DailyGammon: The Home of Correspondence Backgammon

DailyGammon is the quiet institution of online backgammon: a free, web-based service for correspondence play, often described as "a mixture of letter chess and backgammon". Players need never be online at the same time; a match unfolds move by move over days, weeks or months. It is still active in 2026, still free, and widely regarded as the home of correspondence backgammon — this page treats it as the living community it is, at dailygammon.com.

Platform	Active years	Founder/Owner	Model	Status
DailyGammon	Launch year not reliably documented (player threads from 2005; interface suggests early-2000s origins) – present	Founder not reliably documented	Free; no money play	Active

1. Origins, honestly stated

DailyGammon's launch year and founder are not reliably documented. Active player threads survive from 2005, and the interface style suggests early-2000s origins — and that is precisely as much as can be said with confidence. In an encyclopedia full of well-dated launches and closures, DailyGammon's undocumented beginnings are almost part of its character: a site that simply appeared, worked, and kept working.

2. How correspondence backgammon works

DailyGammon is a pure web application — no download, no plugin. When it is your turn in a match, you log in, see the position, and move; your opponent does the same on their own schedule. Matches therefore run from days to months, and players typically maintain many games at once. A "computer guessing" feature predicts your likely premove to speed play along. Third-party mobile clients extend the site to phones — DG Mobile on Android and a free iOS app, both updated recently, which is itself evidence the service is alive as of 2026.

The rhythm is the opposite of the real-time servers documented elsewhere on this site, from FIBS to the original GamesGrid: correspondence play trades adrenaline for reflection. (The present-day GamesGrid, relaunched in 2026, is unaffiliated with that original server.)

3. Ratings

DailyGammon rates continuously using the FIBS rating formula — a direct inheritance from the first Internet backgammon server. Observed ratings range from roughly 1300 to above 2100, spanning improving beginners to genuinely elite players.

4. Tournaments and variants

Competition is DailyGammon's engine. Many single-elimination tournaments run concurrently, spanning four to nine rounds with match lengths from 1 to 21 points, and users organise private tournaments of their own; third-party services offer alternative tournament formats besides. The site also supports Nackgammon, the popular variant with a deeper starting position, giving that game one of its principal online homes. A forum rounds out the site's social layer.

5. The community

Thousands of players use DailyGammon, including some top players, and the site has a long-standing reputation for an unusually friendly atmosphere — a claim made about many communities but earned by few. It is free throughout, with no money play of any kind, which places it alongside SafeHarbor Games in the surviving free tradition of online backgammon. For players who want serious, rated competition without a clock ticking, DailyGammon has no real rival; those new to the game can prepare with our learning resources.

Frequently asked questions about DailyGammon

Is DailyGammon still active?

Yes. The site remains active and free in 2026, and its third-party Android and iOS clients have been updated recently.

How is DailyGammon different from other backgammon sites?

It is correspondence (turn-based) play: opponents need never be online simultaneously, and matches run over days to months — "a mixture of letter chess and backgammon".

When was DailyGammon founded and by whom?

Neither the launch year nor the founder is reliably documented. Player threads date from 2005 and the interface style suggests early-2000s origins.