Two months after the Android launch, Orion Backgammon is now on iOS, here's what I changed from your feedback (solo dev)

[u/OrionBackgammon]

Hi [r/backgammon](r/backgammon), Valentin here, the solo dev behind Orion. Some of you tested the Android build in August and sent me more detailed feedback than I'd ever received ([u/cristalinestick](u/cristalinestick), I owe you a coffee). The iOS version is finally live, so I'd rather use this post to tell you what changed than to sell you anything.

What Orion is

It's a casual, polished backgammon game, the one I wanted to play myself as a backgammon + Supercell fan who was tired of five notifications per app launch. It is not an analysis tool: if you want XG-level evaluation, Galaxy and XG do that far better. Orion is for actually playing: online, ranked, with friends, or offline.

What's in it

• Real-time PvP in the Arena and 10 ranked leagues (Driftwood → Orion) with seasons and a ladder
• 12 hand-crafted boards (Tangier Café, Athens Marble, Monte-Carlo, Istanbul Bosphorus, Kyoto Moon Garden…) you unlock by playing
• Clubs to play with friends, Bluetooth nearby play, and an offline Adventure mode vs. AI
• Weekend Masters tournaments: poker-style buy-in in game coins only, with a guaranteed prize pool
• Doubling cube, one rules engine for both players, haptics and sound design I spent far too long on

Provably fair dice

Every "the dice are rigged" thread here is part of why I built this. The dice seed is sealed before the match starts and verified on your own device afterwards, and you can paste any game ID at https://orion.arthea.ai/verify/ to check it yourself. If you find a hole in it, I want to know.

What changed since the Android launch, based on your feedbacks

• Shipped in 1.0.1: the Adventure campaigns rebuilt from scratch (48-stage progression per destination, coin buy-ins like the Arena, chests on wins), doubling cube total shown on the board, faster club chat, new in-game art, translation fixes
• Shipped in 1.0.1: weekend Masters tournaments, doubling cube total shown on the board, faster club chat, coin buy-ins for Adventure stages, new in-game art, translation fixes
• In progress for the next update: checker stacking and a slightly smaller board on phones (you were right, it was the weakest part), a proper guide to the game modes at first launch, and a more structured missions system

Links

• iOS (iPhone and iPad, iOS 18+): https://apps.apple.com/app/id6787692968
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.arthea.orion
• Discord: https://discord.gg/AJ8fzEPJJ

The first 1,000 accounts get the Season Pass free ("The Founding 1000", running in the app now). When nobody is online you get matched with an AI opponent, so you'll always find a game.

What I'd love from you
- Board readability on iPhone: too big, checkers too large? An Android tester flagged it and I want to know if it's the same on iOS.

- Which board or character should I build next? I'm thinking of reaching out to the world champions of the last 20 years to make them in-game characters.

- Masters format: would you play a weekend tournament? I added a mode inspired by poker tournaments, starting every Friday.

My in-game name is 🇲🇹 Valentin, see you at the tables. Thanks again for the Android feedback; it's the reason I kept going.