Most online backgammon games are now played on a phone — on breaks, on the commute, in the evening. The good news: you don’t need an app. The Gammon42 site works natively in your phone’s browser, on any system.

Why the browser, not an app

Three practical reasons:

Zero space on your phone. A backgammon app from the store takes 50–100 MB. The site loads about 2 MB, and under 100 KB of data per game after that. Nothing installed.

Zero permissions. Mobile apps often ask for access to contacts, location, notifications — even when they don’t need them. In the browser you don’t have that risk.

Zero updates to do. The site updates itself. You never have to go to the App Store / Play Store and tap “Update.”

Which phones does it work on?

iPhone: Safari (the one that ships with iOS), Chrome for iOS, Firefox for iOS — all work.
Android: Chrome (the default on most phones), Samsung Internet (on Samsung), Firefox, Brave — all work.
Older phones: if the browser has been updated in the last 2 years, it runs.

It doesn’t work natively on a smartwatch (screens too small for a board) or very old phones with a browser that doesn’t support WebSockets (rare now, but they exist).

How to play

Open the browser on your phone.
Go to play.table-online.ro.
Pick how you want to play: against the computer, online against another player, or with a friend.
Tap and play.

No account, no email to enter, nothing. Your first move is 5 seconds after you hit the URL.

Specific mobile setups

On iPhone

Safari is the default and recommended. The site uses modern features that run cleanly in Safari. For an “app-like” experience, you can add the site to your Home Screen: in Safari → share button → “Add to Home Screen.” It shows up as an icon on your screen, opens without the URL bar, and looks like an app.

On Android

Chrome is the default and recommended. The same “Add to Home Screen” option works.

On iPad or tablet

It works the same way, but the board is bigger and more pleasant. To play with a friend sitting next to you, keep the tablet between you on the table.

Playing with friends on your phone

The best use of backgammon on a phone is playing with friends:

On your phone, open the game and go to your friends list.
Send your invite link or your 8-character friend code on WhatsApp / SMS / anything.
Your friend opens the link on their phone, or types the code under Add a Friend.
Tap Invite to play next to their name and start the game.

Neither of you has to download anything, make an account, or exchange emails. It works between iPhone and Android, and between the browser and the apps. The full walkthrough is in How to play with friends online.

Performance and connection

The site works on slow connections (3G/4G). One game uses roughly:

100 KB on the initial load
1–5 KB per turn
~50 KB total for a full game

No problems on roaming or public Wi-Fi. Latency (the time between a roll and it showing on the other player’s screen) is under 200ms in Europe, under 400ms intercontinental — invisible for the pace of play.

There are native apps too

If you prefer an app, Gammon42 is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android. You start the same way, with no account, and the apps add what a browser cannot: practice against the computer without an internet connection, and reminders before a tournament you joined. The web version stays available, with no account and no download.

The difference from existing apps

There are backgammon apps on the App Store and Play Store with tens of thousands of downloads. Most of them have:

Coins to buy
Interstitial ads between games
A mandatory account with email

The browser skips all of that. There’s no app store trying to sell you upgrades.

What to do if you find a bug on mobile

If you notice something not working right on your phone (broken UI, a stuck game, multiplayer that disconnects often), send us a screenshot — and be sure to mention which phone and which browser you’re using. We fix things fast.

Play now

Open on your phone →