I have developed an entirely free and open source multiplayer backgammon service.

You can try it out by visiting https://bgammon.org or by connecting via SSH:

ssh bgammon.org -p 5000

I would very much appreciate help with testing and feedback from anyone who knows how to play backgammon, or is interested in learning. The rules of backgammon are available here:

https://bkgm.com/rules.html

The password prompt is currently non-functional, and private lobbies are not yet available. Otherwise, the service is ready to test out, particularly the accuracy of the backgammon simulation. Because there are no accounts yet, everyone is logged in as a guest.

A terminal-based client is available, and a graphical client is planned. The terminal-based client is available over the web at the link above. This is accomplished by using GoTTY.

Move pieces by dragging them or by clicking a source space and then a destination space. You may make multiple moves by dragging a checker directly to its final destination.

Source code:

• Server: https://code.rocketnine.space/tslocum/bgammon
• Client: https://code.rocketnine.space/tslocum/bgammon-cli

Feel free to contact me directly at trevor@rocket9labs.com with test results and feedback.

After the massive downgrade of Galaxy I appreciate every try to make something new.
But I am afraid as long as checkers are represented by X and O that won't attract many players.
I get a feeling of FIBS nostalgia but I think younger generations request checkers in 2 colours
as a bare minimum.

I'm curious how you intend to deal with cheaters

Thanks. I agree, color is needed to make it appealing to most people. Right now it's a very basic text-based client, I will be starting on a proper graphical client this evening, which will make use of color.

By cheaters, you mean people who use an engine to calculate the best move, right? There isn't any rigorous protection against cheaters in that regard yet, but I have tried to not incentivize people to cheat in any way as there aren't any prizes or points to be won.

Yeah that's precisely what I meant, and well, people will cheat because they can. Chess.com has to ban cheaters all the time, at all ranks.

yeah like the ones on www.zooescape.com who change the url from, say,

https://zooescape.com/backgammon.pl?...777&rng=987654
to

https://zooescape.com/backgammon.pl?...777&rng=987123

Just keep doing that until your dice fit.

I have just released the first version of the graphical client, featuring color!

Try it out and let me know what you think.

https://play.bgammon.org

I only get an empty page apart from:

First line: "loading ..."
Last line: "connecting ..."

It stays like this long-term.

Thanks for letting me know, this should be fixed now. You may need to refresh the page to get the new version.

The board is OK now. But I couldn't play because I was the only one there. I also haven't figured out yet where to set the number of points for the match.