Play 65 - online casino review

Over the last few months we have a seen a sharp increase in the number of companies offering on-line backgammon. The recent US legislation with regard to gambling is likely to drive even more people to backgammon as it is a game of skill rather than pure chance which is what the US is legislating against.

There are a number of factors that you look for in an on-line backgammon site:

The Cost

How much is it going to cost you to play? The sites are not charities and whilst you can play fun games for free you will eventually want to play for money. Sites charge by what is known as a their rake. The Rake is the fee that the sites charge per game or per match for managing the games. This fee is always paid by the winner for both players and can vary from 3 to 5%. Most sites charge more when there is a disparity in skill levels – this discourages better players ‘preying’ on weaker players

The Ease of Transferring Money

Money transfer in and out should be instantaneous from multiple sources and increasingly important is the ability to transfer funds to and from Paypal accounts as these are becoming more and more common.

Ease of Use of the board

How easy is it to move the checkers, double, undo moves, resign etc? It is important to be able to do all of these things quickly and simply.

Board Clarity

The clarity of the board is extremely important. Most boards are now represented in three dimensions rather than two and we have seen the emergence of different styles in the last couple of months.

Clearly differentiated checker colours and clean simplistic lines are becoming the norm.

The Number of People who Use the Site

It is vital to be able to get a game whenever you want against the type of opponent that you want. If you log on and can’t find an opponent you will quickly go elsewhere.

Exporting Games for Analysis

Once you have finished playing you want to be able to export your matches so that you can study them using gnubg or Snowie. Only by analysing your performances can you hope to improve so an export facility is vital.

Fraud Protection

We are all well aware that some people have tried to cheat using gnubg, Snowie or JellyFish so a site must have the necessary software to detect the use of such software. Fraud protection software is absolutely essential for any on-line backgammon site.

Play 65 is one of the best on-line backgammon sites and is extremely popular. How does is stack up against the criteria I have set out above?

Cost:    9/10. Rakes are becoming standardised but Play 65 is still generous with its sign-up bonuses and sometimes adds additional prize money for tournaments.

Money Transfer: 10/10. Easy to use and crucially includes Paypal

Board Use: 9/10. Simple clear and efficient and easy for the first time user.

Board Clarity: 6/10. Its only weakness – the board suffers in comparison to some of the newer sites. I have no doubt this will be upgraded shortly to meet the new standards.

Numbers: 11/10. The most popular site in the world with thousands of players on-line at any one time. You can get a game any time of day or night.

Export: 10/10. Simple export of played games and matches.

Fraud Protection: 10/10. As good as the best with constant refinements in progress.

Overall Rating:  65/70

Summary:

So as we can see at the moment Play 65 rates extremely highly as befits one of the leading sites in the world. Backgammon is on an upward surge at the moment and I am sure we will see increasing refinements to on-line sites. The first site to have an effective on-line chouette will make a fortune. At the moment everyone is struggling to work out how to make a chouette work on-line but I am sure there is a way.

However, for standard play, Play 65 cannot currently be bettered

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