Such potential

Dec 7 update: 2.5 stars. Some improvements but still nowhere near how real expert canasta players behave. Example; who throws away and discards a card that would have given you a natural canasta? Answer: the bots in this game. Second example: whose partner discards a wild card and leaves ten cards in his/her hand when there are only three cards left in the draw pile and they clearly wont get another move? Answer: the bots in this game. You guys are making improvements but still have a ways to go.

Also, just because you can pick up the discard pile, doesnt mean you SHOULD pick up the discard pile. Its called strategy! Especially evident near the end of a game where you need multiple other cards to make multiple canastas, and there are only a handful of cards left in the draw pile.

ALSO: you cannot make a meld with two naturals and two wild cards! You always need one more natural card than wild cards. Thems the official rules!!

I still have high hopes! Please take the money I paid for this Pro version, along with all the other peoples, and make it great!

UPDATE: Changing my review to two stars. This "update" is a ridiculous step backwards. PLEASE fix. Not even a novice canasta player would play like these bots! UGH -

This is my first review but I feel compelled to write about this app which could be great but has too many flaws.

First the pros: great interface, lovely layout, good animation, scores compiled quickly and helpfully, many options like number of cards in initial deal and number of cards per deal.

Now, the cons. The opponents and the computer partner are terrible in the Expert level. They dont play like real canasta players. This is especially evident when they dont play properly when the pile is frozen, they pick up a pile with a lone 4 when they already have a canasta in 4s but are needing five different cards to make other canastas, they use a wild card as their final going out discard when they could have used it on a meld to make a canasta. I could go on but Ill stop here.

In addition, the current version allows opponents to meld with two wild cards and two natural cards, when the actual rules state you always need at least one more natural than wild. Plus, the frequency with which the opponent who discards to you has black 3s is totally ridiculous.

This game is a fun time waster and if youre not a serious canasta player, you may enjoy it thoroughly. I just wish I had heeded previous reviewers who made similar complaints, before I bought the full version to have access to the "Expert" level. I hope future upgrades address these issues and if so I will happily change my rating to more stars.

pianojessica about Canasta: Pro