1. CodeNaked's Avatar
    There's a Spades game in the App World store. For some reason it's not showing up under the Games/Cards category, but you can find it if you search for the keyword "spades".

    Compared to some of the other card games out there, the graphics are pretty slick. And the AI seems to be pretty good, too. You can adjust the winning score between 100 and 1000.

    BlackBerry App World - SouthernTouch Spades

    CodeNaked
    05-27-11 04:35 PM
  2. MySerenityNow's Avatar
    I bought that game. It is pretty, alot better than some of the solitare games. I wish it had a hint button though, it keeps beating me.
    05-30-11 08:47 PM
  3. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Yeah, the opponents are tough, but that's offset by having an AI partner who knows how to win without stealing tricks from you. I was surprised how often the computer players bid nil, and succeeded. But us humans still have a tactical advantage because we can bid blind.

    CodeNaked
    Last edited by CodeNaked; 05-31-11 at 11:14 AM.
    05-31-11 11:01 AM
  4. nextlevel88's Avatar
    Really? It's that smart? Ok, you got my dollar.
    05-31-11 11:33 AM
  5. pkcable's Avatar
    I want Backgammon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    05-31-11 11:40 AM
  6. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Really? It's that smart? Ok, you got my dollar.
    Thank you, it is much appreciated. Please let me know how you like it. I think it beats the pants off the alternatives on other mobile platforms. I submitted an update Friday that makes it even a little smarter. As soon as it is approved (this week?), your opponents will start trying to let you win 1 hand if you bid nil.
    05-31-11 11:54 AM
  7. CodeNaked's Avatar
    I want Backgammon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Ahh, my team and I are starting up a project for Hearts this week. But after that, SouthernTouch Backgammon is in the pipeline. Please be patient, and feel free to send any suggestions of what you want to see in the game, or what you don't want to see.

    Thanks.
    05-31-11 11:57 AM
  8. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Version 1.0.4 was approved this afternoon, and should become available on your PlayBooks over the next day or two. This update adds an option for a "single-click" play mode, in case you're the impatient type. As I stated earlier, it also includes some refinements to the AI, especially regarding nil bids.

    Features slated for the next version include support for French (with some limited Spanish & German support) as well as the option to NOT penalize 100 points for 10 sandbags.

    If there are any other game otions you're interested in, or if you find a hole in the AI, please let me know and I'll prioritize those tasks for future releases.

    Thanks,

    Darwin Pinder
    BlackBerry App World - SouthernTouch Spades
    05-31-11 04:29 PM
  9. nextlevel88's Avatar
    Ok, it is pretty smart. It was pretty cool to see my partner switch gears to cover me I when went nil. Is he smart enough to do the opposite and throw low when an opponent covers the nil?

    Also, any rules in there that take a bunch of hands to find, such as a double-set, taking all 13 tricks wins the game, or being able to fold and re-deal if you have seven of the same suit?
    05-31-11 08:35 PM
  10. LaFlamaBlanca's Avatar
    Ahh, my team and I are starting up a project for Hearts this week. But after that, SouthernTouch Backgammon is in the pipeline. Please be patient, and feel free to send any suggestions of what you want to see in the game, or what you don't want to see.

    Thanks.
    I'm with PK!

    You should get Backgammon out ASAP since there's already a decent Hearts game out. Backgammon is an untouched market. Just make sure you make the AI hard enough and the dice rolls random.

    Looking forward to seeing what you guys have to offer.
    05-31-11 11:37 PM
  11. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Ok, it is pretty smart. It was pretty cool to see my partner switch gears to cover me I when went nil. Is he smart enough to do the opposite and throw low when an opponent covers the nil?

    Also, any rules in there that take a bunch of hands to find, such as a double-set, taking all 13 tricks wins the game, or being able to fold and re-deal if you have seven of the same suit?
    Yes, your partner will let an opponent win if they bid nil--the first time. He will go back to "playing to win" after they break the nil contract and get their penalty (new in v.1.0.4). Your opponents play the same against you.

    No, I don't have anything set up for a double-set, or a fold and re-deal with 7 of a suit. I can probably get both of those set up as optional features over the next few weeks.

    Thanks for your input. If you could take a minute and write a short review, that would be awesome. The game still isn't categorized in the App World on the PlayBook yet, and sales are VERY slow.

    --Darwin
    06-01-11 08:34 AM
  12. nextlevel88's Avatar
    Yes, your partner will let an opponent win if they bid nil--the first time. He will go back to "playing to win" after they break the nil contract and get their penalty (new in v.1.0.4). Your opponents play the same against you.

    No, I don't have anything set up for a double-set, or a fold and re-deal with 7 of a suit. I can probably get both of those set up as optional features over the next few weeks.

    Thanks for your input. If you could take a minute and write a short review, that would be awesome. The game still isn't categorized in the App World on the PlayBook yet, and sales are VERY slow.

    --Darwin
    Looking forward to the updates. Not sure if those other scenarios are necessary, as they seem to be more like "house rules" anyway. But the more options, the better, I suppose. Anyway, wrote a review. It's not showing up yet, but I'll keep an eye out for it.
    06-01-11 11:41 AM
  13. rheostaticsfan's Avatar
    Bought (and love) spades. Looking forward to Backgammon. Don't care about Hearts.

    Thanks for the work!
    06-01-11 11:46 AM
  14. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Thanks NextLevel. I can see your review from my developer portal. It's very encouraging to get feedback like that.

    RheostaticsFan, White Flame, PkCable: We have put Hearts on the back-burner and are working on Backgammon this week. Unfortunately, this means I'll need to commission some new artwork, as I have no aptitude for graphic design. Please take a moment to write a review. I'd love to be able to quit my day job and just develop awesome apps that I can sell for 0.99 (opposed to the 1.99 and up many of the apps are commanding these days), but 5 sales a day won't feed my family. : )

    Thanks everyone for the feedback and encouragement.

    --Darwin
    LaFlamaBlanca likes this.
    06-01-11 11:59 AM
  15. offthahorseceo's Avatar
    ill be picking up two copies tonight. thanks for helping get great games on the playbook
    06-01-11 01:14 PM
  16. nextlevel88's Avatar
    Any lead on why it isn't in the card games category?
    06-01-11 01:26 PM
  17. LaFlamaBlanca's Avatar
    Thanks NextLevel. I can see your review from my developer portal. It's very encouraging to get feedback like that.

    RheostaticsFan, White Flame, PkCable: We have put Hearts on the back-burner and are working on Backgammon this week. Unfortunately, this means I'll need to commission some new artwork, as I have no aptitude for graphic design. Please take a moment to write a review. I'd love to be able to quit my day job and just develop awesome apps that I can sell for 0.99 (opposed to the 1.99 and up many of the apps are commanding these days), but 5 sales a day won't feed my family. : )

    Thanks everyone for the feedback and encouragement.

    --Darwin

    That's great news!! I'm really excited, please let us know when it's ready for launch. That's one of the few games I've anxiously been awaiting. The PlayBook makes a perfect size board. I'm not sure how difficult it is but you should consider adding a 2-player mode.

    I've never played Spades but I promise to purchase it as soon as I get home and will submit an honest review tonight.

    You just made my day.
    06-01-11 04:51 PM
  18. nextlevel88's Avatar
    I've never played Spades but I promise to purchase it as soon as I get home and will submit an honest review tonight.

    You just made my day.
    If you've never played spades before, I'd advise learning from another source, preferably a person. Unless you're familiar with both Hearts and Euchre, you may find it's a bit complicated to learn from a computer.
    06-01-11 07:49 PM
  19. CodeNaked's Avatar
    Thanks everyone for your support. Updates in the pipeline for SouthernTouch Spades include:

    Adjustable Speed (thanks for the suggestion in the review)
    Multi-language Support (initially French, Spanish and German)
    Optional 10-bag Penalty

    I hope to submit the next version this weekend, which should put it on track for approval late next week. We are also finishing up the paperwork to submit a version to Microsoft for the Windows Phone 7 platform (though it's unlikely anyone here is interested .

    The backgammon game is progressing, though I feel like it will be another month before we're ready for our initial release. I will start a new thread to continue posting news regarding backgammon.
    06-02-11 08:59 AM
  20. pkcable's Avatar
    If you need any beta help some of us DO know how to handle .bar files.
    06-02-11 09:23 AM
  21. rheostaticsfan's Avatar
    I'm confused...is this a bug? I just played a game where I bid zero and took one by accident thereby incurring the Bonus of -100. In the next hand I bid 4 and my partner bid 3. I took 7 and my partner took 3. We got a bonus of -100. (we also got credit for 0 bags when by my count we should have had 3). What's that about?
    06-02-11 09:42 AM
  22. CodeNaked's Avatar
    I'm confused...is this a bug? I just played a game where I bid zero and took one by accident thereby incurring the Bonus of -100. In the next hand I bid 4 and my partner bid 3. I took 7 and my partner took 3. We got a bonus of -100. (we also got credit for 0 bags when by my count we should have had 3). What's that about?
    The "Bags" row stores a cumulative number, so if you had 7 bags in the previous round, it would have reset to 0 and given you the -100 bonus. Is the game still going on? If so, please e-mail a screen shot of the score popup ([email protected]). I will dig through the code today--thanks for the heads up.

    --Darwin
    06-02-11 09:55 AM
  23. rheostaticsfan's Avatar
    My apologies. All would have been explained to me if only I'd quit the game and restarted/read the rules. I was used to playing as a two player game...with no zero bids allowed (and therefore no bonus) and no penalties for taking too many bags.

    Totally my fault. Thanks so much for your super support. Again, I'm a big fan of the app. I've positively reviewed it on app world and am looking forward to your backgammon app.
    06-02-11 11:48 AM
  24. LaFlamaBlanca's Avatar
    If you've never played spades before, I'd advise learning from another source, preferably a person. Unless you're familiar with both Hearts and Euchre, you may find it's a bit complicated to learn from a computer.
    Thanks. I'm actually very familiar with Hearts so I picked up the gameplay strategy pretty quickly, now I'm just trying to get a better handle on Bid strategy. It's definitely a fun game though. I like the bid element which Hearts doesn't have. I played through a couple games last night and went 1-1 which I was pretty happy about.
    06-02-11 02:48 PM
  25. LaFlamaBlanca's Avatar
    Thanks everyone for your support. Updates in the pipeline for SouthernTouch Spades include:

    Adjustable Speed (thanks for the suggestion in the review)
    Multi-language Support (initially French, Spanish and German)
    Optional 10-bag Penalty

    I hope to submit the next version this weekend, which should put it on track for approval late next week. We are also finishing up the paperwork to submit a version to Microsoft for the Windows Phone 7 platform (though it's unlikely anyone here is interested .

    The backgammon game is progressing, though I feel like it will be another month before we're ready for our initial release. I will start a new thread to continue posting news regarding backgammon.
    Great game so far. It's nice to know you've still got some updates planned even with new games in the works.

    I'll be ready to buy Backgammon as soon as it's ready so just let us know!
    06-02-11 02:53 PM
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