Gin Rummy Classic+

To those who are looking for a fun card game to play within the Apple Arcade section of the App Store, I highly recommend getting this game. This game, unlike the others, allows you experience the fun things about Gin Rummy that no other app includes. This game gives you options to compete against opponents in a slower or faster pace as well as an easy or hard option, which other card games don’t have under the Arcade section. Funny enough when I was visiting Europe, I got bored that I hoped into the game and got one of my curious friends into the game and couldn’t stop playing during the trip. No matter if you are sitting in the car during a long drive or waiting for your flight to launch, I recommend playing Gin Rummy Classic+ as a way to fulfill your time.

Overall, it does pass the time and it is challenging. However, there are a couple of issues I’d like to raise. First of all, the emojis are useless. I can’t even use them. The more annoying thing about them is I’m getting kind of tired of my opponent (I’m guessing it’s a computer) laughing when it’s about to knock. That’s just stupid. I don’t need your game to laugh at me while I’m trying to relax. The second thing is that it appears to be rigged against you. The number of times the opponent beats you quickly and you have no decent draws far outweighs the number of times you can knock quickly and your opponent has a hand full of garbage cards. Also, the number of times you draw a low number card at the beginning of the (and well into it too) is ridiculously low. They seem to stack the deck with high cards in the first half of the draws. Annoying! I did give four stars, but really only because it’s Apple Arcade and there’s no annoying ads or pop ups begging you to buy stuff. Otherwise, it would have been 3 stars.

It’s an OK game. I don’t see the cheating people claim. Yes, the computer gets some quick knocks from time to time, but so do I. I’ve been playing a while and am at Master I level. The computer plays a tight, defensive strategy that can be tough to beat until you learn how (and *when*) to beat it, but it can be done once you learn how. (People claiming to never get the cards they need may be speculating too much or not know how to beat this strategy. I’m winning more than losing at my current level, and I’m not a card player. Gin Rummy and Euchre are the only games I don’t embarrass myself playing.) My biggest complaints are the boring strategy employed by the AI (but I’m not a programmer, and that *may* be the only strategy that an engine can use to play at a high level?) and the animations that cut too early on occasion (and take too long when the do go). Also, the computer assumes the melds you want to make and won’t readjust the melds when you select a discard that breaks a meld it thinks you should. This can be confusing and is critical in late game decisions. (It also is “taking advice from the opponent”, which is never a good strategy.) Still a relatively decent game.