Tuesday, December 20, 2022

New Cribbage Pro Beta Available on Mobile!

Cribbage Pro Is Getting New Features!

As you may have read in the recent Competitive Matchmaking Season blog post, we recently released a "Beta Test" version of the upcoming release of Cribbage Pro, and I have recently added some exciting new features there! Have you ever wondered what was the best discard decision among all of the possibilities, and why? Now you can know with our new hand "Grade" tool, which is also integrated into the hints system! It is even visible for your opponent's hand, and even in multiplayer games! I plan to discuss more about how that feature works in the future, but I'm also excited to announce that the beta is now available for those on iOS and iPadOS devices through the Apple TestFlight system! For Apple users, just use this link to sign up and get started with the latest version of Cribbage Pro here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/EbFA7iuB (For the "Contests" version on iOS, use this link: https://testflight.apple.com/join/3UstfEqD)For Android users, continue to simply go to the Google Play Store listing for the free version of Cribbage Pro on your Android device (if reading this on a different device, you can sign up here) and select the option to sign up for the Beta and install it directly there.

As a beta tester, you will be able to get early access to all of the new features, while also having your input guide the future of Cribbage Pro! I have received a lot of great feedback already, and it has shaped the game, and in particular the new features. I am listening, and really want your input!

You can always switch back out of the beta at any time, but if you have any suggestions at all, please take a moment and send an email to support@FullerSystems.com with your feedback about the beta. This beta version uses a new "game engine", which is kind of like an operating system for games. As such, it will look a little different around things like how it scales to fit your screen, animations/sounds, some new options/settings, prompts/input screens, and other similar non-cribbage specific things. If you have used the desktop Mac/Windows version of Cribbage Pro, then much of this will look familiar (if you have the latest updates just released - so be sure to get that update).

This is a beta test version, which means it could still have a few bugs we need to work out. If you see one, let us know right away and don't assume we already know about it!

The beta will likely continue into January (Update: February/March) 2023 before this new version will become the full released version for everyone to use. Having all of you help beta test is extremely valuable to me, so go check it out and brag to your friends about getting early access to some fun new features!!

UPDATE Feb 2023: The feedback and participation has been amazing! Thank you all so much for participating, and even more so for providing great feedback. We have decided to run the beta a few weeks longer than originally planned. This will allow more time to make more improvements, while also giving everyone a little more time to play with the game and provide more feedback. I'm so excited to get this update out to everyone, but also want to make sure it is the best it can be! Keep that feedback coming!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Competitive Cribbage - Winter 2023

The Winter 2023 Season of Competitive Cribbage is Live!

The Autumn 2022 season has closed, and all stats and final top finishers recorded. Can you feel that chill in the air (apologies to our friends in the southern hemisphere)? I definitely can, and with it the Winter 2023 Season of Competitive Cribbage is here! This new season is just a little longer than usual at 112 days. Please also read through this post for some important news about a new upcoming version of Cribbage Pro.

Autumn 2022 was a shorter season (77 days), for mostly logistical reasons, with a few less players as well, which tends to happen this time of year as everyone is busy with so many things. In some ways it was more competitive in a tighter time frame, well at the same time a handful fewer participants is one less person to win against and makes some room for others to join the list. At the same time, I know this also meant having to wait a little longer to find a match. Please continue to spread the word about Competitive Cribbage with your cribbage playing friends. Or, better yet, help a friend learn the great game of cribbage and join us here! I humbly suggest that Cribbage Pro is a great tool to teach the game.

The Top 50 has quite a few players new in the mix. I love seeing new players come in and make a run for it! Thank you to all for participating and bringing your friends! Thank you also to everyone who participated at every level, even if you didn't make the final Top 50.

In 1st place for Autumn 2022, we have "kb92129" (from sunny San Diego perhaps??), up from 19th last season. Impressive. 2nd place is "TC2" '(3rd last season, and someone we have all seen around these parts before). In 3rd we have "Dhrun", who was in 11th last season. Other interesting movements in the Top 50 included "ernie313" who moved up 15 places to be 6th (and was several places higher earlier), "MondoMan" up 35 to 7th place, "hillchem" finishing in 11th up 36 places! A hearty Congratulations to you all!!

Everyone who finished the season in the Top 50 ("Recent" list), has been awarded both a special in-game "board peg" as well as Cribbage Pro Gold that can be used in the Cribbage Pro Contests system and then redeemed for cash (awards must be used at least once in a Contest to be cashed out to USDC, see the full terms and conditions for details). The Gold awards do expire, so use them or lose them! If you are awarded Gold, and are not sure what it is good for (or how to access the Contests system), read through the links above or email us any time if you have questions. On iOS you will need the "Cribbage Pro Contests" version of the app, and on Android you need to install the game using the Amazon Appstore. It is super easy to do, so don't let that app install process get in the way of some good cribbage fun! The Cribbage Pro Gold awards are as follows (not cumulative):

  • 4 Gold for Top 50
  • 7 Gold for Top 25
  • 10 Gold for Top 10
  • 20 Gold for 3rd Place
  • 30 Gold for 2nd Place
  • 50 Gold for 1st Place

The top finisher is awarded the "crown" board peg, and all others in the Top 50 are awarded a "star" board peg. These pegs are shown to everyone when playing in online multiplayer games, and they are permanent, so if you see your opponent has one of them you can know that they have earned it by finishing in the Top 50 in competitive play.

Remember: Complete 10 matches per week! See the FAQ for details.

Here was the final Top 50 for Autumn 2022:

1kb9212926tomato777
2TC227seachica
3Dhrun28tassie08
4nob4one29236Postie
5iPeg30jjonell
6ernie31331enaud58
7MondoMan320ffpiste
8Mrpadre33TheBull82
9scoot123434Rex254
10dkatz187735wintea1
11hillchem36rattle15
12mailliw37duke62
13Br1Guy38Domerzag
14Paxter39gsosin
15Bass2K940SH00TER
16Yompopo41TrumpetJ
17Warpegs42Roget
1831four1443lbolt58
19brettniko44Swodis
20dronergal45gtgplayer
214KA46808HWK
22IAMFAST47pscohen
23BigD4Life48boltsfan9
24yank2949vhray
25PalmerR50ST13


New Version of Cribbage Pro Available in Beta!

We recently released a beta test version of an upcoming release of Cribbage Pro on the Google Play Store. If you have an Android device and would like to check it out, then go to the Google Play Store listing for the free version of Cribbage Pro on your Android device (if reading this on a different device, you can sign up here) and select the option to sign up for the Beta and install it. You can always switch back out of the beta at any time. This beta version uses a new "game engine", which is kind of like an operating system for games. As such, it will look a little different around things like how it scales to fit your screen, animations/sounds, some new options/settings, prompts/input screens, and other similar non-cribbage specific things. If you have used the desktop Mac/Windows version of Cribbage Pro, then much of this will look familiar. As this is a beta test version, it means it could still have a few bugs we need to work out. If you see one, let us know right away and don't assume we already know about it.

The game itself is the same, and the way things work hasn't changed in any meaningful way. So, you may wonder why we did this if nothing major is changing. The short answer is that this new system will allow us to do much more in the future, and add more features that many have asked for, while doing it in an efficient way. Today, when I make a change of any kind to the game, I generally have to do the work 3+ times (once for each platform the game currently runs on). That takes, as you might have guessed, roughly 3x the amount of work to do just about anything. I sure would like to be able to have that time to work on making the game better, and so that is a major advantage of this change - more features, faster and more consistently. The other reasons are more technical, and involve how game engines work to make a game better in ways that if I tried to do it on my own would take huge amounts of time. The various game engines give you these things "for free" (it is included as part of that system - not to be confused with actually not costing any money). That means I can also develop new things for the game faster overall.

I hope to run this Android version of the beta for a few more weeks before possibly bringing a test version to those of you on Apple devices (the testing system with Apple is a bit more "involved"). If that is something you know you want to be involved with, then install the Apple provided "TestFlight" app from the App Store now so you are ready to go when it is available.. Following that, this new version will become the full released version for everyone to use. If you have some time, consider trying it out and giving me your feedback (good, bad, "meh" - or anything else). Having all of you help beta test is really helpful, and so your feedback in that and always is extremely valuable to me!

As a reminder, if you have played here and have some thoughts on what you would like to see around prizes, structure or anything else, please email us at support@FullerSystems.com with your suggestions.