Comparison

Texas 42 vs Canasta.

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

Canasta.

Experience the strategic card game of the rummy family, featuring joker cards for unpredictable gameplay. Form melds, create canastas, and aim for 5000 points to win team rounds.

Highlights
  • Rummy family card game
  • Joker cards for unpredictability
  • Team play against computer
  • Forming melds and canastas
  • Scoring to 5000 points
Read full description

Canasta is the popular card game of the rummy family also known as Argentine Rummy. Use of joker cards makes the game unpredictable and very challenging. You play as a team with computer opponent against computer team. Pick up cards and fit them into groups (melds). Group of seven cards called canasta and allows team to finish the round. Points go for the melds, the first team scoring 5000 points wins.

Screenshots

Texas 421 screens
Canasta.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Canasta. at 4.7 against Texas 42's 2.8. Canasta. also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 34%) and ratings volume (25K vs 83). Texas 42's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and Canasta. sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Canasta. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Canasta. has 25K ratings behind it against 83, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Texas 42's written reviews are positive against 71% of Canasta.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Texas 42 ships an update every 3 weeks, Canasta. every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Texas 42 versus Canasta.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTexas 42Canasta.
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (83 ratings)4.7 (25K ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.4% of reviews70.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8325K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike EmerySergey Skosyrev

Customer experience

Texas 42

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

Canasta.

All ratings25,130 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews659 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative19.0%

User reviews

Texas 42

From 83 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good for learning 42
  • 👍 Realistic AI opponents
  • 👍 Fun and challenging gameplay
  • 👍 Good graphics and game flow
  • 👍 Best 42 app available

Room to improve

  • 😞 Frustrating AI partner
  • 😞 Frequent multiplayer issues
  • 😞 Game crashes/freezes often
  • 😞 AI plays illogically
  • 😞 Opponents seem biased

Canasta.

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Great game
  • 🧠 Mentally stimulating
  • 🕰️ Relaxing and enjoyable
  • 💰 No ads or in-app purchases
  • 🕹️ Smooth gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Incompetent AI partner
  • 🤔 Questionable game logic and rule implementation
  • 🔢 Inconsistent scoring and card interactions
  • 🧠 Lacks challenge at higher difficulty levels
  • 🤑 Paywall for better opponents

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

Canasta.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Partner ignores player's instructions
  • Opponents get unrealistic card draws
  • Incorrect implementation of Canasta rules
  • Game freezes or crashes unexpectedly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Online multiplayer mode
  • Customizable difficulty levels
  • Ability to choose partner skill level
  • Clearer display of canasta information
  • Option to play 2-player version

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
12 purchases

Canasta.

One-time12
  • 1000 diamonds$0.99
  • Cards from deck$1.99
  • 2200 diamonds$1.99
Show 9 more
  • Win Points$2.99
  • 3400 diamonds$2.99
  • 4700 diamonds$3.99
  • Partner difficulty$4.99
  • Opponents difficulty$4.99
  • 6000 diamonds$4.99
  • 8500 diamonds$6.99
  • Advanced Features$9.99
  • 12500 diamonds$9.99

Questions

Is Texas 42 free?
Texas 42 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Canasta. free?
Canasta. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Texas 42 or Canasta.?
Canasta. is rated higher. Texas 42 averages 2.8 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while Canasta. averages 4.7 from 25K ratings.
Do Texas 42 or Canasta. have ads?
Neither Texas 42 nor Canasta. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Texas 42 or Canasta.?
Texas 42 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Canasta. every 2 months. Most recently, Texas 42 was updated on October 23, 2026 and Canasta. on October 25, 2026.

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