 |
DESCRIPTION
Absolute Backgammon is a backgammon game that has superb graphics, sound effects, speech, and many options and features including 5 skill levels for a fun game of backgammon. Easy to use, even for a beginner. You can also play using just your voice.
It supports game play in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Dutch. Many gameboard designs are available here.
Works with Leopard and Intel Macs!
You don't have to concerned about the game being fair. The dice rolls are random and do not favor either player in any situation except by luck.
All of the dice rolls, to the used in the game, can be selected to be saved to a file at the start of a new game. These can be viewed to see that the game is actually using them.
You can also select to use the computer's dice rolls if you feel it is luckier than you.
Also, the stats, kept by the game, will show that the rolling of doubles is statistically correct for both players.
WHAT'S NEW
Version 6.1.6:
- in some endgame situations, the computer would offer a double, when a gammon was possible, when it shouldn't. Fixed. After checking it appears the problem was created during extensive code changes in version 6.0
- enjoy the many board beautiful and interesting board styles to chose from
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.0 or later.
|
SCREENSHOT
|
|
 |
|  |
 | |  |
| Absolute Backgammon User Reviews (95 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Apr 25 2009 |
KEVINWPARKER I haven't played Backgammon on my Mac since the very old days when there was a black-and-white program that filled the 9-inch screen of my Fat Mac. So I was pleased to see MacUpdate offering a discount on this one. I've only played it for two days but am fairly pleased so far. It took some getting used to as some of the details on how to pick up and put down pieces differed from the old MacGammon (or whatever it was called). Once I got settled in to that, I was satisfied. Appearance is good, game play is good. I'm running with the default settings right now for the opponent, who seems remarkably aggressive to me, leaving pips exposed that I would never leave exposed, even to send one back. It seems to be at a competitive level for me, neither too stupid nor totally beyond me. I have some sympathy for the "cheating" accusations as it seems to be very good at getting doubles right after the stakes are raised. But I thought that about the old game, too, so I'm assuming it's just some quirk of human psychology. I don't know what sort of alternatives there are out there, but I'm pretty happy with this one.
(Version 6.1.4) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Apr 12 2009 |
PAULTHEPIPER I have played this game hundreds of times (am I sad?) and I am now convinced the dice rolls are contrived. I do not have a clue how it is done especially as I have checked the rolls against the random list that ends up on my desktop at the beginning of the game. You get this list by going to Preferences then misc. Check the box entitled Save dice rolls to "Random Dice Rolls" file. Most of the doubles are in favour of the computer towards the end of the game which removes the computer pieces very quickly and you loose. Also the rolls favour the computer in setting up "blots" in it's home board near the beginning of the game which makes it difficult for you to get back in. Now, there is a sure fire way to overcome these problems albeit that it slows the game right down. Use a manual dice (real or electronic) and select Enter Manual Dice Rolls from the actions menu. This way the game is played very differently none of the above mentioned problems occur and it is also guaranteed to be fair. On the plus side Absolute Backgammon scores very high for graphics and movements of the pieces. Just don't let it cheat on you!
(Version 6.1.4) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
 | Dec 24 2008 |
STUDIOPELLETIER I have to agree with WANGCHUNG. This game makes me mad with rage. I laugh (not because it's funny), i cry, i want to throw my computer up against the wall. I'm a fairly good player on the board but the way the computer consistently gets the best possible roll WHEN it needs it (and how i get the worse possible rolls) is out of this world. I have tried different settings but no luck. I do win from time to time, but after about 300 games the overall experience is just not fun. I so wanted to like this game. I refuse to play it anymore. Wish i could get my money back. An online version could be fun though, as in NOT playing against the computer.
(Version 6.0.9) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Apr 2 2009 |
PETER BLACK I hear ya brother. I've played this game for a long time - it is the best or one of the best, but the roll thing is uncanny. Not consistent, but uncanny when it does happen. This has been discussed ad nauseum and by all appearances the developer has addressed this. There would be no logical reason to this intentionally, for sure.
(Version 6.1.4) | |
| Sep 6 2008 |
PERFECTLYCOOL I have played many different types of online backgammon. AB 6.0.6 is by FAR the best I have ever played! The board/s and graphics are superb. Shame about the talking voices (yes, I have turned them off). For $25. you can't go wrong. Buy and enjoy!
(Version 6.0.6) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Jul 7 2008 |
17SOFT David Byrum's Backgammon game was everything I was hoping for and more. As commented on before, there is no lack of Backgammon games out there, but this one provides sophisticated options that allow for various rules, skill levels, and even the 'manner' in which your computer opponant approaches the game. The graphics are beautiful and many alternative styles are available for free downloads. Fun, challenging, and nice to look at. I'd call that a win.
(Version 6.0.5) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Jul 6 2008 |
LEFTNOTRACKS Bugs in current version: A legal gammon was recorded as a single game win with all pieces in inner table, but none borne off. Perhaps the game's rules for what constitutes a gammon are incorrect. Still can't double beyond 64. There's no excuse for that short-sighted omission. Despite these, it still plays the most challenging game for any computer opponent. Thumbs still way up there.
(Version 6.0.5) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
 | Jul 26 2008 |
GAMMONSOFT Do you have the Jacoby rule selected? If you have it selected, and the cube was never passed/doubled during the game, a gammon or a backgammon is only a single game win.
(Version 6.0.5) | |
| Jun 24 2008 |
GREYOWL54 Backgammon games aren't hard to find .. but none looks as good as this one. Quite simply the look and feel alone are enough to make you want to keep playing. Me? I'm ready to go again, right now ..
(Version 6.0.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| May 18 2008 |
RICHSKIN Fantastic software - just what I was looking for. David Byrum was extremely prompt and helpful. Highly recommended!
(Version 6.0.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Feb 11 2008 |
WANGCHUNG A very good game for beginners and intermediate players ONLY. Set the appropriate prefs and have fun. BUT.... I've played board Backgammon for thirty years, and Absolute Backgammon in its many iterations for as long as its been out. I refuse to play it anymore. I don't know if it's poorly written algorithms, the "random" dice rolls, the against-all-rational-odds moves, the "aggressive club champ" setting or just bad computer karma, but something is definitely rotten in Denmark. It should be IMPOSSIBLE for the computer opponent to consistently - and fairly - get the kind of rolls it gets at the exact moment it needs them. Period. Debate it all you like, but perhaps the human element just can't be replicated in coded Backgammon.
(Version 5.3.7) | |
| [ 4 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Feb 16 2008 |
GAMMONSOFT Your criticism of the game seems to be that you think the game picks the rolls it needs when it needs them (cheats). Since there is an option to have the dice rolls, to be used in the entire game, generated at at the start of the game, there would be no way it could be getting the rolls it needs to fit the situation. I suggest you select the option. You can find it in Preferences/Misc tab. You can view the dice rolls to see that the game is actually using them. You can also read about it in the FAQ included in the game folder. A good player moves its pieces to increase the odds that he/she will get a good roll. This may appear like cheating but is just good strategy. So select the option and continue to enjoy the game!
(Version 5.3.7) | |
| Feb 24 2008 |
CORPSECORPS It sounds like that "human element" you're referring to is the quality of making mistakes in not always going with the statistically most advantageous move. The setup doesn't allow for anything else.
(Version 5.3.7) | |
| Jun 27 2008 |
LEFTNOTRACKS Perhaps some of the commenters are overlooking something I think is obvious. IF the game can pre-load the dice, thus preventing the computer from dialling its own roll, then there's still an opportunity to cheat. Peek at the roll list. The computer can do this, the player cannot. Does it?
(Version 6.0.4) | |
| Jun 27 2008 |
GAMMONSOFT It is true that the computer could look ahead at the list of rolls (it doesn't however) but the complaint is that the computer gets the rolls it needs at the exact time it needs them. In other words, the game is picking the rolls it needs at the time. Creating the rolls before the game starts makes this impossible. That is why I added the option. My first backgammon game (David's Backgammon) was created when 8 mhz was a fast processor. Another very popular backgammon game on Windows took up to 5 minutes (on a 20 mhz processor) to analyze how to move double 1s. Looking ahead at a list, trying to see how to make the current move so that a future roll could be best used would take forever, even on todays fast processors. With an 8 mhz processors you could have gone to a long lunch between each move. David's Backgammon was just about as "smart" then as Absolute Backgammon is now. The longest you ever had to wait was 5 seconds. Not enough time for doing anything extra (like cheat as the reviewer suggests). Even just picking the best roll for the situation could cause a noticeable delay before the dice were rolled (with the dice sound off, there is no delay) The bottom line is that the game doesn't cheat but some people will always think it cheats (because it could). There is no way to prove that it doesn't. The best that can be done is to provide statistics to show that the dice rolls are statistically correct (random), the ability to enter your own dice rolls and to create the rolls before the game starts. I have done all of these. Most people accept that the dice rolls are random and enjoy a good game of backgammon, or 2. Just one more thing, a good backgammon player makes his moves so that more of the possible rolls of the dice will be good on his next move. To some, this might seem like cheating.
(Version 6.0.4) | |
| Dec 29 2007 |
CORPSECORPS What the hell are you talking about? Nothing more is needed. If all rolls are randomized before the game begins, stored to a file which can be examined, the player can choose either of the prerolled sets, and the predetermined rolls can be matched while playing to make sure they're the ones the game actually uses, what method can you propose which would still allow the computer to have an advantage based on rolls? Even if rolls were precalculated instead of randomized, the player can switch sets and the rolls cannot possibly favor both players unless they differ significantly in the way they play. The only other possibility would be that the pseudo-random number generator isn't truly random because it's incorrectly written. That would give one player or the other an advantage in some games, but a disadvantage in others. I've played many games and kept track of the numbers of all possible rolls that came up, and statistically they neither favor either player, nor are skewed in any particular way! Any particular anecdote about the computer making some unbelievable come-back or whatever can only be due to it's making the statistically most advantageous moves with each roll in a particular circumstance where the random numbers happen to come together in a way that allows that anecdotal tale to take place.
(Version 5.3.4) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Oct 30 2008 |
CORPSECORPS Looking back at my own post, i left out two possibilities. The app could pic which random roll was most advantageous at the moment and use that instead of using them in sequence. This could be checked for while playing, of course, and i've not done that. The other possibility would be if it randomized two sets of numbers and then altered their sequence before displaying or saving them at the beginning the game to give one or the other an advantage. However, it doesn't seem likely this could be done in such a way as to give the computer an advantage whichever set was used, so this would not work if the player switched sets. There's a bigger question: what reason would the author have to make the computer "cheat"?
(Version 6.0.8) | |
|
| View all 95 posts >> |
|
