Voice calls with your backgammon opponent

From version 1.4.0 you can talk to your opponent during an online backgammon game, right in the Gammon42 app on iPhone and Android. You don’t need another app. Every call has to be accepted by the other player, and you can mute, hang up or switch calls off whenever you like.

Which games have voice calls

Games with friends. When you play a friend you invited with Invite to play, you can call each other. New to friend games? See how to play with friends online.
Online games against other players, casual or ranked, as long as both of you allow calls with other players. This is on by default.
Not in tournaments. Tournament matches, club tournaments included, have no calls.

You always call the opponent of the game you are playing. Games against the computer and games on one shared device have no calls.

How to call your opponent

Start an online game.
Look at the right side of the board, under your own picture. There is a small panel of buttons: the phone icon at the top, then chat and settings.
Tap the phone.
The first time, your phone asks for access to the microphone. Allow it, or the call can’t start.
A bubble next to your opponent’s picture says “Calling” with their name. When they accept, it shows “Connecting…”, and then you can talk.

If your opponent doesn’t answer within 30 seconds, the call stops and you see “No answer”. If they decline, you see “Call declined”. After a decline, wait a minute before calling again: if you try too soon, the app says “Wait a moment before calling again”.

If the phone is grey, your opponent doesn’t take calls right now. Tapping it shows “Voice calls aren’t available with this player”. They may have turned calls off, allowed calls only with friends, or be using an older version of the app.

If there is no phone at all, calls aren’t offered in this game (a tournament match, for example), or you have turned them off yourself.

When someone calls you

When your opponent calls, the app plays a short sound (if game sounds are on) and your phone vibrates. A bubble next to their picture shows their name, followed by “is calling”.

Tap the green phone button to accept (“Accept”).
Tap the red button to decline (“Decline”).

Nothing starts until you accept, and your microphone stays off unless you do. If you decline, the caller sees “Call declined”.

The bubble hides itself after a few seconds so it doesn’t cover the board. The ringing phone stays on your opponent’s picture: tap it to bring the buttons back. A call nobody answers stops after 30 seconds.

During the call

The sound comes out of the loudspeaker, so you can keep playing with the phone in front of you. If headphones are connected, Bluetooth or wired, the sound goes there instead. The game’s background music pauses during the call and comes back afterwards.

A small badge on your opponent’s picture shows the call: sound waves while you talk, a crossed-out microphone when you are muted. Tap it to open the call controls:

Microphone button: “Mute” stops sending your voice. Tap it again to “Unmute”.
Red button: “Hang up” ends the call. The red phone under your own picture does the same.
Flag button: “Report or block” (more on this below).

The call doesn’t stop when the game ends: you can keep talking on the result screen and through a rematch. It ends when either of you leaves the game. It also ends if you switch to another app or your phone puts Gammon42 in the background.

Limits and Pro

Free players get a set number of call minutes every day. The minutes you have left today appear in small text under the phone button. The minutes reset at midnight UTC.

Only the time after a call is accepted counts. Ringing doesn’t.
A call between two free players uses both players’ minutes. It can last as long as the player with fewer minutes left has.
During such a call, the controls show the minutes left, and a countdown appears on your opponent’s picture in the last two minutes. When the time runs out, the call ends with “The free call time ran out for today.”
If you have no minutes left, you see “You’ve used today’s free call time.” If your opponent has none, you see “Your opponent has no free call time left today.”

Gammon42 Pro includes “Unlimited voice calls”. If either player in the game has Pro, the call has no time limit and uses nobody’s minutes. So a Pro player’s calls never use their opponent’s minutes either.

Turning calls off

You decide who can call you. In the main menu, tap your profile picture or name at the top, open the Privacy tab and look under Social:

“Allow voice calls”: switch it off and nobody can call you, and the phone button disappears from your games. Switching it off during a call ends the call.
“Voice calls with other players”: switch it off to allow calls only in games with friends. You only see this switch while “Allow voice calls” is on.

Both switches are on by default. They are saved on your phone, so if you also play on another device, set them there too.

Privacy and good manners

Your microphone is used only during a call you start or accept, and only after you allow microphone access on your phone.
Call audio always goes through Gammon42’s relay server instead of straight from phone to phone, so your opponent doesn’t get your IP address.
Gammon42 does not record calls. The game server only connects the call; it doesn’t handle the audio.
If a call turns unpleasant, hang up. The flag button lets you report or block the player. Under Report User, choose Report Voice Call and write what happened. Block User stops voice calls between you and ends a call in progress.

More questions about the app? See the Gammon42 FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Can I talk to my opponent while playing backgammon in Gammon42?

Yes. From version 1.4.0, the Gammon42 app on iPhone and Android has voice calls in online games with friends and against other players. Tournament matches have no calls.

Do I have to accept every call?

Yes. Every call rings first and only starts when you tap Accept. Your microphone stays off unless you start or accept a call, and you can hang up at any time.

How many free call minutes do I get?

Free players get a set number of minutes each day, shown under the call button in the game. They reset at midnight UTC. If either player has Gammon42 Pro, the call is unlimited and uses nobody’s minutes.

Why is the call button grey?

Your opponent doesn’t take calls right now. They may have turned calls off, allowed calls only with friends, or be using an older version of the app.

How do I turn voice calls off?

In the main menu, tap your profile at the top, open the Privacy tab and switch off Allow voice calls. To allow calls only with friends, switch off Voice calls with other players instead.

Are voice calls recorded?

No. Gammon42 does not record calls. The audio passes live through Gammon42’s relay server, so your opponent does not get your IP address.