# Texas 42

> Texas 42 domino game with customizable AI play styles. (iPhone/iPad app by Mike Emery.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-42/id537029259 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Mike Emery](https://appshunter.io/developer/537029262)
- Category: Games, Card, Family
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 2.78/5 from 77 App Store ratings · 93 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 10.0 · 13 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2012-06-29
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-42/id537029259/reviews.md

## What is Texas 42?

Welcome to the Official State Domino game of Texas!  Texas 42 is a trick taking game similar to bridge or spades.  Invented in the late 1880s, it has become a tradition across generations of players.  

The sole motivator for the development of this app has been to create an AI that doesn't make the users wish they spent their 2 dollars on a soda instead of frustrating computer play.  Much work has been made into creating an AI that makes the same moves you would.  Since you don't have the same play style as everyone else, you can set each computer player to have one of 3 specified play styles "Conservative", "Normal", or "Aggressive".    You can mix and match these styles as you see fit and can change them at any time in the game.

A conservative player will tend to bid lower than the rest of the players.  Its main focus when it has the lead is to draw all the trumps in play before moving on to non-trumps.  If the conservative player does not have the highest trump, it will tend to lead with a junk/punt tile to draw out the higher ones, while holding on to tiles with count until it knows it can win with them.

A normal player will tend to bid higher than a conservative player.  Its main focus is holding on to its trumps for cases where count is on the table.  If it does not have the highest trump it will tend to attempt to punt to its teammate.  

An aggressive player is a mixture of the two.  It tends to push the bid to 31 or 34-36 with weaker hands than the other two and is more willing to bid marks if it has a strong hand.  It is also willing to lay down trumps with 5 counts in an effort to draw out the ones covering the 10 count.  Its more willing to play count at risk of hoping its partner will win the trick.  

For bidding purposes, your partner will respond to your bid.  If you bid 30, you are indicating to your partner that you have a helping hand and it will be much more likely to outbid an opponent win the bid.

-----------------------------------------------------
Here's what some beta testers have had to say about the app:

"The AI has been impressive for me so far, not a single play that I've seen has been stupid yet and I've probably played around 10 games. Very solid game for my experience"

"I really like your idea of the different styles of play and I think you are pretty close to that reality."

"To date it is the best one out there.  I have never felt like I was playing true 42 on the other apps."

## Key features

- Official Texas 42 domino game
- Advanced AI opponent
- Customizable AI play styles (Conservative, Normal, Aggressive)
- Realistic trick-taking gameplay
- Traditional domino game experience

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Customize your Domino | $0.99 | one-time |
| Customize your table logo | $0.99 | one-time |
| Use black pips instead of colored | $0.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Texas 42?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Good for learning 42
- 👍 Realistic AI opponents
- 👍 Fun and challenging gameplay
- 👍 Good graphics and game flow
- 👍 Best 42 app available
- 👍 Worth the cost

**Cons**

- 😞 Frustrating AI partner
- 😞 Frequent multiplayer issues
- 😞 Game crashes/freezes often
- 😞 AI plays illogically
- 😞 Opponents seem biased
- 😞 Rules differ from traditional 42
- 😞 Poor lead strategy

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Constant disconnects in multiplayer
- Screen locks up during play
- Computer opponents don't follow house rules
- Multiplayer glitches out
- App freezes or glitches with multiplayer
- Sync issues in multiplayer
- Deck doesn't load/sync in multiplayer
- Multiplayer doesn't work
- Crashes or freezes all the time
- Cannot invite 4 friends, freezes or 4th doesn't join
- Partner can't get dominoes
- App is broken, needs update
- Crashes before finishing game
- Opponent play is ridiculous without paying
- Every hand stacked against you
- Partner sets you
- Program changes affect gameplay
- Doesn't work 70% of the time
- AI makes stupid plays to lose
- Errors in scoring
- Shuts off in middle of game
- Partner outbids partner
- Opponent has doubles to their offs
- Mute button not working
- Multiplayer crashes within first few hands
- Cannot get a game started without kicking players out
- AI logic changed, plays illogically
- AI doesn't bid or play correctly
- App crashes every time when trying to access camera roll for customization
- New update causes crashes every hand
- App freezes occasionally
- Player boosts opponents score
- New app freezes twice a game or more
- Game will not play more than one hand without freezing
- New update causes crashes almost every time

**Most requested features**

- Add undo option
- Add replay game option
- Add manual tile selection
- Add statistics tracking
- Add tutorial mode
- Add multiplayer/network play
- Add 'doubles LOW' option for Nello
- Add option to see other players' dominoes at end of game
- Add option to change dot colors to black
- Add option for auto-deal
- Add manual tile picking option
- Add option to change trump when accidentally hit wrong button

## Recent user reviews (10 of 93)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-42/id537029259/reviews.md

### 1/5 — No longer loads

*2026-07-01, version 5.3*

I’ve played this game for many years, and yes it had some errors in bidding and playing, but it was still fun.  However, with the latest IOS update it no longer loads.  Developer has not updated the app in 6 years.  Hope they will bring it up to date.  It’s one of my favorites!

### 5/5 — Love this game

*2026-06-23, version 5.3*

If you’re looking to play 42 as a solitaire game, or looking to learn the game, this app is great. Fantastic logic. 

There are problems with multiplayer glitches and connection. Wish that were fixed. But as a play alone game it is 5-stars.

### 3/5 — The program needs to change

*2026-04-13, version 5.3*

I’ve played this game for years.  It is frustrating at times.  The main frustration is my “partner” setting me.  It isn’t consistent.  It will play under my trump when it has the highest non double trump and has other doubles it could play. This includes playing under the opponent’s trump played just before allowing the 4th player to set us. On the other hand, it holds high dominoes instead of playing them.  When I play a double, it will play under, then cover my off, then set “us” by playing into count.  When the partner wins the bid, it will continue to play lead instead of playing its off.  That is usually on the last trick we get set because I gave up the domino that could have covered us. (The opponents had the off I was holding for).  I know it must be a difficult program to write, but I became used to playing Win42.  That was an awesome game and had none of the issues I listed.

The 5/5 is still played like it is only count.

This isn’t a bad game, just frustrating at times.

2026.  Still the same issues.  Nothing has changed.

### 1/5 — Multiplayer Fail

*2026-01-29, version 5.3*

Constant disconnects and issues while playing multiplayer…

### 2/5 — Problem

*2026-01-13, version 5.3*

I am an experience, Fortytwo player. I just downloaded this app and on the very first set the screen locks up and I’m unable to play my domino.  It happened three times but unlocked shortly. The fourth time it did not unlock at all. I use an apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.

### 5/5 — Best App for Lifelong 42 player

*2025-11-20, version 5.3*

I have tried many 42 apps and this is the best one, by a long shot. It’s not perfect, but the default AI names alone make it worth it.

### 2/5 — Figuring it out

*2025-08-09, version 5.3*

Trying to get other players to join , can’t seem to find other players 
The bots seem ok for an app, would love to see ,ore multiply player

### 2/5 — Computer Opponents Don’t Follow House Rules

*2025-07-16, version 5.3*

The computer opponents will play trumps for points only to see that they withheld tiles in future hands.

### 3/5 — Fix Multiplayer Bug!!

*2025-04-30, version 5.3*

I have yet to be able to plant an entire game when using multiplayer. It always glitches out and has major bug issues. Other than that the game is great.

### 3/5 — Multiplayer Issues

*2025-03-30, version 5.3*

Love this game and works great with one player but ALWAYS freezes or glitches with multiplayers and it’s super frustrating. The company website is a facebook page so there is no way to reach out for updates.

## Frequently asked questions about Texas 42

### What is Texas 42?

Texas 42 is a trick-taking game played with dominoes, similar to bridge or spades. It's the official domino game of Texas and has a rich history. This app provides a digital version of this classic game.

### What makes the AI in this app special?

The app's AI is designed to provide a challenging and realistic opponent, avoiding frustrating computer play. It offers three distinct play styles: Conservative, Normal, and Aggressive, which can be mixed and matched to suit your preferences.

### How much does the app cost?

The app is a paid application, indicated by the purchase price mentioned in the description. This one-time purchase grants access to the full game and its features without ongoing costs.

### What are the different AI play styles?

The AI offers three play styles: 'Conservative' players tend to bid lower and focus on drawing trumps. 'Normal' players bid higher and hold trumps for count tiles. 'Aggressive' players are more willing to bid high with weaker hands and take risks.

### Is this app suitable for beginners?

While the AI is sophisticated, the core gameplay is that of a traditional trick-taking game. The customizable AI styles allow players to adjust the difficulty. Understanding the basic rules of trick-taking games would be beneficial for new players.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.3 — 2020-04-12

More multiplayer tweaks.  Should be the last one needed for a while.

### 5.2 — 2020-04-06

Fixes the issue of the bid not rotating in multiplayer.
Add robustness to multiplayer code between hands.

### 5.1 — 2020-04-05

Fixes various multiplayer issues.

### 5.0 — 2019-07-08

Long needed update to iOS 12 and iPhone Xs. 
Fixed mute button
Fixed many multiplayer issues caused by ios updates

### 4.3 — 2016-08-24

Multiplayer fixes

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## More apps by Mike Emery

- [Texas 42 HD](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-42-hd/id543049466)
- [Texas Moon](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-moon/id721423883)
- [Texas Moon HD](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/texas-moon-hd/id909887387)

All apps by Mike Emery: https://appshunter.io/developer/537029262

## Related topics

[maroonentertainment](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/maroonentertainment) · [texas 42](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/texas-42) · [domino texas 42](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/domino-texas-42)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*