Yaniv Review

Developer: Barak Edry
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.1.2
Device Reviewed On: iPod Touch 2nd Generation

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Yaniv is an extremely popular Israeli card game that has finally made its way into the US App Store. The game is easy to learn thanks to a first-rate tutorial, but difficult to master due to the many options every turn. It is also a breath of fresh air in the App Store, which is dominated by a few categories of game.

I won’t explain all the rules of the game in this review since the game has players work through a very short and well done tutorial at the begining, but I will say that the game isn’t confusing and is easy to pick up. The tutorial takes players through a trial game and has very detailed instructions, and even delves a little into strategy. The card game is similar to other American card games where the objective is to discard cards with the highest point value, but adds an element of surprise because any player can call “Yaniv” to end the round and total up the points everyone has. If a player calls “Yaniv” and doesn’t have the lowest amount of points, then he/she is penalized.

The game can become fast paced and there’s the potential to employ a lot of strategy. There are usually multiple valid moves, each with pros and cons.

The game is visually very well designed. Yaniv also includes a lot of achievements and leader boards. Game Center integration is also included. A really nice feature is the ability to view statistics, which lists numerous different stats for both offline and online play.

Players have the option to purchase Yaniv Pro for $1.99, which I recommend. With Yaniv Pro players can start a match against a computer, a random person online, or a friend who is online. Starting a match online was very easy and took only second. All of the different features of the game are designed and implemented almost perfectly.

Yaniv is a great app that’s easy to learn and fun to play. It’s different from many of the popular games in the App Store, so be sure to check it out!