Backgammon (iPhone / iPod Touch; PosiMotion $1.99)

I like backgammon.  It’s a really fun game.  I used to play it a lot in college.  My boyfriend was really really good at it, and he taught me a trick or two.  I like it way better than chess, chess is just too hard.  Too much thinking all the time.  I like backgammon, with the dice and the part that chance plays in the game.  If I get really hot with the dice, then I feel like I’m really really good and can beat anybody.

So one day when I was really bored waiting in line somewhere, I took out my iPhone and felt like playing backgammon, I don’t know why.  I typed in “backgammon” and got the first app that popped up.  It was only $1.99, and the screencaps looked really good, so what the hey.

The game has two modes of play: play vs. computer and play vs. human.  I was by myself so I had to play against the iPhone.  It felt pretty good, felt like I was really playing backgammon and it was kind of fun.  I couldn’t finish the game in line so I pressed the home button to exit.  I was going to play it more when I got home.  It continues from where you left off, which is a neat feature.

The controls for the game are really simple and I like them.  It’s just tapping with one finger whatever’s on the screen that you want to do.  To roll, I just tap on “Roll”.  To move pieces, just tap on the piece and it’ll move by itself, bigger die first.  From the settings menu, they call this “One-tap movement” and I like it.  There are also 3 AI levels so being confident in myself, I put it on level 3, the hardest.  There’s an option for portrait or landscape view, and I like landscape view better because it feels more like a real backgammon board.

So back to my game.  By default, the match is set to 5 points.  I decided to play a whole match.  I was losing the first game I started while waiting in line.  I wound up losing that game.  Then I won the next one, so that put it at 1-1.  The next game, the computer was rolling really good and got ahead and doubled me.  Like an idiot I accepted and lost that game.  So I’m down 3-1.  The next game, I rolled pretty good and got ahead and decided to double him.  It wound up being a close game but I squeaked it out.  So 3-3.  Next game it was really close.  Well I thought it was close anyway, but the computer doubled on me.  I took it, thinking it was too close for him to double.  But he wound up winning by a lot, not really close and I lost the match 5-3.  Too bad.  Looks like I need to work on my skills with the doubling cube.  I’m not very good with that thing.

I’m going to keep playing this game.  I’m out of practice so I need to play it more to get better at it.  Then, I’m going to get my revenge on Mr. iPhone and beat him good.  So overall, I think this is a really good game.  The graphics are nice and clean, the controls are really nice, and the computer provides really good competition.  Most of all, I had fun playing it.  I want to play it again and again.  I strongly recommend this game!

Note: This app has a really low rating in the App Store.  2 and a half stars (out of 5) from 446 ratings.  I can’t see why that is, come on people!  I checked out some of the comments and everyone says that the computer cheats.  I don’t think it cheats at all.  I can beat it sometimes, sometimes it beats me.  I think it’s fair.  All these people complaining must really really stink at backgammon or something.  I don’t think it’s fair to the makers of this game, PosiMotion.  Now they have a big statement on their ad page in big letters: “THIS GAME DOES NOT CHEAT!!!”  People, stop badmouthing this app and get some more skills!  So I feel like I need to get the word out that Backgammon from PosiMotion is a REALLY GOOD GAME.

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