Game Modes

JustGammon offers several ways to play or watch backgammon. You must sign in and complete your profile before joining a game.

Play Game

Select Play Game to enter online matchmaking. JustGammon pairs you with another player and opens the board when the game is ready.

If you already have an active game, the home screen offers Rejoin Game or Continue instead. You can also leave that game from its status card.

An online game counts as one game for each player after both players complete their first move.

Waiting-player announcements

When a player creates a public game and waits for an opponent, eligible signed-in users can see a message such as Andra is waiting for an opponent., with three short beeps if interface sounds are enabled. These live in-app alerts can also play while JustGammon is minimized or in a background tab, provided the browser or mobile system keeps it running and allows audio. They are not system push notifications. Each new waiting event can announce the same player again.

When you have no active game, the Play Game button shows when someone is waiting and starts online matchmaking directly when selected. To see who is waiting before choosing, open Play Against Bot: if a player is waiting, a dialog shows their name and lets you choose between playing them or continuing with the bot. Opening Spectator gives a brief spoken reminder when Available-player alerts is enabled. These reminders do not reserve the waiting player, and no reminder appears when nobody is waiting.

For example, if you receive an announcement while playing against a bot or spectating, you can check again a few seconds later by pressing L with board focus or activating the bottom edge of the board. If someone is still waiting, finish or leave your current game, then select Play Game to enter online matchmaking. The check reports who is currently waiting, which may be a different person from the original announcement. See Checking for a waiting player for the full controls and possible results.

Neither the alert nor the manual check joins a game automatically or reserves an opponent for you. Availability may change before you join.

Waiting-player indicators update when someone starts or stops waiting. With Available-player alerts enabled, a live stop event followed by confirmation that nobody is waiting produces a brief Andra is no longer waiting. or Andra is playing with Mihai. toast and confirmation sound, provided a waiting player was previously displayed. This can also occur in the background while the app keeps running. The message names the previously displayed waiting player and, when provided, their opponent. It applies only to public matchmaking, not private PIN games or challenges. Indicators also refresh silently when you enter the relevant screen, the live connection connects or reconnects, or you return to the tab or app. There is no recurring waiting-list check; a missed update can leave an indicator outdated until the next refresh. Press L with board focus or activate the bottom edge for a fresh manual check. Selecting Play Game always uses the server’s current matchmaking state.

To disable these announcements, open Settings → Notifications → Available-player alerts. See Available-player alerts for eligibility, sound controls, and history behavior.

Private Game

Private games use a numeric game PIN.

Create a private game

1. Select Private Game.
2. Select Create Private Game.
3. Share the displayed PIN with the person you want to play.
4. Keep the game open while you wait for the other player.

Join a private game

1. Select Private Game.
2. Select Join Private Game.
3. Enter the PIN supplied by the creator.
4. Select Join Game.

The PIN must match a private game that is still waiting for an opponent.

A private game counts as one game for each participating player after both players complete their first move.

Play Against Bot

Select Play Against Bot, choose whether you want to play as White or Black, and select a difficulty:

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

You can change your preferred human color and the bot’s dice-roll and move delays under More → Settings → Bot settings.

A bot game counts as one game after you and the bot have both completed your first move.

Spectator

The Spectator menu has two options:

• Public games lists games that are available to watch. Refresh the list if no game is shown.
• Watch Bot Game starts a bot-versus-bot game and asks how quickly the bots should play.

Spectators can follow the board, game history, score, and available game information, but cannot roll dice or move checkers. Spectator mode never consumes games.

If someone is waiting for a public opponent, a small waiting-player button appears while you watch. Activate it to keep watching or leave spectator mode and enter online matchmaking. Starting the online game may use one of your available games.

Players and spectators can press K with board focus to hear the current spectator count and names and see them in an information toast. If you are spectating, your name is marked “you”. If nobody is watching, the message says so.

Spectators can also send chat messages and reactions to the players and other spectators in the same game. Messages identify the sender as White, Black, or Spectator. Players can choose Mute spectator chat to hide spectator messages and reactions on their own device without removing anyone from the game. See Chat and spectators.

Matches

JustGammon games are played as matches to 3 points. A game awards:

• 1 point for a single win
• 2 points for a gammon
• 3 points for a backgammon

When a game ends before the target score is reached, both players can choose to continue the match. See Backgammon Rules.

Each individual backgammon game in the match is counted separately. Continuing with a rematch starts a new game. See Purchases and Billing for the complete consumption rules.