Rachel

Rachel is a strategic card game for iOS based on 30 years of family tradition. The twist? The last player standing loses. Empty your hand to survive — whoever’s left holding cards at the end is out.

How It Plays

Unlike typical shedding games, Rachel inverts the win condition. You’re not racing to go out first — you’re trying not to be last. This creates tense endgames where a commanding lead can collapse in moments.

Special cards drive the strategy:

• 2s force pickups (stackable for devastating penalties)
• 7s skip turns (chainable across multiple players)
• Black Jacks deal 5-card penalties — the game’s nuclear option
• Red Jacks counter Black Jacks defensively
• Queens reverse direction of play
• Aces are wild — nominate the next suit

Built With

Swift and SpriteKit for native iOS performance, with GameKit for Game Center integration and local multiplayer. The game logic is test-driven to ensure rule accuracy across every edge case — stacking interactions, direction changes during skips, deck reshuffles mid-penalty.

Game Modes

• Solo — Play against AI opponents with adjustable difficulty
• Local Multiplayer — Challenge friends via Game Center or local networking
• Online — Play against anyone, anywhere (coming soon)

The Bigger Vision

The iOS app is the starting point. The long-term goal is to implement Rachel on as many computing platforms as possible — from vintage computers (C64, ZX Spectrum, DOS) to modern systems — all connected through a universal binary protocol. A Commodore 64 playing against an iPhone using the same rules and the same network protocol.

It’s ambitious and aspirational. The iOS app comes first. The multiverse comes when there’s time.

Current Status

• iOS app with full game rules and AI opponents
• Game Center and local networking multiplayer
• Comprehensive test suite validating game rules
• Online multiplayer in progress

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Rachel started as a Phoenix LiveView web app before being rebuilt as a native iOS app. The original blog posts describe that earlier version.