Roadmap

jack7 is playable on iOS and in active testing. The work ahead is about making every hand clearer and livelier, smoothing the path for new players, and opening it up to more people and platforms.

This roadmap is aspirational, not a promise of dates. Priorities may change as testing shows what matters most.

Shipped

The core multiplayer game is feature-complete and in testing. Recent work:

  • a first-launch walkthrough plus a guided, play-along tutorial, so new players learn the game by doing;
  • practice mode against bots — fully offline, with save-and-resume — so you can play without friends or a connection;
  • custom house rules per room (deal size, jokers, runs, power-card finishes, queen-cover, pickup stacking and more) with saveable presets, plus an optional per-turn timer to keep online games moving;
  • smarter bots with distinct personalities, as lobby players online and as practice opponents offline;
  • a public games browser and one-tap public room creation, so it's quick to find a table;
  • sound effects and a full haptic vocabulary for card actions, power cards, pickups, skips, reverses, and wins;
  • a refreshed settings screen, persistent "Cards!" indicators, and large-hand handling so crowded hands still fit.

On the server side, operational stats, an admin dashboard, structured logs, an in-game action log, and opt-in analytics make testing and debugging far easier.

Next

The current focus is the last of the v1 polish:

  • richer audio — background music for the lobby, table, and win/lose screens; win and lose stings; a dramatic "Cards!" call; and distinct sounds for each power-card moment, with independent music and effects controls;
  • animation passes for dealing, pickups, suit changes, power-card moments, and a proper win celebration;
  • an in-game rules reference you can pull up mid-hand, plus a web rules guide for newcomers;
  • accessibility — colour-blind-safe power indicators, Dynamic Type, reduce-motion, and better VoiceOver labels.

The goal is for jack7 to read at a glance: who's up, what just happened, why a power card mattered, and what you can do next.

Planned

Bigger features, planned once the core online game is rock-solid:

  • more ways to play together — rematch in the same lobby, quick emotes and taunts, spectating, player profiles with lifetime stats, and friends / recent players;
  • more variety — card-back skins and a last-player-standing mode;
  • deeper iOS integration — universal links that open straight into a room, "it's your turn" push notifications, a Live Activity for whose turn it is, an iPad-tuned layout, Spanish / Portuguese / French localization, and Game Center sign-in to pre-fill your name;
  • reliability and safety — crash reporting and safeguards against abuse;
  • longer shots — a web client so non-iOS friends can join, tournament play, and shareable game replays.

Feedback

Testing feedback is welcome at adi@ambacelar.com. The most useful reports include what happened, what you expected, the room context, and whether the issue happened once or repeatedly.