Grand Gin Rummy 2: Card Game 17+

Updates and dashboard

Pros: looks lovely, easy to navigate, not a harsh, tacky cartoon vibe that so many other games have.

Cons: with the newest update this week (nov 2023), they increased the buy in for games and reduced the payout. This is a huge blow to users considering everyone has commented on the need for more fair pay outs. This was a poor move by developers. In addition, they reduced the free chip amount. Two days ago I got 860 free chips every 4 hours- tonight it’s 500. My rank/level has not changed. Developers, do you honestly think we wouldn’t notice? I’ve never reviewed an app before but this annoyed me enough to pop over hear and call it out. You have the ability to improve this while still making money from paid features and ads, so please do it.

Functionality: please update the user dashboard when we are in a game. As I play, I want to be able to view my chips, my xp level, and which game mode and table I’m in. It’s frustrating to not have easy access to that while playing, and only be able to view that in between sessions. You could add that dashboard to the header of the table while we’re in game mode. (Similar to the Rummikub game).

Designed to force purchase

Ok, so I’ve gone back to this game off and on over the last few years. When it comes to design and ease of use, this game is my favorite. It’s simple, but elegant looking and doesn’t bombard you with ads, which is great! HOWEVER, after playing a while, it becomes quite obvious that you really can’t get anywhere without making purchases. The amount of coins you get back for a win is way too low, not even half of what you put in to play, so one loss can be devastating to your total amount. Also after some time it just feels like the odds are stacked against you. When game after game, your opponents are able to knock or even gin after just a couple cards being played leaving you no chance at all, it just doesn’t feel worth playing. It’s either an issue of unrealistic shuffling and dispersing of cards or it’s rigged. Then there’s the leagues...they cap the amount of trophies you can get per level, so unless you play the higher costing tables you’re never going to make enough to rank high on the leaderboard, but then all it takes is one bad game on said high cost table and you’re done. No measly couple hundred coins every 4 hours is gonna help with that either. So yeah, I have a love hate feeling towards this game. Love the design and basic function but resent the low percentage of coins you win back after the low chance you actually win a game.

Developer Response ,

Dear Cm318, thank you for your review. I'm sorry to hear you feel this way. Please note though that the distribution of cards in Grand Gin Rummy is generated randomly and not influenced by players' experience levels, the table entry, nor whether or not they make in-app purchases. The same conditions apply to each player and it is always the same generator that deals the cards. As I hope you can understand, we are a company and regret that we can't offer 100% chip payouts for games. However, we do offset this by giving away free chips every 4 hours and awarding chests for XP, league position and win streaks so that players are never forced into making a purchase should they not wish to.

Too Many Coincidences

The app is absolutely rigged. At first it was ok, was still fun even with the obvious card delivery (cards you need come immediately after you discard, starting hand is too perfectly set up, etc) but after playing a few weeks it became increasingly clear that the system decided who would win and who would lose and stacked the deck accordingly. I realize there is still an element of chance since you’re playing a live person, but it’s really just no fun at all anymore because it’s not based on skill in any way. It’s frustrating to lose like that but even winning is no fun when you only win because the system decided it was your turn to win. I came here to see if I was the only one noticing these things and I’m reading the same complaints from many others. After my last purchase of a specialty pack I started losing in an unprecedented way. (Like with rookie opponents who repeatedly gin after 2 cards and no chance at all to score, etc - basically exactly what others are describing here in the reviews) The developer may say it’s random, but when player after player complains about the same issues, you’d think they’d take a look at the issue instead of trying to defend themselves with boilerplate responses. Not fun anymore. Won’t spend another dime here. Bye.

Developer Response ,

Dear Jinnufr, we're sorry to hear you're not convinced of our app's fairness. However, we don't manipulate the deck to favor certain players as this is unethical and counterproductive as players would be unlikely to want to keep playing, let alone make a purchase. I can also confirm that the distribution algorithm is not affected by previous purchasing history or financial contribution to the app. Nevertheless, we thank you for your feedback and will take it on board for future consideration.