2018-09-19 21:06:53

After six mounths of hard work, I launched last night a Backgammon game usable by everybody, having a normal interface and being totally accessible for blind users. It has many caracteristics from my old BGT variant.

JustGammon is a backgammon game with many options and features.
Now it can be played locally, two persons on the same device and against Computer AI.
In next versions we'll add also on-line games.

Choose how you want to play in Manager: Local games, Computer AI games.

- Simply click a checker to take it in hand, and click a position on the board to put it according to the thrown dice.
- Click long a checker to remove it.

JustGammon has a lot of features like: sounds for different actions, statistics for a game and also for all played games, many settings to be a very customizable game and others.

This version of backgammon game is available also for Android TV.
It is fully accessible also for blind users using a screen reader.

It is available in English, Romanian and Russian languages.

All information about the game play, available settings, statistics and others are available at www.justgammon.com - our website.

The Google Play Store page can be found at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta … backgammon

Thanks for an eventual rating of 5* (stars), it would help me to bring the game in top of the results list when searching a backgammon game in Google Play Store.

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-09-19 21:45:16

thanks a lot, i am so happy, i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just a question: if you add online modes to the game is it going to work from a main server? or can we host our own servers?

best regards
never give up on what ever you are doing.

2018-09-19 22:27:39

Great job as always Manu. I would like to translate your game, if nobody contacted you about the Serbian translation already. About to give 5 stars to your app!

2018-09-19 23:07:16

To Ashleygrobler04:
I will implement Google Play Games Services, no need of your server, not port forwarding and such kind of stuff.

To Nidza07:
It was not enough time for anyone to contact me for a translation. Russian version was done by Alexander Kozlovskiy, a beta tester from Belarus.
I can send the strings.xml file for translation, but it will be very difficult without talking a little about it, there are a lot of plural resources, arrays of strings and other.
Send me an E-mail and I will attach the file.

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-09-19 23:30:16

No problem. I will  email you soon and we can talk about it. Just curious, what are the benefits of buying the premium version? just had a match, or more precisely got owned by the AI as I didn't play backgammon in quite a bit smile

2018-09-20 02:11:19

Premium Version just removes the Google Ads at this moment. Sometimes Google ads are annoying during the game. But everything is ok with the standard version too.

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-09-20 05:20:22

thank you! i'm downloading it!

2018-09-20 11:58:10

I thought so as that's what it says in the app, but it also said it offers additional features, but maybe that's something for the future.

2018-09-24 09:25:43

Hi.
Thanks for this game.
Back gammon is very popular in my country Cyprus and I want to learn to play this game.
However I have got some comments.
I can understand during game play that the game needs to be in landscape mode because I guess it wouldn't look good otherwise especially for sighted people.
But in other screens such as settings, statistics etc, It would be nice if we can choose if we want landscape or not.

Is it possible to send you by email a history of an unfinished game?
My wife was playing against the computer on easy mode, but we got to a point where we couldn't make any more movements and we were stuck so we had to stop the game without a winner.
I can read the game history on my phone but there isn't a way to send it to you.
Perhaps if I explore the contents of the phone on the computer via usb I will be able to find it but I am not sure.
Anyway congratulations for this game it looks very promising.
You did a nice job.
Nikos

Visit www.freesound.org/people/NikosDemetriou/sounds/ to hear some of my recordings.

2018-09-24 10:00:31

Hi Manu! I tryed to download the game and all was ok but when I try to play the game the app crashes and stops working. I can not iven go in the main menu; when i lounch it talkback say the app has stopped working. I'm using a Samsung j5 2017 with android 7.1 Thanks a lot, however for your games.

Claudio

2018-09-24 23:37:19

Hi Nikos,

I know about a bug in very rare case when the game is frozen. I hope it will be fixed in version 1.1, a next release which will be available soon including also accessible checkers for visually impaired, maybe red and green colors.
If it will be impossible for me to find the arrangement of the board when that bug appears, I will include a method to export a game to simulate it on another device.
I thought that if the game is in landscape anyway, why to have the main menu and other things in portrait? Now I am talking with my designer if we must create an interface for portrait in Main Menu, or for those who use accessibility, to be possible using portrait with current interface.
We must improve many things, the Android TV version and others.
To play against your wife, it is possible and very useful the local mode.
I play sometimes on the same board against another person, now we are also creating a plastic grid to fit the interface, in this way the game will be almost a physical table, you can touch, you can find very quickly a position, the dice and others.
It's a little difficult to play against a sighted person because Talkback is on and he or she is not accustomed with double touch. I am researching for a method to be possible deactivation of explore by touch for a chosen color in settings... In this way, the mode is changed by turn for both persons, sighted versus blind user.

Thanks for your feedback.

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-09-24 23:38:21

Hi Claudio,

It is very strange that your J5 phone which is a good one doesn't load the game. I tested the game on many devices and only a phone like Samsung Ace hasn't sometimes enough memory.
I will check in Google Play Console which kind of error appeared.
Did you try to uninstall and install again the game?
I hope in future an Italian translation, you were a good translator in past… smile

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-09-25 07:53:49

Thanks a lot manu for your reply.
I look forward to the new update.
By the way the sounds in the game are very realistic.
You did a nice job with them.
Nikos

Visit www.freesound.org/people/NikosDemetriou/sounds/ to hear some of my recordings.

2018-09-27 10:25:18

Yes, the sounds were recorded by myself using an iPhone.
Now I am working for small improvements in 1.1, like accessible checkers for those which can not see very well, but don't use a screen reader.

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-10-16 00:11:58

Today, a new version of JustGammon was released.

New in version 1.1.1, released on Monday, October 15, 2018
October 14, 2018: Added games between two Bots. You can watch a demonstrative game.
October 10, 2018: Added portrait orientation. By default the orientation changes automatically, but it can be forced on portrait or landscape in Settings, Visual Settings.
October 2, 2018: Implemented a new set of accessible checkers. These checkers are green and black and can be useful for visually impaired users. To choose these checkers, go in Settings, Accessibility.
September 25, 2018: An information is shown for each border clicked; for instance clicking the upper right border, the dice points needed until bearing off all checkers, the lower left border shows the number of possible moves for current dice.
September 23, 2018: When all checkers were brought to Home Board it is announced also as text ont he screen, not only a sound is played.
There is a check box in Visual Settings to disable this announcement.
September 23, 2018: The TTS Settings module interface was changed. Now there are shown the engines found horizontally on a row on top of the screen (a horizontal scroll view).
September 21, 2018: Fixed a problem with layouts for information before asking permission, at first launch of the game, the text was to closer to the edge of the window..

The on-line version will come soon, I hope...

Emanuel Boboiu
Errare humanum est, sed perseverare... diabolicum.
For other games and programs, visit android.pontes.ro or scripts.pontes.ro!

2018-10-16 09:01:46

Hello! Though I am not an Android user and I've never played the game, I also want to translate it into Italian. However, if Claudio wants to translate it, he, as a native speaker, must have the priority. I can provide help if needed.
However, there is a problem. I found the strings file on the game's website, but I can't download it, cause its content is displayed in the web browser. What can I do?
Another question: Can this kind of files be edited with Notepad PlusPlus?

If you want to get in touch with me, e-mail me at [email protected].
We can also get in touch on Telegram.

2018-10-16 17:15:15 (edited by claudiogaranzini 2018-10-16 17:28:24)

Hi Manu and Florian! I'll try to translate the game as soon as possible! Where to download the strings? Thanks for help! Bye for now!
By the way: for Manu Now the game works perfectly also in my s5 phone; just a great game as all yours. I remember having translated the pc version of Baggamon and it is fantastic; now let's try the Android version. I hope to se a new online mode in a future; it'ld be fantastic!

Claudio

2018-10-16 18:28:37

Hi Florian,
either press ctrl s to save the file and choose where you want to save it, or right click the link to the strings file and choose save link or something similar depending on the browser you use.

2018-10-16 18:52:30 (edited by florianionascu7 2018-10-16 18:56:32)

Hi Claudio, you can download the file from here.

If you want to get in touch with me, e-mail me at [email protected].
We can also get in touch on Telegram.

2018-10-16 18:57:22

nidza07 wrote:

Hi Florian,
either press ctrl s to save the file and choose where you want to save it, or right click the link to the strings file and choose save link or something similar depending on the browser you use.

Thanks for the advice!

If you want to get in touch with me, e-mail me at [email protected].
We can also get in touch on Telegram.

2018-10-17 08:51:20

Hi guys! Just a quick update for Manu: I'm terribly sorry but the games doesn't start using my S5 2017 phone: it let's me start the app, I can iven set my preferences but then, when I start the game itself... My phone doesn't like it and the program crashes; I've uninstalled and then reinstalled, but nothing changes! Sorry about that!

Claudio