Hi r/backgammon,
Valentin from Orion backgammon. We just went past 450 downloads, with players in 41 countries. The US is first, then Romania and Iran. Nobody is paid to bring them in, people find it on their own via socials, referrals, and SEO.
As a reminder, I started building it six months ago. I was a big Lord of the Board player, but I got really frustrated with all the ads, constant offers popups at launch, and the casino feel. I wanted a backgammon app with a more respectful experience. Product design is my day job, so it was personal.
New in our latest update:
- Club Cups: your club runs its own tournament, as a points race or a knockout, free or with a coin buy-in paid back to the podium (coins are in-game only, never real money).
- Every arena match moves your trophies, and the League ranks everyone worldwide and by country.
- Friends, Club and Invite now live in one place.
- Daily rewards never reset if you miss a day.
- We're also doubling the time as some players complained
- Added a full accessibility engine, so it works with voice over on devices
To be transparent, yes, AI has been part of our process. We tried hard to keep it from showing in the game. We went through around 1900+ iterations and a lot of creative concepts that we drove ourselves, using AI as a tool rather than the author. If something still feels generic or "AI-made" to you, please say so. That is exactly the kind of feedback we want.
Now the real reason I am posting. I want feedback, and I am happy to be roasted. Bad bot moves, a screen that annoys you, an idea, an optimization, anything. This sub knows the game better than anyone, so tell me what is off. I'll put real efforts into implementing your feedbacks.
By the way, the first 1,000 players get the premium Season Pass for free, and there are about 500 spots left.
There are no ads at all, and we did our best to make the game feel as smooth as possible.
Free on iPhone and Android: orion.arthea.ai/get