GammonGuide
Press kit
Everything you need to write about GammonGuide. For questions, review access or a free GammonGuide Coach code, email mail@voxredux.com.
Screenshots in device frames Plain screenshots
Each ZIP is about 63 MB: full-size iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch screenshots and the app icon.
Fact sheet
| App | GammonGuide |
|---|---|
| Developer | Michael Harlow, independent developer |
| Release date | October 23, 2026 |
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad and Apple Watch |
| Requirements | iOS 26 or later. Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or Ultra 2 or later, with watchOS 27. |
| Price | Free. GammonGuide Coach is a one-time $9.99 in-app purchase (US price). No subscription, no ads. |
| Category | Games: Board |
| Language | English |
| App Store | apps.apple.com/app/gammonguide/id6815865112 |
| Website | gammonguide.com |
| Press contact | mail@voxredux.com |
In one sentence
GammonGuide is a backgammon trainer for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch: an expert engine plays both sides, and on each of your turns you call the move and see how close you came.
Description
GammonGuide teaches backgammon the way strong players learn it: call the expert's move, then see how close you came. A strong engine plays both sides of every game. When it's your turn, the game pauses and you decide. Move your own checkers, or just tap the one you think moves first. The engine then plays its move and grades yours: right, close, mistake or blunder. Win or lose, the engine played the game. Your score is how close you came to its moves.
On iPhone and iPad, Why? explains the last round in plain language: what your play leaves open, how often the best reply hits, and how often each play wins from there. Replay acts the round out on the board while a voice walks you through it. An Opening Drill covers every opening roll, and Progress shows whether your blunder rate is going down.
On Apple Watch, a whole game is one tap per turn, with the same engine and the same grades.
Key facts
- The engine runs on the device, including the watch. GammonGuide uses wildbg, an open-source neural-network backgammon engine. It picks a move in about half a millisecond on an Apple Watch Series 11, with no phone or network needed.
- A coach on the wrist. As far as we can find, GammonGuide is the only backgammon app on Apple Watch that grades your moves.
- Tested against GNU Backgammon. Over 200 test games graded move by move by GNU Backgammon, the engine played at expert to world-class level.
- Private by design. No account, no ads, no tracking. The app makes no network connections, and games never leave the device.
- Free to play. The game, every grade, the doubling cube, the Opening Drill and Progress are free. Why? and Replay are free for a player's first ten mistakes or blunders. GammonGuide Coach, a one-time purchase, unlocks them for every round, plus previous games with playback.
- A surprise on iPhone Duo. Fold the Duo partway and the checkers slide down to the middle of the board; open it again and they go back where they were. Watch the video (MP4, 11 seconds, 0.7 MB).
- Doubling cube. Players can let the engine handle the cube, make the calls themselves, or turn it off. Games are money games without the Jacoby rule.
Video
Screenshots
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iPhone
iPad
Apple Watch
Device frames: Apple's official product bezels from Apple Design Resources, used under Apple's license. Please use the framed images and video only to show GammonGuide, and don't extract or reuse the frames themselves.
App icon
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