A Note from the Developer "Backgammon NJ is without question the best backgammon program for the iPhone. It plays at a very high level and is such a good program that I often use it myself to practice." Phil Simborg Professional Backgammon Teacher and Player www.simborgbackgammonlessons.com Important: The best thing you, as a potential buyer, can do is to read our detailed explanation below about how you can use the technical features included in the app to prove to yourself that the game is honest and then think long and hard about whether you understand and agree with the proofs before you buy the app. The proofs are the only way that you'll be able to convince yourself without a doubt that the game is honest. If you don't understand the proofs, then it's probably best if you try a different app with an easier AI. You can use these features to prove to yourself that Backgammon NJ isn't cheating: First, print out the dice rolls that Backgammon NJ will use before you start a game or match. That way, when you get to a certain point in the game, and you think, "Hey, the AI just rolled another incredibly favorable roll for itself!", you can check your printout (that was generated before you started your game) and see that the roll was already determined before the game started, when the AI knew nothing about the current state of the game. To print out dice rolls, click here. Note: The AI does not cheat by looking at upcoming dice rolls. To prove this to yourself, follow these steps. Second, enter manual dice rolls. That is, roll real dice and enter those rolls into Backgammon NJ instead of letting the AI roll for you. To do a thorough test, make sure to play several complete 15 point matches. You'll find that there's no difference in your chance of winning or losing a match if you enter manual dice rolls instead of letting the AI generate random rolls. Read our detailed responses to false reviews on the App Store, including info about some people who intentionally lie about our game. Backgammon NJ absolutely does not cheat. We suggest that you try playing other top backgammon games such as GNU Backgammon or Snowie. When set at the hardest skill level, these games play better than almost all human players. If you are not one of the top-ranked backgammon players in the world, then it will be difficult for you to win on a regular basis against Backgammon NJ on the Expert skill level. Try playing the Easy, Medium, or Hard skill level. You'll have a better chance of winning, and you can work on improving your game. Expert level plays better than almost all backgammon players, will beat you more often than not, and may be frustrating for some. It may seem to you as if Backgammon NJ is getting the rolls it needs. Sometimes it can get lucky, as any player can. But often, what appears as luck is actually playing skill. The neural network-based AI has evaluated millions of backgammon positions and can make extremely educated moves in almost every situation. It puts itself in positions that maximize the number of useful rolls for itself and minimize the number of useful rolls for its opponent. Unless you're a top backgammon player or have evaluated millions of positions like the AI, you can't expect to play as well as the AI on Expert skill level. Backgammon is primarily a game of skill, but there's also a component of luck added by dice. There will always be a lucky set of rolls that can cause your opponent to win, even if you play perfectly. However, advanced players know that what matters is their Error Rate and Checker Play Skill Percentage. Advanced players work to improve their moves and lower the number of errors they make instead of focusing on win/loss. Because of the high skill level that Backgammon NJ plays at, what it does really well is that it knows how well you're playing at any given point. If you make a bad move, it knows. Using Hints and Tutor Mode, it can show you how to make better moves and greatly improve your game. Many iPhone backgammon games have no idea if one move you make is better than any other. We took great pains to develop a well thought out game with a strong AI that doesn't cheat. If Backgammon NJ isn't right for you, please do try other backgammon games. If you do buy this game because you're looking for a worthy opponent that can improve your game coupled with a great user interface, we thank you very much for your support! About App Store app reviews: Backgammon NJ has been plagued by a number of false and malicious reviews on the iTunes App Store. We have no recourse against this since Apple doesn't provide a way for us to respond to reviews. Read our detailed responses to the false reviews here. Some of these reviews are from users who think that they play a lot better than they actually do because they have never played against a top backgammon program. These users think that they should be able to win. So when they don't, the only possible reason they can think of is that the program has unfair dice rolls. Backgammon NJ includes two features, the ability to print out dice rolls before a game and a Manual Rolls option, both of which undoubtedly refute all of their claims. Yet these users don't use these features and continue to claim unfair dice rolls, spreading their claims with false reviews. If you have never played a top backgammon desktop program, we recommend that you try GNU Backgammon. Not only does it play at world-class levels, it is free and open source. Thus, you can look at its source code to see exactly how it works. If you play GNU Backgammon, you'll get a good idea of the type of opponent that you will face with Backgammon NJ. We also believe that a number of the false and malicious reviews are posted by our competitors. This is a problem well known to honest developers but probably lesser known to the average App Store buyer. It is very easy for a competitor to buy an app for a nominal amount (as most apps are relatively inexpensive) and post false reviews with the intent of decreasing a competing app's sales and increasing their own sales. We have not stooped to this level and never will. Not only are we honest, but we firmly believe that the quality of our app will stand on its own, without having to falsely disparage other apps. If you are one of the people who has written a disparaging review of Backgammon NJ, and you believe firmly in what you are saying, we invite you to post on the BGonline.org forum. This is a forum frequented by experienced backgammon players where we also participate on occasion. If you think the AI isn't playing well, is cheating, or is doing something it shouldn't, present your case in detail (along with exact positions, match score, etc.) on the forum for critique. We have a sneaking suspicion that we won't be seeing any of these people posting on the forum... If you are considering buying Backgammon NJ, please take any reviews you read on the App Store with a grain of salt, not only for our app but for other apps too. As it is, the App Store review system is quite lacking, and it's up to you to judge if you think the reviewer is an experienced backgammon player, has a good grasp of what the app does, how it functions, whether they're being honest, if they have ulterior motives, etc. Phew! ...if you made it to the end of this, thanks for your time! We appreciate your interest in Backgammon NJ. NJ Apps