Free Backgammon Software: What It Can Do for You
Not long ago, the only way to get a game of backgammon was to find a partner and a board. Today a free program on your computer or phone can give you an opponent at any hour, and a good one can also explain your mistakes. This page looks at what free backgammon software offers, how to choose it and how to use it well. If you are looking for live opponents rather than a program, read our overview of playing backgammon online.
Three kinds of free software
- Simple board apps. They let you play against a basic computer opponent or a friend on the same device. Good for learning the moves, weak as a training partner.
- Programs with a strong bot. These play at a high level and do not get tired or tilted. They give you honest, consistent opposition.
- Analysis programs. Besides playing, they can review a finished game move by move, show which plays were errors and estimate how costly each one was.
The best known free program that does all three is GNU Backgammon, which is open source and available for the major desktop systems. It plays at a strong level, analyzes games and matches, and can run rollouts, playing a position out many times to estimate its value.
What to look for
- Standard rules. The program should follow the normal rules, including the doubling cube for match play and the Crawford rule. Variants such as hypergammon or Nackgammon are a nice extra, not a substitute.
- Adjustable strength. Beginners learn more from an opponent that is beatable at first; you can raise the level as you improve.
- Hints and analysis. A "hint" button that ranks the candidate moves is one of the most useful learning tools there is.
- Saving and importing games. Look for the ability to save your games and open them later, ideally in a common text format so you can analyze games you played elsewhere.
- Honest dice. A reputable program uses a proper random number generator. Some even let you enter dice by hand so you can replay a game from a real board.
Getting started
Install the program from its official source, then begin with short matches, three or five points long. Short matches are quick, so you play many of them, and every one teaches you something about the cube and the score. Turn on the hint feature only after you have chosen your move. Looking first is tempting but teaches you much less than comparing your own choice with the program's.
Using the bot as a coach
A program is most valuable after the game. Let it analyze the match and look at the two or three largest errors rather than every small one. Ask yourself why the better move is better: did it make a key point, avoid a direct shot, or keep a better distribution? Write the lesson down in one sentence. Over a few weeks these notes become a personal list of the mistakes you tend to repeat. We describe a fuller study routine in study backgammon with software.
A word on limits
Software is not a substitute for understanding. A bot can tell you that one play is better than another, but not always in words you can apply to the next position. Combine practice against the program with reading on basic strategy and with games against people, and you will improve much faster than with any one of them alone.