Card Shark Collection‪™‬ 12+

My original review was only three stars, because the app was harassing me to leave a review. I don't know if the app is able to somehow *tell* if I've left a review or not, but it's been over a year and I haven't been asked to leave a review since then. I'm raising my review from three to FIVE starts because, during the time since I wrote the review, Apple started forcing developers to share what kinds of information the app collects, and (at least according to the developer) this app doesn't collect ANY inforamation at all. In addition, I've been using the 1Blocker firewall (which blocks apps from being able to connect to certain domains, such as analytics and tracking services) and this firewall doesn't report any attempts to connect to such services while I've been using this app. To the developer: THANK YOU for respecting peoples' privacy, by not trying to collect any data yourself, AND by not using any third-party frameworks which collect data without your knowledge.

This collection of card games is the most exhaustive of any app I've seen. It contains almost every card game I've ever played and many I'd never heard of. I purchased it specifically for Canasta, but have played some of the other games as well. Many are solitaire variants and others are multiplayer, but unfortunately you can only play against the AI. In some of the multiplayer games, like Canasta and Gin Rummy, the AI is relatively easy to beat, and they are only 2-player versions. Sheepshead on the other hand is a very challenging 3-player game. It would be nice to be able to adjust the difficulty of the AI and the number of players; even better to be able to play against other humans.

The app is strongest in the Solitaire department, but could be improved in quality and variety in the trick-taking and rummy type games. Contract Bridge is notably absent. Overall the poker games are disappointing, and I would not recommend it as a poker app.

All things considered, it's hours of entertainment for not very much money, and has many games you won't find anywhere else. The interface is solid overall and it has never been buggy or crashed for me.

Not only do they have like a gazillion games, but they have your rules, the neighbors rules, your weird friend Fred's rules, and then the history of all the rules (which you can skip if that's not your thing), and the rules they have chosen to play by, which are usually a conglomerate of the best of all the rules , picked and chosen to make the game Easier to learn, fun to play, and causes less arguments. I originally downloaded this game package only because I couldn't find canasta anywhere else. Then I started playing around with some of the other games, and I fell in love with it! Writing reviews are not my thing, but this App deserves it. I play mostly against the CPU and it learns your style, just as a steady playing partner would. He's getting harder and harder to beat.
( it's getting pretty scary how close we are getting to a true A.I. I'm not so sure there isn't one already living in my computer,)