Comparison

Abra Magic vs PlayMagnet

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Abra Magic

This app enhances card magic by tracking the position of every card in a special deck. It offers stand-alone scanning, server mode for sharing results across WiFi, and client mode to view remote scans. Features include various code formats, camera selection, and confidence reporting.

Highlights
  • Track card positions in a special deck
  • Stand-alone, server, and client modes
  • Share scan results over WiFi
  • Supports various code formats
  • Visual scanning confidence reporting
  • Automatic pause on high-confidence scans
  • Evaluate marked deck quality
Features
Read full description

This app is part of the Nettle Magic Project (https://github.com/nettlep/magic). Take your card magic ot the next level. With Abra and a special deck of cards, you'll know the exact position of every card in the deck (or not in the deck, if cards are missing.) Abra can run in three different modes: 1. Stand-alone (Local server) - In this mode, Abra will scan the deck and show you the order of all cards in the deck. 2. Server (Advertised) - In this mode, Abra works similar to stand-alone with the addition of allowing other devices running Abra in Client mode on the same WiFi network to connect and view the scanning results of the server. Multiple clients can connect to the same server, providing unlimited of options for trick setup. 3. Client - In this mode, Abra will not scan the deck but will instead automatically detect and connect to a remote scanning server device on the same WiFi network. The Abra client will display the results of and configure that remote server. Features include: * Select from a number of supported code formats, including reversible and error-correctible codes. * Select from all available cameras on the device. * Long-tap on the deck to toggle display layouts. * Abra uses multiple scans from a continuous video feed to build a single confident scanning result. * Scanning confidence is reported to the user visually, with Red being low confidence and Green being high confidence. * Make sure your results aren't lost - automatically pause scanning as soon as a high-confident scan is capturd. * Automatically recognize decks in New Deck Order (NDO) for quick verification of tests. * Send an alert (vibration pulse) to all connected devices. * Use Abra to evaluate the quality of your marked deck by showing which cards scan well and which ones are difficult to scan. * Fully configure the server remotely, from scanning resolution to decoding options to scanning grid density. You're in complete control. IMPORTANT: To get real value from Abra, you will need access to an edge-marked deck of playing cards. As this is a hobbyist project, this probably means making one yourself. Documentation for applying edge-marks to a standard deck of playing cards can be found here: https://nettlep.github.io/magic/#marking.

About

PlayMagnet

Features
Read full description

PlayMagnet allows students of all ages to play with magnets on the screen. The program has six different disc magnets the user can drop anywhere on the screen. The program instantly draws the magnetic around the magnets the user has dropped on the screen with the mouse. It's made for people of all ages. The program is very simple with only eight buttons at the bottom of the screen. There are three buttons that allow you to pick different magnet discs, an undo button to remove the last disc added, a text button to input coordinates instead of clicking on the screen. It also has a save button to save the screen and a clear button to clear the screen. If you pinch the screen, it has a zoom mode. There's an easter egg if you hold down the clear button.

Screenshots

Abra Magic4 screens
PlayMagnet4 screens

Verdict

The call

Abra Magic and PlayMagnet are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Abra Magic versus PlayMagnet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAbra MagicPlayMagnet
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.4
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB351 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaul NettleMichael Snyder

In-app purchases

None

Abra Magic

No in-app purchases

None

PlayMagnet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Abra Magic free?
Abra Magic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlayMagnet free?
PlayMagnet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Abra Magic or PlayMagnet have ads?
Neither Abra Magic nor PlayMagnet shows ads.

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