yes |
| DailyGammon | All | No | No | Yes | Downloadable | No |
| FIBS | Windows Mac Linux | Yes | No | Yes | Saved to your machine | No |
Our recommended sites:
GridGammon
GridGammon runs on all versions of Windows, and MacOS up to Mojave, although the two versions are very different and not all functionality is present in the Mac version. Mac Catalina does not support the Mac GridGammon application natively, but you can use Parallels Desktop or Wine to create a virtual environment inside which Gridgammon will run.
Please note that we cannot open a GridGammon account for you but we will vouch for members who wish to open an account. You need to email GridGammon support – click here for details of how to do this. This slows the joining process but tends to result in opponents being reliable.
Backgammon Galaxy
Galaxy’s ratings system differs from the rest in that you only score ratings points if you both win a match, and play at a lower error rate than your opponent.
DailyGammon
Play is not live so you can make your moves whenever convenient.
FIBS (First Internet Backgammon Server)
FIBS does not supply its own client application; instead, a number have been developed over the years by various enthusiasts. These are of somewhat variable quality; the best is probably JavaFIBS. Alternatively you can use telnet directly, or write your own client if you really want!
Other sites:
SafeHarbor Games – www.safeharborgames.net/
Play backgammon and other games for free using downloadable software for MS Windows or Mac OS X. Not a great user interface. Peculiar in that some rooms have dice that deliberately roll fewer doubles than would be expected, ostensibly to counter the inevitable few who believe the dice are rigged when someone rolls doubles to out-race them.
Backgammon Ace – http://pr.heroz.jp/backgammon
A fun free App for mobiles and tablets
GammonSpace – https://www.gammonspace.com/ Money site
A new money site which runs on PC, Mac, tablets and phones. Appears to be few users so far (May 2020).
Not recommended:
BoardGameArena – boardgamearena.com
BoardGameArena has a wide variety of games, including a lot of niche ones. Sadly the backgammon game is disappointing; only cubeless games, no match play, and a rather clunky user interface.
Facebook apps
These tend to be limited in functionality, and usually have lots of meaningless in-game purchases or adverts.
Money Gaming – www.moneygaming.com/games/skill.shtml Money site
Used to be a reputable site offering regular added money tournaments and cash games with a low rake – appears not to be available any more (2015)
PartyGammon – Money site
Appears to have closed down, although sister PartyPoker remains active and popular.
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