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Play65/GammonEmpire--Review

From:   Tom Keith
Address:   tom@bkgm.com
Date:   21 September 2005
Subject:   Review of Play65
Forum:   rec.games.backgammon
Google:   SIidnc-1D5hDO6zeRVn-1w@rogers.com

I have just written a review of Play65.com.  You can read it
at http://www.bkgm.com/articles/Review/Play65/index.html
This review will be useful if you are considering playing
online at Play65.com (or GammonEmpire.com, which is basically
the same thing).

Play65 offers online play for fun or for real money.  They
advertise on my backgammon site, but I have tried to keep the
review as objective as possible.

Tom Keith
Backgammon Galore!
http://www.bkgm.com

Grunty  writes:

Tom, thanks for the review. Just a few questions:

* Are a series of "single" games recordable as a "session" for unified
  analysis?  I find this feature very useful as an evaluation tool.

* Can you change the graphical appearance of the board, checkers,
  dice, i.e. colors, visual effects, etc.?  I find the look shown very
  natural, but also boring (much like about women, if you get me...).

* Can you change the playing direction?  I find this feature pretty
  useless, but anyway...

* Can you chat with your opponent? with the players being watched?
  I'm not chatty at all, but from time to time I feel compelled to laugh
  a bit at what I see...

Tom Keith  writes:

> Are a series of "single" games recordable as a "session"?

Each game is saved in a separate file.  If you want GnuBG to analyze
them in one unit, you have to copy and paste the files together.

> Can you change the graphical appearance of the board?

No.

> Can you change the playing direction?

No.

> Can you chat with your opponent? with the players being watched?

Yes, you can chat with your opponent and with watchers, but there's no
chat in the lobby.

Tom

Angela  writes:

Hello Tom,

Nice review. I would like to add a pro and a couple of cons for the
benefit of new players to Ply65.

You said that when you withdrew $20 it appeared in your Paypal account
in two and a half days. I think the timeframe for their withdrawals is
very poor.  I have deposited money several times from my Neteller
account and it goes into my Play65 account almost  immediately (it only
takes about 5 seconds). But when i make a withdrawal to my Neteller
account it takes four full days to appear every single time. This is far
too long considering other online gaming sites such as PartyPoker only
take an hour or so to credit my withdrawal back into my Neteller
account.

The board view is 3D with larger pieces closer to your side and
smaller pieces on the other side (like looking across into the
distance). It shouldn't be too difficult to give an option of a 2D
board to play on, such as a Fibs view or a Jellyfish view (or even a
birds eye view come to think of it).

If you refer the site to a friend and they sign up then they receive a
free $20 and you receive a free $10 credited to your account when they
make an initial deposit, so if any of your friends are considering
joining then take advantage of this bonus.

And then there is the problem of the random dice generator which
always gives my opponent the exact numbers they need to hit me with a
fly shot and cover the blot in their home board - but i'll leave that
story for another time when im broke and destitute.

Angela.
 
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