Comparison

Blackbird! vs Rook+

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

Head to head
About

Blackbird!

Experience a classic trick-taking card game with customizable rules and competitive AI. Bid strategically, take tricks, and achieve your goals to win. Track your progress with detailed statistics and unlock achievements.

Highlights
  • Classic trick-taking gameplay
  • Customizable rule sets
  • AI opponents
  • Achievement system
  • Detailed statistics tracking
  • Multiple rule variations
Features
Read full description

This game is similar to the classic ROOK® card game*. Compete against the computer in this classic trick-taking game. Bid aggressively for the chance to declare trump. Take tricks with pointers to reach your bid or you’ll get set! Play with two widely different rule sets (Kentucky Discard or Western Wyoming) or create your own set of rules to play with any of these options that can be on or off: • Include 1s worth 15 points • Low/high/10.5 Blackbird card • Remove the Blackbird card • Allow Blackbird card to be played anytime • Winning bidder leads the first trick • Red 1 worth 30 points • Adjustable game winning score • Bonus for taking most tricks • and more! Get awarded when you complete achievements and challenge your friends to complete them. Have fun looking at all of the statistics that are tracked so that you can analyze how you play. * This is not in any way endorsed by or affiliated with Hasbro, Inc. ROOK® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

About

Rook+

Experience a classic trick-taking card game with a special deck. Features color-blind friendly design, detailed rules for dealing, bidding, and trick-taking. Aim to be the first team to reach 300 points.

Highlights
  • Special Rook card deck
  • Color-blind friendly design
  • Detailed bidding and trump naming
  • Trick-taking mechanics
  • Point scoring and winning conditions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play the classic Rook trick-taking card game on your iPhone or iPad—with no ads, no tracking, and no subscriptions. You play South, partnered with North, against the West/East team. Rook+ uses a special deck with four colored suits numbered 5 through 14, plus the powerful Rook card. In this app, the Rook is represented by a castle chess piece, and the cards are designed to be color-blind friendly. Customize the game to match the Rook rules you know. Change the wallpaper, add optional 1 cards ranked above the 14s, choose whether players must play trump when unable to follow suit, award a bonus for winning every trick, adjust the winning score, and more. HOW TO PLAY Dealing: The deal rotates to the left each hand. Each player receives 9 cards, with 5 additional cards dealt to the widow in the center of the table. Bidding: Players bid for the right to choose the trump suit. The player to the dealer’s left opens the bidding at 70 or passes. Bidding continues to the left, usually in 5-point increments. Once a player passes, that player is out of the bidding for the hand. The Widow and Trump: The high bidder takes the 5 widow cards, which are revealed to all players, chooses the trump suit, and then discards 5 cards. The discarded cards remain hidden from the other players. Depending on your settings, point cards in the discard go either to the bidding team or to the winner of the last trick. Playing Tricks: The dealer—or optionally the high bidder—leads the first trick. Play continues to the left, with each player playing one card. Players must follow the suit that was led when possible. If unable to follow suit, a player may play any card—or, with the appropriate option enabled, must play trump when possible. The highest card of the suit led wins unless a trump card is played, in which case the highest trump wins. The Rook is the highest trump card and can be played strategically to capture a valuable trick. Standard card ranking from highest to lowest is: Rook – 14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 With the optional 1 cards enabled: Rook – 1 – 14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 The winner of each trick collects the four cards and leads the next trick. Scoring: At the end of the hand, each team counts the point cards it captured: • Rook: 20 points • 14: 10 points • 10: 10 points • 5: 5 points Other cards have no point value. If the bidding team fails to score enough points to make its bid, the bid amount is deducted from its score. An optional bonus can also be awarded for winning every trick. Winning: The first team to reach the selected winning score wins the game. You can adjust the target score in the game settings. Rook+ is the paid version with no advertising. A free, ad-supported version of Rook is also available on the App Store.

Screenshots

Blackbird!4 screens
Rook+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rook+ at none against Blackbird!'s 2. Blackbird!'s advantage is ratings volume (7K vs 237). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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

Blackbird! costs $2.99 and Rook+ $2.99 up front. Blackbird! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Rook+ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Blackbird! against 4.7 for Rook+. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbird! has 7K ratings behind it against 237, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Blackbird!'s written reviews are positive against 74% of Rook+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blackbird! ships an update every 2 months, Rook+ every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Blackbird! versus Rook+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlackbird!Rook+
Price$2.99$2.99
Rating4.7 (7K ratings)4.7 (237 ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews73.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7K — better237
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#38 — better#78
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperR. Don Wilsonfishdog.net

Customer experience

Blackbird!

All ratings6,993 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral13.4%
Negative15.7%

Rook+

All ratings237 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative21.1%

Bugs and requests

Blackbird!

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Forced to take bid even when undesirable
  • Inability to reverse trump or discard mistakes
  • Inconsistent card dealing
  • Multiplayer crashes and glitches
  • Themes and settings not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode to play with friends
  • Option to call your own partner
  • Ability to shoot the moon
  • Customizable nest size
  • More rule variations

Rook+

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Blackbird!

One-time2
  • Christmas Theme$0.99
  • Independence Day Theme$0.99
None

Rook+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Blackbird! free?
Blackbird! costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Rook+ free?
Rook+ costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Blackbird! or Rook+?
Blackbird! and Rook+ are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7K and 237 ratings respectively.
Do Blackbird! or Rook+ have ads?
Neither Blackbird! nor Rook+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blackbird! or Rook+?
Blackbird! ships an update every 2 months, and Rook+ every 4 months. Most recently, Blackbird! was updated on October 20, 2026 and Rook+ on October 18, 2026.
Which is more popular, Blackbird! or Rook+?
Blackbird! currently peaks at #38 in the App Store charts, and Rook+ at #78. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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