Party Gammon
Party Gammon comes from the same brand as Party Poker which has established quite the reputation for itself as one of the most popular Poker sites globally (at least until the brand was outlawed from capturing the US market). The Party brand has since expanded into Backgammon to create the Party Gammon site. With a name and reputation like this behind Party Gammon, players can’t help but have high expectations.
Party Gammon doesn’t really fail to meet players’ expectations, though they don’t necessarily provide the best Backgammon experience that’s available online. The quality of the software is decent, though more like the rest of the Party Poker brand with graphic features being more cartoonish than realistic. It’s also not the best design software for a Backgammon room, though the gaming experience itself doesn’t actually leave much to be desired.
Games and Tournaments
Party Gammon offers a little bit of everything as part of their game variety. All are available directly from the main Game Lobby on the downloadable software. Players can start off by choosing from single games that are in a variety of different categories based on stakes and player quality. Match games are also available to players who would rather invest a little bit more in their playing time. Real Money games are definitely much busier than the Play Money games at Party Gammon.
Sit and Go Tournaments are constantly taking place at Party Gammon, they’re featured in different speeds with different stakes. Personally, I like the fast Sit and Go Tournaments personally, but the faster “blitz” level really seem to fill up the most at this Backgammon Room.
Regular scheduled event tournaments do also take place at Party Gammon, and once thing that makes Party Gammon unique is that there are special tournaments open even to players who are only playing for fun, and haven’t made a deposit. Each of these tournaments have set buy-ins and require players to register in advance in order to start playing. Party Gammon does also have high roller tournaments for those who want to spend big (even when playing with fun money only!) so there is something for every player. When I visited the first time, I was only logged in with a fun money account, but I like Backgammon more for the fun, not for the gambling, so I like to set the stakes a little bit lower!
Software and Registration
One thing that Party Gammon really has going for it is that the software is fast to install, and the registration only takes a couple of minutes. You can visit the website and start playing in under 10 minutes, which is awesome for those who struggle with patience. The software itself is fairly basic. It’s easy for those who are looking for something that’s user-friendly without all of the bells and whistles. But personally I found that it’s almost too simple.
Players can view all events for Real Money and Play Money games from the same Game Lobby. In the Game Lobby, players simply choose from Single games, Matches or Tournaments in order to see what games are taking place at any given time.
The graphics of the game board itself are less realistic, and more cartoonish, but those who have played at any other brands from Party Gaming are accustomed to this already. Gameplay itself is as too be expected; it’s smooth and functional. All the standard features are available!
Promotions
Party Gammon offers 50% bonus on the first deposit using the bonus code GAMMON50 to all the players who haven’t tried Party Gammon yet. After becoming a real customer, I will be able to participate on other regular player promotions such as 50-seat Frenzy.
Party Gammon is part of t he Party Points system, however, which does give players possible perks such as merchandise in exchange for Party Points earned from playing Backgammon.
There’s also a refer a friend bonus which gives players a small incentive if they refer someone who signs up and joins. These are all great features, though it’s a little bit disappointing that there’s no welcome bonus to get new players started off and increase their bankroll.
Customer Support and Tutorials
The tutorials are one area where Party Gammon excels. Initially, they did not provide a school which has really become a staple of Backgammon sites. I think this is such an important feature since Backgammon is really a newer trend online and those that are familiar with the game offline aren’t necessarily used to the different gaming structure. It’s not built into the software itself, which is kind of a good thing, because even players who haven’t signed up to play at Party Gammon specifically can learn a few tricks of the trade!
Party Gammon’s Customer Support does not really live up to standards. It’s got multiple email addresses depending upon the type of inquiries that players have, and toll-free phone numbers for players around the world. The problem is that it’s lacking Live Chat, which is an important feature to most players like me who appreciate immediate response when playing online!
What they do offer that somewhat makes up for the Live Chat is an FAQ document that players can search through to get more answers to their questions or concerns. It’s great for players who have a help yourself kind of attitude!
Conclusion
Party Gammon has a big reputation to live up to, and in some ways they fall flat. No Live Chat, a software that has no bells or whistles, not very realistic graphics and lacking promotions are just a few things that many players look for that are not available here. On the other hand, it is a reputable name, a software with great playability, and players can use the same account to try out the other Party brand sites.
