Blackbird!

Look, I know this game has some pretty funky rules, but the makers did a really good job of allowing you to modify. If you are reading this, then you no doubt understand how to play this game. But unless you’re from Medina County Texas, you have no right to consider yourself even an average rook player. I’ve heard this game is played all over the United States, but ain’t nobody out there more diabolical, strategic, or savvy enough to challenge the ancient German Rothe/Rath/Zinsmeyer/Cosgrove/Christopher/Bader/Long/(you aughta catch my drift by now) bloodlines that pass this game down with as much pride as Grand Pappy’s chili recipe. So consider this an open invitation for any of you northern hippies to come try your luck against the true champions. If you accept this invitation called the Pico Gas Station in D’hanis, Texas. Leave your name and phone number, and ask them to put it on the community bulletin board with the simple phrase “Rook Game Wanted” and we will answer the call.

If you like the game of Rook you will love this game! You can set the rules to rook game rules. My biggest and really only complaint is your playing computers and your partner will hold the rook card and cause you to have to waste trump cards and allow opponents to get unnecessary points before playing it. Also, the rook is supposed to be a trump card only! And should not be allowed to be thrown whenever! Only when you don’t have a color and are trumping and whenever trumps lead out. In this game the computer players throw the rook to pull cards when they have the color that was played. The computer that they pair you with is awful and rarely plays point cards when it’s obvious that the opponents are playing a smaller card than the high card that still hasn’t been played. Your partner on this game holds point cards and doesn’t throw them when it’s obvious the opponents are not getting the catch.

Solid rendition of the classic Rook game with tons of rule customization options. The UI is fairly clean (if a touch cramped on a phone screen). Unfortunately the AI struggles with certain common sense plays. Your partner understands feeding you points during the trump bleeding stage, but seems to lose track off trump during the late stages—especially if the other team made trump—and won’t feed you high cards before the other team’s last trump cards kick in. For example, there are two trump cards left with three turns to go. East leads, I play the highest card. North, my partner, doesn’t have suit and plays last—they know I’m taking the trick and I know this is the last trick we can take. They throw out a non-point card, then I see them having to play ones and 14s on the opponent’s trumps. While this type of situation is the most egregious and happens pretty regularly, there are other little quirks to their play that suggests the AI lacks any sort of complex strategy. So this is fine for casual time wasting here and there, and may be as good as we can get absent an official Rook app, but it can definitely be frustrating.