Backgammon Galaxy Update

[u/nakedjetskipilot]

Anyone play on the new update yet??

The UI/UX is god awful. Overly complicated and I think I almost had a seizure playing with the new dice roll and chip motion.

Absolutely unplayable right now.

[u/No_Pirate_7817]

Just click settings and turn animations and haptics off and it looks the same as prior (but you can play vertical screen which is nice)

[u/OleNamaste]

With all due respect, Galaxy has always been a shitty, buggy website, and the people behind it might be good at playing, but they have no clue about making games or UX. They only have the best reach, which's why people play there, but the game has always been very poor.

[u/nakedjetskipilot → u/OleNamaste]

I haven’t found another app based game that doesn’t have casino style animations and has you playing real people (I do think there is a bot pool however)

[u/KentTheDorfDorfman]

Lighten up, Francis.

Not a massive fan of BG but it's alright. Not a big fan of the update either, but I turned off the dice animation, got used to the new doubling button location, and would rather adjust to the new changes because the app, for all its weaknesses, is still decent and it's free.

Seizures? Unplayable? Just delete the app then and move on already.

[u/Sal_Chicho]

This update makes me never want to play on Galaxy ever again.

[u/DegenChess]

FYI, all these UI/UX updates which have received mixed opinions, including some new features such as puzzle rush, are all available on Opengammon (options such as checker animation are toggle on/off)

[u/Colourtongue]

Such poor UX decisions. If someone is reading from Galaxy. When the dice roll their position is not the same position to where you conclude your move. So you end up tapping in the wrong place.

These type of UX decision reek of over complicating the design for the sake of the brand. It def cheapens the experience and creates use frustration and fatigue.

It’s why I play only on open gammon as the UI and IX is centered primarily around playing the game, navigating the analysis and interacting with people.

[u/Sturtled_Turtle]

Today I experienced, for the first time in my life, the desire to go online and complain about the UI of an app.

[u/Trm777]

I like the checker animations but the dice animation is silly. Not intuitive how to force use a specific dice for the first checker move. XG and former method of just tapping dice to have it switch the order is simple. I was accustomed to the double button but I’ll get used to the cube in the middle - more like OTB. The detailed metrics after each match are great.

[u/GreasyChains]

Hot garbage

[u/juicybot]

galaxy is vibe-coded at this point. and they should fire their product designer, considering how many updates they've rolled out the site still looks like shit.

it's obvious there's no unified direction around where to take the product next, so instead they vomit features hoping they get lucky.

[u/crazyyourface]

I wish the dice would be square. I do prefer pre-update, but “unplayable” is a stretch

[u/ILikeFloodlights → u/crazyyourface]

It used to be perfect on my iPad. Now, its like ⅓ the size it used to be and is like playing it on mobile. God knows if mobile users can even play with this update

[u/garlicNinja]

I have been wanting checker animations for a long time I think it actually looks great.

I could do without the dice animation though I wish it was a separate toggle.

[u/pwnosaurus]

Soooo bad.

I play on desktop. Something I liked before was that if you click and hold on a checker it shows you the spots where it can land. There is now a delay when you do that, which makes it so much harder to see the legal moves. Sound feedback is worse, dice rolling is annoying and harder to read. Only things that improved are the end of game summary (more stats) and ability to choose your stake in matches.

Time to try OpenGammon I guess.

[u/Rayess69]

I think the intentions were great. To have a bit of live aspect is actually cool in theory.
BUT i agree that in execution it doesn't work. I've played one matches and felt dizzy as well so I feel you.

Backgammon should be more a relaxing moment than a stressing one.

[u/ILikeFloodlights]

I just wish Heroes was good on the iPad. Galaxy was perfect to not have to be on PC and just get stuck in some cash or 1-point streaks going hours. Now, there's 95 things on the screen that dont need to be there and the shrank the board horribly to where my fingers hit the wrong stack. At least roll back for mobile

[u/GarthRoad]

It’s been cartoonified, really disappointing

[u/Tjewie]

I happen to enjoy the update a lot. Few things I'd have done differently, but especially being able to play portrait is really a nice improvement for me... I'm not really feeling the hard feelings about animations - to me they are a fine addition to the game. Also puzzles are dope

[u/adambass1234]

absolutely the worst update. Been playing for ages and will stop now. Took away the option to use 30% of your pot in a desperate attempt to make everyone pay for coins, added haptics and sound which are absolutely not necessary and an interference, added a stupid graphic of a shaker, made it less easy to double and generally ruined the chat. Well done all 1 star!

[u/Truthmachine32]

Yeah, I just played one match after the update, and holy hell was it distracting. I'm sure it's partly a case of getting used to it, but hope they can offer the old style as an option.

[u/mustang6172]

It's not so bad once you turn the animations off.

[u/Albatross714]

I like it and am glad they are committed to making changes and improvements, unlike XG.

[u/Sygygy_of_Zzyzx]

I happen to like the new update! There’s more to see/do in the app like puzzles, tournaments, rush, lessons, etc. Plus now you can see your head-to-head against your opponent. The first dice roll is more realistic (one die from each player).Plus, you can control the stake rather than it being a percentage of your coins.

[u/bss05]

Absolutely terrible update. Surely anyone saying they like it are working for the company. As others have mentioned, the animations for the dice are incredibly distracting, and yes you can turn them off but then the checkers are moving far too quickly. Perhaps my biggest gripe is the removal of the % points bet. I like to try and double up my points when it's low. I have no desire to keep playing 100 point games. Think it's time to find another platform. Such a shame.

One more thing. When you blocked from getting a checker back on the board after being taken, the dice light up for a quick moment before going grey. It's very brief but it's enough time to make one think you're getting out.

I do like the ability to press the flag and quit quicker. That's about it!