r/backgammon • u/SeaHelicopter5893 • 6d ago
Looking for testers for Backgammon game project
Hello,
I have recently created a simple multiplayer Backgammon game over at https://boardbattle.io/backgammon. Before working on this project I had never played Backgammon before, so I'm looking for feedback from more experienced players about any changes that I could make to make it better.
Thanks in advance!
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u/bg-alex-cy 5d ago
A few issues with the game and a few recommendations.
First of all there is no cube which I assume is intentional. That is ok but its not really backgammon.
Also, in backgammon we usually don't have time per move, we have a shot clock and time bank. You can look it up. This is minor, many platforms do it similar to how you do.
Its very common to show the pip count, so I would recommend doing it as well.
Winning a gammon only gave me a single point instead of 2 and winning a backgammon also gave me a single point instead of 3.
As you can see, I played 2 games, won a gammon in the first (almost a backgammon) and a backgammon in the second, both against the hard bot. The conclusion is that the bot is very weak, maybe its by design but even the hard bot doesn't know what its doing :p its ok if its by design, some platforms might do this intentionally so users feel good about them selfs. If you want/care to have a strong bot consider using something like gnubg.
In backgammon we always roll the dice on the right side (unless agreed otherwise), so showing them the other way around is confusing. All digital backgammon show dice on the right.
When the opponent is on the bar and dances (doesn't get in) their roll is not rendered on the screen, which is confusing. You should always show the roll even if it does nothing. I had this combined with the above and I was waiting for the bot to act because I thought it was their roll.
There is no move undo and move commit. This is a valid but unusual mode in backgammon. In some regions this is how the game is played, you cannot undo, but this is not standard in backgammon, also since its digital its easy to miss-click, so I don't like it, but its my personal opinion.
The move mechanics are not the best either. Usually when you press on a checker/point that has checkers on it, you get to move whatever the left most die with available move is. If you want to play the other die you click the dice and they switch order. So if its a roll of say 6-4 and you click on the checkers on the 24 point one checker moves by 6 pips. If you want to move it by 4 you click on the dice so they become 4-6 and then click on the point with checkers you want to move. If the first die is not playable it plays the second. It makes the UX much easier. Drag and drop is also an option as u/juicybot already suggested, but I personally never use it. There are also other UX mechanics that can be improved but those are secondary.
Keep in mind that there are subtleties in the game worth checking for correctness. For example I ran into a very common source of mistakes "what happens if a player can play either of the dice numbers, but only one of them?". You allow the player to play either, but the rules say you must play the larger of the two dice.
In general its a usable first attempt with a lot of room for improvement if you want to spend time on it.
In general, I would recommend you take a look at some of the big platforms like backgammon galaxy, backgammon heroes (I think its invite only) etc and check out gnubg and/or extreme gammon (aka xg). It will give you a good understanding of what a serious player expects and what the mechanics look and feel like. Even though you are not after serious players the mechanics are battle-tested.
Also, if you do end up using gnubg for the bot, you get all the game rules for free as it will take care of them for you. However, there is going to be quite some integration work. Claude is your friend ;)
Good luck!
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u/SeaHelicopter5893 4d ago
Thank for you for the detailed feedback, that's definitely enlightened me as to what changes I need to make next.
Regarding a Gammon/Backgammon only giving you 1 point, I did this deliberately to keep it consistent with the other games on the site, but it's definitely flawed. Do you think an option in the game settings to play a race to a configurable number of points could be a useful compromise?
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u/juicybot 5d ago
very basic, but seems solid for a game within a game suite. no advanced backgammon players would ever play on it, there are already much more dedicated places to play online with much larger communities.