Two of my favorite card games are Solitaire and Blackjack. Solitaire because it’s just you against the deck and you don’t need anybody else around to enjoy the game, and there are always ample opportunities to use your wits and ingenuity to get yourself out of a sticky situation, which always gives me a huge amount of satisfaction. Then there’s Blackjack which I enjoy because I think it’s a near-perfect blend of skill and luck, and there’s something thrilling about making a choice to hit or to stand, the moment of anticipation as the next card is flipped over and will either make you or break you. It’s a thrill ride. So, because of my love of these two types of card games, I’m really excited about a new mobile game from developer HexiGames that blends elements of the two into one.
It’s called Play 21 and it’s a solo card game that uses the basic rules of Blackjack, but also uses a point system to allow you to compete with other players online. The way the gameplay breaks down is that you have 4 “lanes" where you can deposit cards from the deck. Your goal for each of those lanes is to desposit cards that add up to 21, using Blackjack’s rules where number cards are face value, face cards are worth 10, and Aces can be worth either 11 or 1. You can deposit each drawn card wherever you like, but each one must be placed, there’s no skipping. Getting very close to 21 in a lane isn’t good enough, you need to be right on the mark at 21 and if you go over that you’ll bust. You can go bust in a lane twice before that lane permanently shuts down for the rest of the game. That’s a bad thing, by the way, as less lanes means a higher chance of going bust on the other lanes. All of this takes place in 3:00 minute rounds where you try to score 21 as many times as possible with special bonuses given for consecutive 21 streaks.
What’s really interesting about Play 21 is that you have the opportunity to win actual money by playing. You can register an account in the game and add money to it through PayPal, and there are multiple tiers of paid games to play based on what you’re comfortable with. The buy-in prices range from just 15¢, where you have an opportunity to win 25¢, all the way up to a High Roller game where you buy in for about $15 and get a chance to win $100. And there’s tons of options in between. I’ve often avoided these real money type games on mobile because it always seems like there must be some sort of catch, but that’s not the case with Play 21 in my experience so far. You can wager as much money as you feel like with an opportunity to win even more in return. It’s that simple. And there’s also a “just for fun" mode where you don’t wager any real money at all but still get to compete against other players.
In fact, that’s what I’d suggest everyone do who likes the sound of Play 21. Download the game for free using this link here and then play through a bunch of the “just for fun" games to see what it’s all about. The blend of Solitaire and Blackjack is super fun with a heavy dose of luck and strategy, and in quite a different way from either of those games on their own. If you like what you see in the free games and you’re feeling a bit saucy then create an account and go for some of that real money. Who knows? Maybe you’ll come out with more money than you came in with, and with the range of buy in options there’s no major risks to giving Play 21 a shot. If you need more information you can check out the official HexiGames website right here.
This article is sponsored content written by TouchArcade and published on behalf of HexiGames to promote their real money mobile card game Play 21. For questions or comments, please email [email protected]