Love this but ….
I have really enjoyed playing this game. I grew up with my grandparents playing this and it has brought back a lot of great memories.
The only “flaw” I see (specific to buckeye mode as that is all I play ), is the degree that these super hands show up. I’ve easily played 10,000 rook hands in my life. Ive never seen so many 160-180 hands show up ever in this short of a window. And there have been plenty back to back 180 plays.
Might want to look to see if the random deal doesn’t have a bug in it.
The only “flaw” I see (specific to buckeye mode as that is all I play ), is the degree that these super hands show up. I’ve easily played 10,000 rook hands in my life. Ive never seen so many 160-180 hands show up ever in this short of a window. And there have been plenty back to back 180 plays.
Might want to look to see if the random deal doesn’t have a bug in it.
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Love Buckeye
Tonight We team successfully shot the moon, but was not award the win. Score went up by 180. The hand/game did not end.
Don’t get this app!
I cannot even play the game because person on the right plate the yellow card and I have a yellow card, but I can’t see it nor can I get to it because it’s off the screen. Please fix this issue. Seriously I cannot even play the game. I cannot even hit another card. I haven’t played this game in a while and decided that I would play today. When I opened the app up everything looks totally different than it did six months ago. Did anything change or am I playing the Rook app? If it did change, I like the old look better along with the option to restart the game after cards have gone out and while you’re playing a game. And another thing is that the app doesn’t fit the iPhone screen. Someway somehow it should adjust to the screen size. It is much bigger than my screen, and I cannot see my cards on the sides nor the scores.
Also, and most importantly, can you please put the current game score points on the screen. It’s a guessing game trying to figure out how many points they have and you have during and while you’re playing a hand!
Also, and most importantly, can you please put the current game score points on the screen. It’s a guessing game trying to figure out how many points they have and you have during and while you’re playing a hand!
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Great App
This is a great app for a great game! The “Buckeye” variant is what I grew up playing and this app brings the nostalgia and good play. A couple suggestions after playing a bunch: don’t let the AI partner “shoot the moon” unless 100% running it- it sucks to lose because your computer partner made a reckless decision. Also, maybe have it where if the opponents have already passed on their bid, your partner doesn’t keep running the bid higher. Bidding wars with your partner are just bad strategy- maybe overbid one time, but not continually.
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Sorry Partner
Love the game but your partner is the sorriest rook partner you’ll ever play with
Nice Game, Easy to Play
I’ve played several different apps with the “Buckeye” version. This one is pretty good and simple to play.
The only thing that needs fixing and irritates me is that my partner overbids me even when both opponents have passed. The partner should pass when you have the highest bid.
The only thing that needs fixing and irritates me is that my partner overbids me even when both opponents have passed. The partner should pass when you have the highest bid.
Love it!
I Love this app and can’t stop playing. I haven’t played Rook since childhood when my large family would hold a tournament and play all night on New Year’s Eve. I wish you could toggle the 1-4 cards. My family played tournament but with the 1-4 cards, more of a family mode I guess. Thanks for scratching my Rook itch and keep up the good work.
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Love Buckeye
Thank you for updating the redeal to show the player’s pointless hand. Tonight one of the reveals left one card face down. Of course, in real play a redeal would not be granted unless all cards were revealed face up. I took a screen shot of this if you’re interested.
Response from developer
Thank you for reporting this. I believe it is corrected in the latest version, 4.1.1 (NOTE: requires IOS 26).
My addiction to Rook has taken off like a rocket launching into outer space!
I just want to say thank you for developing the CrowsNest app because this is the one Rook app where you can play variations of the classic point trick-taking card game. My favorites 1-High Partnership and The Red 1!
I think Boston Rook, Golden 10, Rook for Two, Tennessee for Two, and Tuxedo would be cool to have as additional varieties in the future if possible. Please and thank you!
I think Boston Rook, Golden 10, Rook for Two, Tennessee for Two, and Tuxedo would be cool to have as additional varieties in the future if possible. Please and thank you!
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Love it but…..
We love this game but we could play with family and friends!
Impossible to win
I’ve played Rook all my life I’ve never seen so many near perfect hands by my opponents
Fun game, a few flaws
I’ve noticed that my ‘partner’ seems to sabotage potential wins. For instance, if the opposing team won the bet and let’s say the bid winner has the 14, 13, 11 and several other trump cards. Let’s also say my partner has trump in 12, 10, and one other lower trump card, my partner will play the low trump card under the opponent’s 14, the 12 under the opponent’s 13 and then when the opponent’s 11 is played, my partner loses the 10 under it. Why would my partner (having the 12) not sacrifice the 10 under the 13 and HANG ON to the 12 for me to potentially give them points instead of losing it all? It’s like it strictly values point cards more and doesn’t see the strategy in giving up the points so you get SOMETHING instead of NOTHING.
Separately, I’ve also noticed that the opposing teams seem to know what cards I have which makes the game seem very unfair at times. If the opposing team wins the bid and the bid winner starts of with say the 13 of trump, I may have the 14 but if I play a smaller trump card, the bid winner’s partner can have no trump cards and yet they seem to KNOW I didn’t throw the 14 and gives their partner points when there’s NO WAY they could know I have the 14 on the first round of play. They wouldn’t know that my partner doesn’t have the 14 yet. That’s happened several times. It’s would be liking showing my cards off to everyone but I can’t see theirs.
UPDATE 6/13/25: this still hasn’t been fixed and it’s very apparent that the opponents know, to some degree, what cards everyone has. For instance, the player to my left won the bid and called Green as trump. I had the Green 13 and a couple of others. The player to my right started the game and played the Green 12. I played a low Green, but then the player to the left played the Green 10 somehow knowing that I chose not to play the 13 and that their partner’s 12 was a winner. How did they know my partner, who would be last to play, didn’t have the Green 13 and could just take the points? Who would randomly throw points out on the first hand played? That makes no logical sense for the player to my left to play that way and take needless ‘gamble.’ This happens often enough that it makes playing feel unfair.
Lastly, my partner and I may be just a few points away from winning with a comfortable lead, and yet they can’t help but bid 95 or so instead of passing and trying to win just from winning a few hands from our opponents. For some reason, my partner seems to love to call the bid at this time and doesn’t even have a great hand, winds up losing and setting us back. Why risk it?
Sorry, it’s hard to explain all this through text. Still a very fun game, I just wish my partner was a tad smarter and my opponents didn’t know what cards I have.
Separately, I’ve also noticed that the opposing teams seem to know what cards I have which makes the game seem very unfair at times. If the opposing team wins the bid and the bid winner starts of with say the 13 of trump, I may have the 14 but if I play a smaller trump card, the bid winner’s partner can have no trump cards and yet they seem to KNOW I didn’t throw the 14 and gives their partner points when there’s NO WAY they could know I have the 14 on the first round of play. They wouldn’t know that my partner doesn’t have the 14 yet. That’s happened several times. It’s would be liking showing my cards off to everyone but I can’t see theirs.
UPDATE 6/13/25: this still hasn’t been fixed and it’s very apparent that the opponents know, to some degree, what cards everyone has. For instance, the player to my left won the bid and called Green as trump. I had the Green 13 and a couple of others. The player to my right started the game and played the Green 12. I played a low Green, but then the player to the left played the Green 10 somehow knowing that I chose not to play the 13 and that their partner’s 12 was a winner. How did they know my partner, who would be last to play, didn’t have the Green 13 and could just take the points? Who would randomly throw points out on the first hand played? That makes no logical sense for the player to my left to play that way and take needless ‘gamble.’ This happens often enough that it makes playing feel unfair.
Lastly, my partner and I may be just a few points away from winning with a comfortable lead, and yet they can’t help but bid 95 or so instead of passing and trying to win just from winning a few hands from our opponents. For some reason, my partner seems to love to call the bid at this time and doesn’t even have a great hand, winds up losing and setting us back. Why risk it?
Sorry, it’s hard to explain all this through text. Still a very fun game, I just wish my partner was a tad smarter and my opponents didn’t know what cards I have.
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Love Buckeye
Agree with Daniel S 78 on partner play. Would like to request some changes to make game more realistic. First, a common question in a real game is “did you get the crow from the nest?” Can you reveal this info after partner or either opponent takes the bid? An ideal time for this might be when the discard is revealed at the end of each hand. Also, when a redeal is requested, can you reveal to the table the hand which has zero points. This typically would be done before a redeal is allowed. I have played this Buckeye version of Rook for 65 years. And absolutely love this game. Thank you.
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Response from developer
I was not aware of Buckeye version before programming this app, and only learned about it from a book. I'm glad to hear it has popularity among Rook players. I have implemented both of your requests in version 3.6.1.
Fun game, a few flaws
I’ve noticed that my ‘partner’ seems to sabotage potential wins. For instance, if the opposing team won the bet and let’s say the bid winner has the 14, 13, 11 and several other trump cards. Let’s also say my partner has trump in 12, 10, and one other lower trump card, my partner will play the low trump card under the opponent’s 14, the 12 under the opponent’s 13 and then when the opponent’s 11 is played, my partner loses the 10 under it. Why would my partner (having the 12) not sacrifice the 10 under the 13 and HANG ON to the 12 for me to potentially give them points instead of losing it all? It’s like it strictly values point cards more and doesn’t see the strategy in giving up the points so you get SOMETHING instead of NOTHING.
Separately, I’ve also noticed that the opposing teams seem to know what cards I have which makes the game seem very unfair at times. If the opposing team wins the bid and the bid winner starts of with say the 13 of trump, I may have the 14 but if I play a smaller trump card, the bid winner’s partner can have no trump cards and yet they seem to KNOW I didn’t throw the 14 and gives their partner points when there’s NO WAY they could know I have the 14 on the first round of play. They wouldn’t know that my partner doesn’t have the 14 yet. That’s happened several times. It’s would be liking showing my cards off to everyone but I can’t see theirs.
Lastly, my partner and I may be just a few points away from winning with a comfortable lead, and yet they can’t help but bid 95 or so instead of passing and trying to win just from winning a few hands from our opponents. For some reason, my partner seems to love to call the bid at this time and doesn’t even have a great hand, winds up losing and setting us back. Why risk it?
Sorry, it’s hard to explain all this through text. Still a very fun game, I just wish my partner was a tad smarter and my opponents didn’t know what cards I have.
Separately, I’ve also noticed that the opposing teams seem to know what cards I have which makes the game seem very unfair at times. If the opposing team wins the bid and the bid winner starts of with say the 13 of trump, I may have the 14 but if I play a smaller trump card, the bid winner’s partner can have no trump cards and yet they seem to KNOW I didn’t throw the 14 and gives their partner points when there’s NO WAY they could know I have the 14 on the first round of play. They wouldn’t know that my partner doesn’t have the 14 yet. That’s happened several times. It’s would be liking showing my cards off to everyone but I can’t see theirs.
Lastly, my partner and I may be just a few points away from winning with a comfortable lead, and yet they can’t help but bid 95 or so instead of passing and trying to win just from winning a few hands from our opponents. For some reason, my partner seems to love to call the bid at this time and doesn’t even have a great hand, winds up losing and setting us back. Why risk it?
Sorry, it’s hard to explain all this through text. Still a very fun game, I just wish my partner was a tad smarter and my opponents didn’t know what cards I have.
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The new update slowww
The new update you can’t “shoot the moon” bid 150 it will close the app out and a new game will have to be started . Also it’s very slow . The bidding process & players playing their cards is super slow now
Plays like real
Plays like the real game. When my cards are revealed one card is off-screen. Once the off screen card was the color I should play, but I couldn’t get to it or see it. Please correct.
Frustrations
I’ve played rook my entire life. The game requires strategic thinking. The app will bid 120 points and have nothing in their hand. No rook, little red 1 and pick trump with 2 cards of that color, and you were never going to make 120.
The other issue is bidding.
The app will pass and let the opponent have the nest.
The other issue is bidding.
The app will pass and let the opponent have the nest.
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Played forever and just deleted it
First the good. Rook is my favorite card game and this app is the best at replicating it. It is, by far, the most gaming app I’ve ever played. And best of all, it’s free.
However recently, the game has become unenjoyable. Here’s my reasoning.
The randomness of hands. They have become pretty predictable. Most times you are dealt all 4 suits. Even if you get the “Rook” you will still very likely have all 4. Not the end of the world but after you win the bid and get the kitty it’s near impossible to get to 2 suits. The most common deal is a 4 suit breakdown of 4-3-2-1.
Your partner. I have the game set on expert. I assure that is NOT the setting of your partner. He is the least aggressive bidder. He holds back trumps, especially if you’ve called the hand and has the ideal opportunity to play them and will not. If he finds your “hurter” suit he will pound it to allow your opponent to trump point tricks. His kitty management is also in question.
Your opponents. They simply play like one player. They are clairvoyant in respect to the cards in each other’s hand. If they get the bid and begin leading your team out of trumps, they will stop when you’re out but will leave their partner with them. No way of knowing that. Their clairvoyance in this respect is probably the biggest flaw in this game. Also, One opponent will lead a point card out knowing their partner has the high card or “1” in a non trump suit. If you were sitting at a table and these things took place you would likely quit because it’s unfair to have 100% knowledge of their partners cards.
Bidding. Your parter almost never bids. When they do and win the bid, their success rate is far lower than any other player in the game. When the other team is going for the bid, they will run up the bid knowing how many potential trumps are in their 20 cards. I’ve yet to really determine if their behavior shows knowledge of the kitty or not but there are times they will bid 140+ and I outbid them and the Rook is in the kitty.
I’ve played thousands of games on the app. The only rules I play are the 180 pt game with Rook as high card. I’d say that a recent change to the player/your hands potential strength has been the reason this game has become no longer a good time passer. The opponents clairvoyance has always been in place but seems even more all knowing now.
Once again I say this is the best version of the Rook game available. Maybe I’ll check it out again after a new update.
However recently, the game has become unenjoyable. Here’s my reasoning.
The randomness of hands. They have become pretty predictable. Most times you are dealt all 4 suits. Even if you get the “Rook” you will still very likely have all 4. Not the end of the world but after you win the bid and get the kitty it’s near impossible to get to 2 suits. The most common deal is a 4 suit breakdown of 4-3-2-1.
Your partner. I have the game set on expert. I assure that is NOT the setting of your partner. He is the least aggressive bidder. He holds back trumps, especially if you’ve called the hand and has the ideal opportunity to play them and will not. If he finds your “hurter” suit he will pound it to allow your opponent to trump point tricks. His kitty management is also in question.
Your opponents. They simply play like one player. They are clairvoyant in respect to the cards in each other’s hand. If they get the bid and begin leading your team out of trumps, they will stop when you’re out but will leave their partner with them. No way of knowing that. Their clairvoyance in this respect is probably the biggest flaw in this game. Also, One opponent will lead a point card out knowing their partner has the high card or “1” in a non trump suit. If you were sitting at a table and these things took place you would likely quit because it’s unfair to have 100% knowledge of their partners cards.
Bidding. Your parter almost never bids. When they do and win the bid, their success rate is far lower than any other player in the game. When the other team is going for the bid, they will run up the bid knowing how many potential trumps are in their 20 cards. I’ve yet to really determine if their behavior shows knowledge of the kitty or not but there are times they will bid 140+ and I outbid them and the Rook is in the kitty.
I’ve played thousands of games on the app. The only rules I play are the 180 pt game with Rook as high card. I’d say that a recent change to the player/your hands potential strength has been the reason this game has become no longer a good time passer. The opponents clairvoyance has always been in place but seems even more all knowing now.
Once again I say this is the best version of the Rook game available. Maybe I’ll check it out again after a new update.
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Great game but bug in the game
I love this app, but there’s a glitch I just experienced. It was a tie at 525 (I was playing the Red 1 version) and my partner on the sudden death round made the bid and scored 125 points to bring the total score to 650, but somehow the opposing team got 700 points despite my partner making the bid, which clearly would not be enough to even get 700 points. That doesn’t look right. Please fix.
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Confused
Was playing this game when the score after game was finished it said 125 points captured ! There’s only 120 in a game .
