Tichu vs Paperback Vol. 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tichu
A strategic partnership card game for four players where teams compete to be the first to empty their hands and score points. Features challenging AI opponents and online multiplayer for global play. Learn the game with a comprehensive tutorial and helpful hints.
- Partnership card game for four players
- Strategic gameplay with risk and scoring
- Challenging configurable AI opponents
- Online multiplayer with up to 4 players
- Cloud data backup and sync
- Extensive tutorial and in-game documentation
- Hint feature for learning
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*** Listed on Games Magazine's Electronic Games 100 for 2011! *** Legend has it that over 642 million Chinese play Tichu nearly every day! I don't know about that. All I know is that Tichu might very well be the world's best card game. Tichu is a partnership game for four players where partners battle to be the first to play all of their cards and score points. Each hand is filled with strategy and risk. Will you be the first player to play all of your cards? Perhaps you'd like to make a little wager on that? Are you willing to risk 100 points? How about 200? Tichu has long been the favorite card game of all time on BoardGameGeek. Find out why! I promise that you won't regret it! Tichu boasts the following great features: Fully licensed and authorized by designer Urs Hostettler and publisher Fata Morgana Spiele. Computer controlled opponents boast a challenging and lifelike Artificial Intelligence that is configurable in numerous ways. Up to 4 humans can play from any supported device in any part of the world. Data automatically backed up to the cloud and synced to any device that runs the game! Extensive tutorial and in-game documentation will teach you how to play and have you playing like a champ in no time. Hint feature helps you play while you learn. Choose from multiple beautiful deck styles.
Paperback Vol. 2
This is a novel deck-building game where players craft words to create clever combos and become bestselling authors. It features new cards, modes, art, and advanced AI for challenging gameplay or cooperative play with friends.
- Deck-building word game mechanics
- New cards and abilities
- Cooperative mode with friends or AI
- Advanced AI opponents
- New art and interface
- Mini-expansions
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Paperback the game is back! Paige Turner has been cranking out novels of all genres and has a new set of tricks. Follow her journey to become a bestselling author! Paperback, the deckbuilding word game fuses smart wordsmithing with clever combos. Based on the bestselling card game, it returns with Vol 2! Try out the new cards, new modes and new art. The advanced computer players can challenge the best players or work alongside you in cooperative mode. Cooperative mode - play with friends even play alongside the AI New massive card set - as you play, you’ll unlock new cards and abilities. Advanced AI - can find the best words faster and challenge the best players. New Art and interface New mini-expansions - spacebar, dyslexic and alternate starting wilds. New kitchy novels to finish!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tichu at 70% against Paperback Vol. 2's 26%. Tichu also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (319 vs 48). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Tichu costs $4.99 and Paperback Vol. 2 $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tichu holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tichu has 319 ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Tichu's written reviews are positive against 26% of Paperback Vol. 2's.
Tichu ships an update monthly, Paperback Vol. 2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tichu | Paperback Vol. 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (319 ratings) — better | 3.5 (48 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.3% of reviews — better | 26.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 319 — better | 48 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #68 — better | #115 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 162 MB | 146 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | House Full of Games | Fowers Games Inc. |
Customer experience
Tichu
Paperback Vol. 2
User reviews
Tichu
From 319 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Great game implementation
- 💡 Helpful tutorial and instructions
- 👍 Smooth gameplay and UI
- 🕹️ Challenging AI opponents
- 🕹️ Customizable AI skill levels
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Confusing or illogical AI behavior
- 🔍 Unbalanced card distribution
- 🔍 Partner AI often sabotages gameplay
- 📱 Small card sizes on smaller devices
Paperback Vol. 2
From 48 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great game concept
- 👍 Fun deckbuilding twist
- 👍 Enjoyable solo play
- 👍 Good for passing time
- 👍 Well-done adaptation
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🐛 Game freezes often
- 🐛 Unplayable after updates
- 🐛 Inconsistent dictionary
Bugs and requests
Tichu
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes on launch or during gameplay
- Inability to join or maintain multiplayer games
- Inconsistent behavior when calling Tichu
- Incorrect card interactions (e.g. overplaying)
- Persistent login and username issues
Requested features
5 requests- Multiplayer support (online and local)
- More statistics and performance tracking
- Ability to forfeit games
- Faster animations and gameplay
- Improved card visibility on smaller screens
Paperback Vol. 2
Reported bugs
23 issues- App is buggy
- Cards not working as expected
- Points miscalculated
- Words not in dictionary
- AI uses invalid words
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- App icon shows false notifications
- Double value card bug
- Green Look at 3 cards dialog bug
- App freezes after scoring
- Cannot buy cards after scoring
- Game freezes during AI turn
- Push notifications not working
- Card effects not always working
- Triple-letter score bug
- Account not verified error
- Cannot start new PvP games
- Online not working
- Game won't deal second hand
- Animations move at snail's pace
- Computer players lock up
- Computer players make suboptimal choices
- Double score adjacency bonus not working
- Confirmation email not received
Requested features
4 requests- Option to use original fonts/graphics
- Full rules explanation
- Card collection feature
- Option to have all cards available
In-app purchases
Tichu
No in-app purchases
Paperback Vol. 2
No in-app purchases
