David's Backgammon - 5.8.5

I have paid for 2 other Backgammon Games for the Mac. Both were sold as software at the Eugene Mac Store.

Both were high gloss graphics fancy games that really were all packaging and no depth of play or feature set. They were the equivalent of the kind of pretty girl who is a clothes-hanger and "all haircut".

David's Backgammon, which I have used since Mac OS 9, maybe even mac OS 7, (I can't recall all that far back!), is a game for the gal or guy who wants a well rounded game that's all about the game.

I am the author of the game. I know for sure that the dice rolls are random, in all situations, for both players, and that they don't favor either player except by luck.

The logic for the computer opponent's play has been developed over the last 20 years. It seems to be lucky because it plays the game so that more of the dice rolls it gets will be good rolls. That could appear as being lucky when it is just good playing.

David Byrum

I finally tossed this game in the trash. It's just too frustrating to play and see the computer get the dice it needs over and over again when I can't seem to buy a good throw of the dice! I don't care what the author "says" about his programming skills, I've never seen anything like the luck the computer has in this game. I've played it for well over a year and have played at the toughest level for a long time and the computer makes unreal throws over and over and over again. I'd rather not play than to be "beat" by so many lucky throws. I like a challenge but this game is ridiculous!!!

I became a backgammon addict many years ago before the advent of computers. Because there weren't always humans around to play, I played the game less and less as the years went by. I discovered David's game and quickly became addicted (I work for myself at home and have too much non-work time on my hands :) ).

David is very prompt and courteous in his responses to questions and makes the game easy to buy. It's easy to play and a challenge -- to a point -- even for someone who fancies himself a pretty good player, as I do.

The problem is, as I played more and more (at the Club Champ level), it seemed to me more and more that the computer was using the dice rather than strategy to be competitive. I have no scientific basis for this observation, but after a lot of gameplay it just seems that the computer gets the great roll when it needs it. In particular, when the computer needs a particular number, it often seems not only to get that number very often, but also doubles of that number. I suspect that it's programmed to get a high occurrence of that particular number on one die with the other die being random which, of course, often results in doubles of that number.

Also, whenever I'm on the bar I have a much more difficult time getting back in than does the computer, even if there are 3, 4 or even 5 open points. When on the bar I get an extraordinary number of double 6's, which serves 2 purposes: (1) it makes the computer a "better" player; and (2) if someone were to analyze dice rolls, they would find I get my share of double 6's although, unfortunately, almost always at the wrong time. And I can't tell you how many times I've set myself up very well for a prime, needing only to roll either, for example, a 2, 3 or 5, but will consistently fail to roll one of those numbers for several rolls, which is a mathematical improbability to say the least.

I don't want to get overly critical because there is a paucity of backgammon games on the market and David's seems to be about the best. But when you play intensely and reasonably well, as I do, only to see the computer miraculously roll the perfect dice (or roll the worst for me), it gets very frustrating.

At lower levels of expertise I suspect the game is more fun for those who haven't been playing backgammon for more than 30 years (as I have) or for those who are just learning or are novices. I'd love to play a game where the dice rolls are truly random and the AI sophisticated enough to play at my level without the help of the dice. But I've yet to find such a game.

This game is quite a good effort by David but falls short from the AI perspective, at least at the highest level of play.

Great game. On my large monitor the dice appeared proportionately small. I emailed David and within a few hours he sent me an upgrade. The dice are nicely sized now. Great customer service!!!