The Card Table vs PODOC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Card Table
This app provides a virtual deck of cards for playing any card game with friends. Users can customize rules, deal cards, and manage scoring. It facilitates direct device-to-device card passing for seamless gameplay, even without internet access.
- Virtual card deck
- Customizable game rules
- Direct device-to-device card passing
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
- Play offline
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It’s not a card game. It’s every card game. The Card Table gives you a virtual deck of cards so you can play any of your favorite card games. You are in charge of the rules, such as how many cards to deal, how to keep score, and how to take turns. If you know how to play a game with a physical deck of cards, you can play it with The Card Table—without needing to shuffle! An iPad or Mac becomes your card table, players keep their hands on their iPhone, iPad, Mac, or iPod touch, and you “pass” cards between devices. Players’ devices connect to the iPad via Bluetooth and/or Wifi. The magic is in the direct communication between devices. When you pass a card it doesn’t go through a server—it goes directly from one device to the next! Now you can easily play your favorite games on road trips or airplanes. *** At least one iPad or Mac and another iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch with at least iOS 13 or a Mac with at least macOS 10.15.5 required***
PODOC
A digital card table for playing various card games with friends, either locally or online. Offers pre-configured games and extensive customization options for creating your own rules. No ads or tracking, focusing on pure gameplay.
- Digital card table
- Play with real people
- 10 pre-configured games
- Build custom games
- Local Wi-Fi play
- Online multiplayer
- No ads or tracking
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Podoc is a digital card table for playing real card games with real people. There are no computer opponents and no rules to get in your way — Podoc deals the cards, sets the table, and rotates the dealer. You and your friends play by the rules you know (or the house rules you've argued over for years). 10 GAMES, READY TO DEAL Every game comes pre-configured with the right deck, layout, and features: • War — the classic high-card battle • Go Fish — collect sets of four by asking for cards • Crazy Eights — match suit or rank; eights are wild • Hearts — dodge the hearts and the Queen of Spades • Spades — bid, take tricks, and race your partner to 500 • Euchre — fast 4-player, 2-vs-2 trick-taking • Gin Rummy — build melds and knock • Golf — swap cards for the lowest score over 9 holes • May I — contract rummy across 7 escalating rounds • 65 — an 11-round gin-style game from Grandma Bette BUILD YOUR OWN GAME Beyond the presets, create fully custom games: choose the number of decks, add jokers, turn draw and discard piles on or off, enable a shared play area, trick-taking, score sheets, card passing, and teams. Save your presets and deal them anytime. PLAY IN PERSON — FREE Local play connects everyone over Wi-Fi on the same network. No internet, no account, no charge. Pass the devices around the kitchen table. PLAY ONLINE — ANYWHERE Start an online table and share a 6-character code; friends anywhere in the world join in seconds. MADE FOR CARD PLAYERS • Drag-and-drop cards between your hand, layout, the shared arena, and the piles • Round-by-round score sheets • Trick-taking for Spades, Hearts, and Euchre • Card passing for Hearts, Go Fish, and your own variants • Team play with configurable partnerships • Five card-back designs, or upload your own • Save and resume a game when everyone rejoins • Sound effects and event notifications (both optional) HONEST BY DESIGN No ads. No tracking. No analytics. Podoc doesn't collect personal information or require an account — just gather your players and deal. Local play is free forever. Online multiplayer requires a subscription: • Podoc Monthly — $2.99/month • Podoc Annual — $19.99/year Both include a 1-week free trial and are Family Sharing enabled. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://podoc.io/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://podoc.io/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PODOC at 100% against The Card Table's 48%. PODOC also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.2). The Card Table's advantage is ratings volume (12 vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
PODOC is free to download; The Card Table costs $1.99 up front. The Card Table sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and PODOC sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PODOC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Card Table has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of The Card Table's written reviews are positive against 100% of PODOC's.
The Card Table ships an update every 2 weeks, PODOC every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Card Table | PODOC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (12 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Porter Hoskins | Apotherium LLC |
Customer experience
The Card Table
PODOC
Bugs and requests
The Card Table
Reported bugs
15 issues- App crashes on launch or during gameplay
- Blurry or black screen on iPad
- Devices fail to connect or stay connected
- Spinning wheel of death/infinite loading
- App doesn't work on iOS 14 and older versions
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- iPad Air and iPad mini compatibility issues
- Cards disappear during gameplay
- Networking drops frequently during games
- Cannot determine whose turn it is
- In-app purchase popup spam and blocking
- Game doesn't reconnect after switching apps
- Table appears blank after setup
- Devices stuck on main/drag players screen
- Forced logout from Game Center
- App incompatibility with newer iOS updates
Requested features
19 requests- Predefined game modes with built-in rules (Poker, Rummy, Solitaire, Euchre)
- Multiple deck support
- Chip counter for poker
- Allow iPads to function as player hands, not just table
- Ad-free premium version option
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- Game saving and favorite deck saving
- Joker customization (high/low joker distinction)
- Phase 10 card display
- Auto-stacking teacher for games like Rummy
- Pinch-zoom capability for table scaling
- Score tracking and tally sheets for specific games
- Shuffle deck button
- Card organization tools for player hands
- Apple TV support
- Custom deck building with user-uploaded card art
- Increased player support (up to 9 players)
- Multitasking support without game restart
- Remote play capability (not just local WiFi)
- Tutorial improvements and game suggestions
PODOC
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Card Table
- Poker Table BackgroundFree
- Standard Card BackFree
- Modern Card BackFree
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- Default Table BackgroundFree
- Paisley Card Back$0.99
- Wave Card Back$0.99
- Spiral Card Back$0.99
- Wooden Table Background$1.99
- Spiral Table Background$1.99
PODOC
- PODOC Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- PODOC Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is The Card Table free?
Is PODOC free?
Which has better reviews, The Card Table or PODOC?
Do The Card Table or PODOC have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Card Table or PODOC?
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