ankigammon 1.0.0

Convert eXtreme Gammon backgammon analysis into Anki flashcards

AnkiGammon

A graphical application for converting backgammon positions into Anki flashcards. Analyze positions from eXtreme Gammon, OpenGammon, or GNU Backgammon and create smart study cards.

Features

• Modern GUI interface - Easy-to-use graphical application, no command-line needed
• Multiple position format support - XGID (eXtreme Gammon), OGID (OpenGammon), and GNUID (GNU Backgammon)
• Direct XG export support - Copy/paste positions from eXtreme Gammon
• Smart rendering - Automatic board image generation from position IDs
• Automatic format detection - Paste any supported format, the app detects it automatically
• Two export methods:
  • AnkiConnect: Push directly to Anki (recommended)
  • APKG: Self-contained package for manual import
• Customizable appearance - 6 color schemes and board orientation options
• Complete analysis - Top 5 moves with equities and error calculations

Installation

Standalone Executable (Recommended)

Windows:

1. Run build_executable.bat to create ankigammon.exe
2. Double-click to run - no Python installation needed!

macOS/Linux:

1. Run ./build_executable.sh to create ankigammon
2. Run from terminal: ./dist/ankigammon - no Python installation needed!
3. macOS first run: Right-click → Open (or allow in System Settings → Privacy & Security)

Development Install

For developers who want to run from source:

git clone https://github.com/Deinonychus999/AnkiGammon.git
cd AnkiGammon
pip install -e .  # Install in editable mode
python -m ankigammon  # Launches the GUI

Usage

1. Launch the application - Double-click ankigammon.exe (Windows) or run ./ankigammon (macOS/Linux)
2. Paste positions - Copy analysis from eXtreme Gammon (Ctrl+C) and paste into the application
3. Configure settings - Choose color scheme, board orientation, and export method in Settings
4. Generate cards - Click "Generate Cards" to create Anki flashcards

Getting Positions from eXtreme Gammon

1. In eXtreme Gammon, analyze a position
2. Press Ctrl+C to copy the full analysis
3. Paste into AnkiGammon's input area
4. Click "Generate Cards"

Example XG export format:

XGID=---BBBBAAA---Ac-bbccbAA-A-:1:1:-1:63:4:3:0:5:8

X:Player 2   O:Player 1
Score is X:3 O:4 5 pt.(s) match.
 [phone]------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
 |          O  O  O |   | O  O  O  O       |
 ...

    1. XG Roller+  11/8 11/5                    eq:+0.589
      Player:   79.46% (G:17.05% B:0.67%)
      Opponent: 20.54% (G:2.22% B:0.06%)

Supported Position Formats

AnkiGammon supports three backgammon position ID formats, with automatic detection:

XGID (eXtreme Gammon ID) - Primary Format

Format: XGID=PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP:CV:CP:T:D:S1:S2:CJ:ML:MC

The standard XG format with 9 colon-separated fields including position, cube state, dice, and match info.

Example:

XGID=---BBBBAAA---Ac-bbccbAA-A-:1:1:-1:63:4:3:0:5:8

OGID (OpenGammon Position ID) - Alternative Format

Format: P1:P2:CUBE[:DICE[:TURN[:STATE[:S1[:S2[:ML[:MID[:NCHECKERS]]]]]]]]

Human-readable base-26 encoding with optional metadata fields. More verbose but easier to understand.

Example:

cccccggggg:ddddiiiiii:N0N:63:W:IW:4:3:7:1:15

GNUID (GNU Backgammon ID) - GnuBG Format

Format: PositionID:MatchID (Base64 encoded)

Compact format used by GNU Backgammon. 14-character Position ID + 12-character Match ID.

Example:

4HPwATDgc/ABMA:8IhuACAACAAE

GNUID fully supports position encoding and decoding, including all checker positions, bars, cube state, and match metadata.

Format Detection

The application automatically detects which format you're using. Just paste your position and AnkiGammon will handle it:

• XGID: Detected by XGID= prefix
• OGID: Detected by base-26 pattern with colons
• GNUID: Detected by base64 pattern

You can mix formats in the same input - each position can use a different format!

Export Methods

AnkiConnect (Recommended)

Push cards directly to running Anki through the GUI:

• Install AnkiConnect addon
• Keep Anki running while generating cards
• Cards appear instantly in your deck

APKG

Generate a package file for manual import:

• Select "APKG" in Settings
• Import into Anki: File → Import → Select the .apkg file
• Useful for offline card generation

Card Format

Each position becomes one Anki card:

Front:

• Board image showing the position
• Metadata: player on roll, dice, score, cube, match length
• Multiple choice: 5 candidate moves (labeled A-E, shuffled)
• Optional text move descriptions

Back:

• Position image and metadata
• Ranked table of top 5 moves with equity and error
• Correct answer highlighted
• Source position ID for reference

Customization Options

The GUI Settings dialog provides:

• Color Schemes: Choose from 6 built-in themes (Classic, Forest, Ocean, Desert, Sunset, Midnight)
• Board Orientation: Counter-clockwise or Clockwise orientation
• Deck Name: Customize your Anki deck name
• Show Move Options: Toggle text move descriptions on card front
• Interactive Moves: Enable/disable move visualization
• Export Method: Choose between AnkiConnect or APKG output

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect to Anki-Connect"

• Install AnkiConnect addon: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2055492159
• Make sure Anki is running
• Check firewall isn't blocking localhost:8765

"No decisions found in input"

• Ensure input includes position ID lines (XGID, OGID, or GNUID format)
• Make sure move analysis includes equity values (eq:)
• Copy the full position from XG (press Ctrl+C)
• For GNUID format: Consider using XGID or OGID instead due to known limitations

Application won't start

• Windows: Check Windows Defender isn't blocking the executable
• macOS: Right-click → Open, or remove quarantine with xattr -cr ankigammon
• Linux: Ensure execute permissions with chmod +x ankigammon

For Developers

Building the Executable

Quick Build:

Windows:

build_executable.bat

macOS/Linux:

chmod +x build_executable.sh
./build_executable.sh

The executable will be in the dist/ folder.

Manual Build (if script doesn't work):

Windows:

# Install PyInstaller
pip install pyinstaller

# Clean previous builds
rmdir /s /q build dist

# Build
pyinstaller ankigammon.spec

macOS/Linux:

# Install PyInstaller
pip3 install pyinstaller

# Clean previous builds
rm -rf build dist

# Build
pyinstaller ankigammon.spec

# Remove quarantine attribute (macOS only)
xattr -cr dist/ankigammon

Testing the Build

Windows:

# Test the GUI launches
cd dist
ankigammon.exe

macOS/Linux:

# Test the GUI launches
cd dist
./ankigammon

Project Structure

• ankigammon/ - Main package code
  • parsers/ - XG text format parsers
  • renderer/ - Board image generation (SVG-based)
  • anki/ - Anki card generation and export
  • utils/ - Position format encoding/decoding (XGID, OGID, GNUID)
  • gui/ - GUI components and format detection
• tests/ - Unit tests (includes tests for all three formats)
• ankigammon.spec - PyInstaller configuration for GUI build
• build_executable.bat/.sh - Build scripts

Settings Storage

User preferences (color scheme, deck name, board orientation, etc.) are automatically saved to:

• Windows: C:\Users\YourName\.ankigammon\config.json
• macOS: ~/.ankigammon/config.json
• Linux: ~/.ankigammon/config.json

Settings persist across application restarts, even when using the standalone executable.

Troubleshooting Build Issues

ImportError during build:

• Add missing module to hiddenimports in ankigammon.spec

"Module not found" when running executable:

• Check the module is in hiddenimports
• Try: pyinstaller --collect-all ankigammon ankigammon.spec

Executable too large:

• Remove unused dependencies from requirements.txt
• Add more items to excludes in ankigammon.spec

Executable won't run:

• Test on clean machine without Python installed
• Check Windows Defender / antivirus isn't blocking it
• Look at build warnings: pyinstaller ankigammon.spec > build.log 2>&1

Platform-Specific Issues:

Windows:

• Some antivirus software may flag PyInstaller executables as suspicious (false positive)
• Users may need to add an exception in their antivirus
• To reduce false positives: Sign executable with code signing certificate

macOS:

• First run may show "cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer"
• Solution 1: Right-click executable → Open → Open anyway
• Solution 2: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Allow anyway
• Solution 3: Remove quarantine: xattr -cr dist/ankigammon
• For distribution: Sign with Apple Developer certificate and notarize

Linux:

• Ensure executable has execute permissions: chmod +x ankigammon
• May need to install dependencies on minimal systems: sudo apt install libxcb1

Requirements

• Python 3.8+ (for development install only)
• Dependencies automatically installed via pip install .: genanki, requests, beautifulsoup4, lxml, PySide6, qtawesome
• For standalone executable: No requirements - Python and all dependencies are bundled

Legal

Third-Party Software

This application uses several LGPL-licensed components:

• PySide6 (LGPL-3.0) - Qt framework Python bindings for the GUI
• xgdatatools (LGPL-2.1) - Modules for parsing eXtreme Gammon binary file formats

See THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.md for complete license information and attributions for all dependencies.

Trademarks

• "eXtreme Gammon" and "XG" are registered trademarks of GameSite 2000 Ltd.
• "Anki" is a trademark of Ankitects Pty Ltd
• "Qt" is a trademark of The Qt Company Ltd.
• GNU Backgammon is part of the GNU Project

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by the creators of eXtreme Gammon, Anki, Qt, GNU Backgammon, or any other mentioned software.

Position Format Specifications

• XGID format specification is publicly documented by eXtreme Gammon (GameSite 2000 Ltd.) with explicit permission for redistribution: "This information can freely redistributed"
• XG binary format parsing is implemented using xgdatatools (LGPL-2.1) by Michael Petch, based on Delphi data structures provided by Xavier Dufaure de Citres
• GNUID format is documented in the GNU Backgammon manual (GPL-3.0 project); our implementation is original code that reads/writes this format without incorporating GPL code

All position encoding/decoding implementations in this project are original code, except for the xgdatatools modules used for XG binary file parsing.

License

AnkiGammon is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.