Fun and quick
Sat Mar 12 2022 drjah69I enjoyed the physical card game. This implementation captures all the fun with none of the mess of setting up, tracking life with tokens, and putting it all away. It is just as challenging as the original but you can whip through the games to put your losses behind you.
I have encountered a couple scenarios where I tried to take ab illegal action. Usually it recovers, but at the end of the game once (I was losing to the final pirate and tried to cheat) it hung the game. But otherwise it is smooth gameplay that tries hard not to let you forget to take advantage of your potential on the board.
Some Issues
Mon Oct 25 2021 rickjamesiaThe overall game is great, but I prefer the digital version. There’s some oddities to the UI and rules that make it different from playing with real cards. There’s strange additions that don’t exist in the original rulebook that make the game mostly just more annoying to play. When using certain abilities and then later using a card that removes that card from the play area, that causes the ability to be undone. This is not a rule present in the physical rulebook and drastically limits your potential.
A worse change is that you lose the game if you make your deck too efficient and capable of drawing through the whole deck. In the original rulebook it specifically says that you continue playing as normal without gaining new bad effects from shuffling once you’ve used up all the bad effects. I do not know why this change was made, but it did not improve the game, in my opinion. The inability to play with the original rules, which I think were pretty much perfect, makes this game sort of undesirable for me to play. The change for losing makes the game too random, because you can’t easily strategize around accidentally making your deck too good.
Excellent game, needs better tutorial
Tue Jun 13 2023 WRS15743I had never played the physical version before, so I was coming in as a newbie with this app.
The game itself is definitely one of the best solo card games out there. It’s excellent. It’s also very challenging, and it takes quite a while to figure out how to win, even on the easy level (which isn’t exactly easy). Plus some luck is involved as with all solitaire games, so things have to line up right for you to win.
If you’ve played the game before, you’ll figure out the app easier than someone like me who didn’t know how to play. Even then, it’ll take you a few plays before you figure out the UI, as even with the limited help the UI is not intuitive.
If you haven’t played the game before, you’ll have to watch videos online and visit some game user forums. That was the only way I could figure out how to play. That’s why I docked one star; there is no real tutorial.
Still, now that I figured it all out, it was worth it. This is a very cool game. I lose way more than win, even on easy, but it’s still very fun to play, and it feels really satisfying when you do win.
Thank you developer for making this game and also monetizing it fairly with no ads or IAP. That’s rare nowadays and very, very much appreciated.
I highly recommend this game with caveats about the UI learning curve. Stick with it. You’ll end up loving this game.
One of the best solo games out there!
Thu Apr 12 2018 CrossfitBrentI own the physical game and this is a gem. I recommend you still get the box game which is the price of about 3 lattes. The app handles all of the shuffling and setup. If you know how to play already, you will understand the app version after your first game. The best way to learn before you get started is read the instruction manual on a PC first. Love this game! Solid mechanics and skill will prevail over luck.
For the developers it would be nice to see when your deck is reshuffled which acts as a mental note that your played cards are now back in play again. Also I tried to see which cards I had played during the green phase and don't think I was able to see them. I was down to the last two cards in the challenge deck and wasn't sure how many of our 5 total starting attack points that make up the starting deck I had played. I wasn't sure if I had what I needed to beat the level 1 card I had chose.
Decent port of a fun solo card game that need UI improvements
Tue Apr 16 2019 Br0kenNickAs far as solo card games go, Friday is one of the best (up there with the Oniverse series like Onirim). The theme is fun and this is one of my favorite games from that designer, Friedemann Friese (along with one of his newer economic games, Futuropia). However, the UI (User Interface) on this port needs some work. I find that the touch controls are not responsive enough and sometimes I press an arrow or button and I’m unsure if it registered the action (this rarely happens in other apps so I know it is this UI). I know the programmers are working on this so with any luck this might be an issue that will be remedied. I wouldn’t mind a higher resolution interface as well (especially for tablet use).
While the vertical layout of the game works great on my iPhone (when I’m on the move), I much rather prefer playing this game on a tablet when I’m at home. Such is the case, a horizontal layout would really benefit this game. Similar games have adopted that option (Onirim for example) so I know it can be done.
I’ve played this game on an iPad Pro (1st gen), iPhone 5C and XS and haven’t had the game crash once so I can at least attest to it being a stable build.
If you like solo games I would recommend supporting the programmers who are still working on this fun little game and buy it!
Love the game but the UI needs work
Mon Nov 06 2017 Needsomesleep12345This is a great game, but the UI is not intuitive. One example: the choices after clicking to exit a game seem backwards. You would think the x would exit and the return arrow would return you to the game. Also, I wouldn’t need to exit the game if there was an undo button for when I accidentally click to finish a turn because I forgot I was in the yellow (or red) level and thought I had gathered enough points to win the card but only had enough for the lower level. Also, when you have to stop in the middle of the game you have to remember to choose the same level you were playing before or you will get an error message (and there is no indication that you have a game in progress). Again, love the game itself, but the lack of an undo button when I misinterpret the UI is very annoying.
Love the Game, Tolerate the App
Fri Nov 10 2023 LappenlockerFirst, I’m glad I have the app. It allows me to play this challenging game in a wide variety of situations. I have countless hours into the game at this point, thanks to the app. That’s the good. Now for the not so good.
1) developer support is non-existent. I’ve contacted them many times about the following issues without a single acknowledgement.
2) The app cannot seem to understand how to use a single account between two iOS devices. I’ve been unsuccessful in using the same account between tablet and phone.
3) Tablet support is lackluster. It does not rotate for using a tablet in landscape mode.
4) The app is very buggy on iOS when leaving the app with a new or continuing game in progress. Many times when launching the app again, there are programming errors displayed and you eventually just have to abort the game.
Attempts to get action on these bugs and issues have fallen of deaf ears.
If I didn’t enjoy the game itself so much, I would have deleted this app a year ago, given these issues and lack of support. The only reason I gave it 3 stars was the balance of 5 stars for the game and 1 star for app bugs/lack of support.
Great app based on a great solo card game.
Fri Feb 23 2024 PooldaveHave a physical copy of this game as well. The app is a good implementation that is true to the original. Have played this hundreds of times, and still find it challenging and fun.
“ Finished” from the same game designer is also excellent. Both take a lot of plays to get to a point where you win on a regular basis. Finished is probably a bit harder to get good at.
Good adaptation
Sat Mar 14 2020 Hank62299I own the physical card game and am a big fan of this version as well! I also like the leaderboard of high scores every week. However, the reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because it doesn’t save all of your scores and give you a winning percentage for each level. I think this would be a very easy addition. It gives you a place to record your scores in the physical card game rulebook to keep track and try to beat your high score. The app should do the same.
Edit: I just found where your high score is saved so at least it does that
Needs tutorial
Wed Jan 18 2023 Skoobadooba222Once you know how to play this is a great app but there is minimal explanation as to what to do and playing through it a couple times doesn’t seem to help. I had to watch a YT video to figure out how to play and now it’s super fun. Brutally hard but the physical game is notorious for being insanely difficult. Poor Robinson just wants to fight the pirates and get home to his family!
