Backgammon - Narde 7.06

Games that involve random chance will always be the subject of debate. Is backgammon a game of skill, or is it another form of gambling? This matter was apparently settled in 1982 when the State of Oregon had to concede to a certain Mr. Barr, who defended its status. Ultimately, the deciding argument comes from tournament play. If some players tend to win more than others, then the rule of large numbers is proven wrong. Consequently, the game involves skill. So the next time you'd like to curse the dice for losing, play another match instead.

Though, Backgammon allows for situations in which you cannot perform any move for several turns in a row. The problem usually occurs when you get one or more of your pieces locked on the middle bar. It can come out as frustrating and for a good reason. However, Backgammon - Narde uses a slight variation of the rules in which all pieces are safe, no matter how many are standing on a triangle space. This simplification makes for faster gameplay, as it minimizes wasted turns.

Backgammon - Narde lets you play against the AI or a human opponent via Bluetooth, over the Internet or as a hotseat experience. Admittedly, you could switch play with a traveling mate on better games, but if you're enamored with the classics, this is a safe bet.

There have been some accusations coming from the user base that backgammon - Narde uses too much CPU power, or that it eats up a lot of bandwidth, the latter being a problem I do not have to contend with since I usually turn off the data connection while playing. However, since crypto-mining is a profitable thing, don't be surprised if third parties are using your device to dig for digital money.

Be that as it may, Backgammon - Narde has a light interface. The dice roll themselves, and the possible moves are always highlighted (not the pieces, but the destinations.) You can also change between two board and piece designs. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

However, I would have liked Backgammon - Narde to have more options concerning customization. More precisely, I would have enjoyed stronger levels of AI. The current AI is moderately weak, although I've read some comments accusing it of being unfair, so your experience may vary.

Final Thoughts

Backgammon - Narde is a decent Narde app that features multiple connection variants for PvP as well as a light AI opponent. The variant rules of Narde makes the game faster, and potentially less frustrating to dilettantes.