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 1's 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

No ads, no tracking, no subscriptions. Rook is a popular trick-taking card game using a special deck numbered from 5 to 14 (and maybe 1) in 4 suit colors, plus a Rook card. In this app, the Rook card is a castle chess piece and the cards are designed to be color-blind friendly. Dealing: Deal passes around table for each hand, to the left. Dealer deals 9 cards to each player, and 5 cards to the widow in the middle of the table. Bidding: Players bid for the right to name the trump suit. The player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding at 70 (or passes), and bidding proceeds to the left, usually in 5 point increments. A player that passes is out of the bidding for that hand. Widow, Naming Trump: The high bidder collects the 5 widow cards (which are shown to all players), names a trump suit for the hand, and discards 5 cards from her hand (not shown to the other players). The 5 discards can include point cards which will, depending on your settings, go to either the high bidder or the winner of the last trick. Tricks: The dealer (or the high bidder, you can change this) leads the first trick. Play proceeds to the left until all 4 players have played one card. Players follow suit unless they are out of that suit (or play the Rook card to win a trick with lots of points). If a player cannot follow suit, any card may be played. If there were no trump cards played on a trick, high card in the lead suit wins the trick. If trump cards were played on the trick, the highest trump card wins the trick. The trick winner pulls in the cards (adds them to his won tricks pile), and leads the next trick. The Rook card is the highest card of the trump suit. The ranking of cards from high to low is Rook-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5. Hand results: Both teams count the points from their won tricks piles: Rook card is worth 20; 14 and 10 cards are worth 10 each; 5 cards are worth 5. The other cards count nothing. If the bidding team did not score enough points to cover its bid, its score decreases by the bid amount. Winning: First team to 300 points (or to be 300 points ahead) wins the game. A free, ad-supported Rook app 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 234) and chart position (#5 vs #77). 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 234, 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 September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 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 (234 ratings)
Positive reviews71.3% of reviews73.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7K — better234
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#5 — better#77
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperR. Don Wilsonfishdog.net

Customer experience

Blackbird!

All ratings6,950 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive71.3%
Neutral12.9%
Negative15.8%

Rook+

All ratings234 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 234 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 September 23, 2026 and Rook+ on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Blackbird! or Rook+?
Blackbird! currently peaks at #5 in the App Store charts, and Rook+ at #77. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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