Blackbird! vs Rook

This game is similar to the classic ROOK® card game*. Play the classic trick-taking game you remember, with the rules you grew up playing. Bid for the chance to call trump, work with your computer partner to take point cards, and make your bid without getting set. PLAY YOUR WAY Start with Kentucky Discard or Western Wyoming rules, or customize the game to match the way your family plays. Blackbird supports a wide variety of rule options, including: • 1s worth 15 points • Low, high, or 10.5 Blackbird • Playing without the Blackbird • Allowing the Blackbird to be played at any time • Winning bidder leads • Red 1 worth 30 points • Adjustable winning score • Bonus for taking the most tricks • Different nest and bidding rules • And more CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGE Play against computer players at Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulty. You can even choose separate difficulty levels for your opponents and your partner. Easy players make some of the mistakes a beginner might make. Medium provides a balanced challenge, while Hard uses a more advanced strategy to think through possible hidden cards before bidding and playing. The computer plays by the same information you do. It doesn't peek at hidden cards. LEARN AS YOU PLAY New to the game or need a refresher? Helpful tips introduce the game as you play and explain what's happening without getting in your way. TRACK HOW YOU PLAY See detailed statistics for your games, with results tracked separately by difficulty level. Complete achievements and see how your play develops over time. Whether you grew up playing with family, learned at church, or just love trick-taking card games, Blackbird lets you play the version you remember. * This app is not endorsed by or affiliated with Hasbro, Inc. ROOK® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

Play the classic Rook trick-taking card game on your iPhone or iPad. 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 free to play and supported by advertising. Prefer to play without ads? Rook+, the paid ad-free version, is also available on the App Store.