Top 1 Xbox 360 Site

An Xbox Live Arcade game (built for the Xbox 360 system.)

Genre: Board

Developer: Silver Creek Entertainment

Online Play:

Local Play:

February 8, 2006 –
Five bucks. That’s all it takes to download Hardwood Backgammon on Xbox Live Arcade, and if you don’t have a board or friends to play with, then it will prove to be a good investment. While you could log on to a number of free gaming sites on the Internet, which you most likely have if you play Xbox Live Arcade in the first place, Hardwood Backgammon is still a nice, simple addition to the XBLA library.

The interface is simple and intuitive. After you roll the dice, you are able to select checkers that have open moves. From there, two indicators will mark where you can move the checkers based on the roll. The indicators do not mark where a checker could move if you combine the dice totals, which would have been a nice addition and one that is often included in free online backgammon games.

Pirates play backgammon too.Serious backgammon fans or gamerscore/achievement point whores will get the most satisfaction from the game. The achievements are fairly simple: win by a gammon or a certain number of pips. Playing online via Xbox Live worked well, although my opponent and I had trouble locating each other in quick games and created games, so we had to send a game invite.

The backgrounds are a bit strange. The scenes of beaches and floating islands in space are odd, to say the least. In combination with the eerie music, you’ll feel like your playing Myst: The Board Game.

When you finish backgammon, transport yourself to the land of Nod.The computer is a challenging opponent and often you’ll feel that its dice are loaded, but this proves to be a nice way to learn backgammon.

IGN Ratings for Hardwood Backgammon (X360)

Rating Description

out of 10
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7.0
Presentation
Easy to navigate menus and fully customizable boards, dice and checkers. Strange background environments.

6.0
Graphics
They do the job fine. Passable.

6.0
Sound
Song list was stolen from B-sides of Myst.

7.0
Gameplay
Some minor interface tweaks would help, like a combined-dice indicator for the checkers. But hey, it’s backgammon.

7.0
Lasting Appeal
Xbox Live, 12 achievements and 200 gamer points.

6.8
Passable
OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

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