Comparison

Texas 42 vs Mex Train

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

Head to head
About

Texas 42

Experience the official domino game of Texas, a trick-taking card game. This app features an advanced AI with customizable play styles for a challenging and realistic opponent. Enjoy a traditional game with modern, intelligent gameplay.

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

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."

About

Mex Train

A digital adaptation of the popular family domino game. Compete against three AI opponents, strategically arranging your dominoes to build the best train. Utilize hints to guide your moves and optimize your gameplay.

Highlights
  • Play against three computer opponents
  • Drag and arrange dominoes
  • Flip dominoes before play
  • Build your perfect train
  • Get play hints
Features
Read full description

Favorite family domino game. Play against three computer opponents. Drag ten dominoes to your home area to start each round. Before play, you can double-tap a domino to flip it around, and arrange your perfect train. Tap the question mark for a play hint (doesn't show, if no play available).

Screenshots

Texas 421 screens
Mex Train2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mex Train at 3.5 against Texas 42's 2.8. Mex Train also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (56% vs 34%). Texas 42's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 16 months) and ratings volume (77 vs 21). On price, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Texas 42 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Mex Train asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mex Train holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 77 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Texas 42's written reviews are positive against 56% of Mex Train's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Texas 42 ships an update every 3 weeks, Mex Train every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Texas 42 versus Mex Train: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTexas 42Mex Train
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (77 ratings)3.5 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.4% of reviews56.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings77 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 16 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike EmeryPhil Stern

Customer experience

Texas 42

All ratings70 ratings
Positive34.3%
Neutral8.6%
Negative57.1%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive34.4%
Neutral16.1%
Negative49.5%

Mex Train

All ratings20 ratings
Positive55.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative30.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral25.0%
Negative18.8%

Bugs and requests

Texas 42

Reported bugs

35 issues
  • 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
Show 30 more
  • 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

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add undo option
  • Add replay game option
  • Add manual tile selection
  • Add statistics tracking
  • Add tutorial mode
Show 7 more
  • 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

Mex Train

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Texas 42

One-time3
  • Customize your Domino$0.99
  • Customize your table logo$0.99
  • Use black pips instead of colored$0.99
None

Mex Train

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Texas 42 free?
Texas 42 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mex Train free?
Mex Train is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Texas 42 or Mex Train?
Mex Train is rated higher. Texas 42 averages 2.8 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Mex Train averages 3.5 from 21 ratings.
Do Texas 42 or Mex Train have ads?
Neither Texas 42 nor Mex Train shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Texas 42 or Mex Train?
Texas 42 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Mex Train every 16 months. Most recently, Texas 42 was updated on October 15, 2026 and Mex Train on October 3, 2026.

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