Backgammon Blitz

Game Info

With the influx of indie titles and other lower priced downloadable only games, board games seem to fit in the mold greatly.  Whenever they released a monopoly, scrabble or something similar back in the day, I would look at the full priced retail box and cringe.  Fast-forward to today’s cheaper downloadable only titles and these are almost must haves in the collection.  Not only do you get to store them on your console and have access at the touch of a button, there is not lengthy set-up or breakdown and storage of the games.

Backgammon Blitz is the second board game title that I have had the pleasure of playing from VooFoo Studios.  I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve never, ever played a single game of Backgammon and by the thorough tutorial that I played through at the start-up of the title, I imagine VooFoo was banking on this as well.  By the end of the well put together tutorial I was ready to take on the computer opponent and put my newly acquired skills to the test.  The computer proved to be a worthy adversary but I quickly caught on and was able to start collecting wins.  I decided that I was good enough at this point to test my skills online.  Big mistake.  So after a few butt whoopings, I caught on to the fact that Backgammon has some strategy to it and that practice will make you a better player, especially practicing against some quality online opponents and studying their game.

The Blitz mode is a “new” version of the game where you can use power-ups that are either purchased using real money via the PlayStation Store or earning the in-game Bullions from playing and winning games.  This mode adds a twist to the classic game but makes it feel cheap.  If your opponent has better power-ups it puts you at a disadvantage.  You are able to use up to three a round and they include the ability to freeze pieces, swap pieces with your opponent and others that will spice up the game.  The mode isn’t bad but to me, takes away the core experience.

Graphically, VooFoo has these games down to a science.  Just like Pure Chess, Backgammon Blitz is beautiful.  I would give Pure Chess the edge though, as Backgammon Blitz doesn’t have the creative backgrounds and game pieces that Pure Chess brought to the table.  The music is okay at best, not getting too monotonous, but at the same time nothing memorable or really adding anything special to the game.

The Recommendation

This is a great family game hands down.  VooFoo Studios has done a great job translating the board game genre to the big screen and making it work.  Local multiplayer and online player is a must for the genre and they have tackled both perfectly.  The Blitz mode is mediocre at best but doesn’t ruin the main experience.  This is a worthy purchase to put in your collection next to Pure Chess.  Now let’s just get some Monopoly going on and we can talk.