Card games that need no internet
A card game is one of the few things a phone can do perfectly with the network switched off. There is no world to stream and no lobby to join — a deck, a set of rules and, in some games, an opponent. All three fit on the device. Our catalogue has 23 of them.
What happens on your device when you deal
Every part of a hand is computed locally, which is why a game behaves identically in airplane mode and on Wi-Fi.
- The shuffle. Each deal is drawn by the device itself, not fetched from a server, so no two sessions wait on a network round-trip to begin.
- The rules. Whether a card may move, whether a sequence is legal, whether the deal is still winnable — all of it is decided on the phone.
- Undo. The full move history sits in memory, so you can walk a hand backwards as far as you like without asking anyone.
- Your statistics. Wins, streaks and best times are written to the device and read back from it.
The opponents are on the phone, not on a network
Some of these are games you would normally play against someone: Belote, Rami, Backgammon, Double Solitaire. Here the opponent is a computer player running on your device. That is worth being plain about, because it cuts both ways.
It means a full match never waits for a stranger to take their turn, never ends because someone left, and works on a plane. It also means you are not playing against people — there is no matchmaking, no ranking ladder and no chat, and the games declare no user interaction on their store listings.
Which card games there are
The catalogue is built around the classic families rather than around variants of a single game: the Klondike family and its cousins, the FreeCell family where every deal is open, the Spider family and its two- and four-suit ladders, plus trick-taking and rummy games with computer opponents. Each has its own rules page and its own hand feel; none is a reskin of the next.
What still needs a connection
Two things, and it is worth naming them rather than claiming more than the apps deliver. Installing a game and later updating it goes through the App Store or Google Play. Advertising is loaded from the network — the games are free and ad-supported, with a banner outside the play area, and offline that banner simply does not appear.
Nothing else. There is no cloud save to synchronise and no account to authenticate, because there is no account at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to download anything before playing offline?
Only the game itself. Once it is installed there is no extra content pack, no first-run download and no assets fetched between hands.
Can I play Belote or Rami without internet?
Yes. Their opponents are computer players running on your device, so a full match plays out with the network off.
Are the deals random, or downloaded?
They are generated on the device. Nothing about a deal comes from a server, which is also why a game opens instantly rather than waiting on a connection.
Will my progress survive being offline for weeks?
Yes. Progress is written to the device as you play and never depends on a connection. It stays on that device, which also means it does not follow you to a new phone.
How offline play works across the catalogue