Frequently Asked Questions

Currently we can only offer the Nations built into the game, we hope in the future to give more choices to game players.

Café International can be an extremely strategic game, when playing solitaire you arrange your cards to maximise your possible score. In competitive games against the Café International computer or other players, you need to consider your opponents cards when deciding which has the biggest benefit to your game. You mave be able to place one card for 4 points but in doing it you may open a higher scoring opportunity for them. In that instance you may opt to place a lower scoring card for you to block their move completely and open up other opportunities for you later in the game. As you can see being able to view each others cards add and extra twist of fun to the gameplay.
A very important strategic aspect of the game revolves around the question of whether one can choose the cards, one uses so that the Defendant is not be able to score highly. Or if I can have a major promising next train without an opponent mucking one in this round. This is also in the board game, deliberate tactical starting situation. On the iPad, so you can always see the cards of all opponents. On the iPhone, you have to tap it on a player picture and then see his current map.

We designed the cards to make it easier to distinguish Male and Female cards especially on iPhone devices where the screens are quite small (compared to iPad). The hatched cards are the Male cards.

We have put together a free little ebook with tips on strategy, which details all the rules and where you can find tips on how you can improve your game strategy. You can do it! Request free here.

Yes, please take a look at our web site.

Sound effects (sounds), music and voices can be set separately via the "Settings" menu in the lobby. If you don't want to leave the current game you can select the pop-up menu, then select the pause button and you will enter the settings screen allowing you to make changes simply and quickly.

If you're online, then you can tap the speech bubble and type a message. This is then sent to Game Center and is then visible to all players in your current game. New messages from other players will be shown automatically.

Asynchronous in Café International basically means one turn after another. When you choose an online game, you choose your opponents (unless you have been invited to join a game by someone else) and then you make your first move, a message then goes out to the next player letting them know it is their turn, and so on until a message comes back to you and you can continue the game.If everyone is online and in the game at the same time it can feel real-time, as you will see them make their moves, but if the other players are off-line you will only get a message to continue the game once all players have completed their moves. When you rejoin the game to make your move Café International will first show you each players move and then it's your turn.

As a member of Game Center you can choose to play your friends (the people you know) but with 'Auto Match' you can let the game choose from any online players around the world.

The online gaming index reflects your gaming effort and results. It incorporates the number of games played, as well as your total score achieved and the relative performance to the nearest competitor. So if similar skilled players with relatively few points difference finish a game, the index grows only slightly. However, if a very inexperienced player with low index value wins against a more experienced player with a high index value, the change in the winners index value is immediately more apparent. The loosing player receives no additional index points at the end of a game.
more information can be found in our Strategy Guide.

If it's not your turn right now in the current game, a button with a Game Center icon is shown. Tapping it opens the dialog showing all your current games. You can now directly jump to a different one. A small star badge is shown next to that button if it's your turn right now in any other game.

If you are not staying in the game to watch others do their moves, you'll be informed once it's your move again. This is done through Game Center notifications. How exactly you want to be notified (e.g. through notification center messages, through additional sounds etc.) is a central configuration of the Game Center app and has to be set there. In case you switched it off there, you need to take yourself of your open games and check in Café International every now and then whether it's your turn by now. A badge at the application icon informs you about the number of games where it's your turn currently.

Yes, please take a look at our web site.

The rule states that for a multiplayer (classic or online) game a player can either replace a Joker card or perform one of the other valid choices of moves. If a Joker has been replaced in the first move, your turn is over for this round. Replacing a Joker as your second move is not allowed (since it's a complete move of it's own).
This rule does not apply to the solitary and time game, where you can exchange Jokers at any time in the game.

This is one of the rules of the original board game. You can place one card at the bar, you can use a joker or you can set one or two cards at the tables, before the next player's turn.
In the solitaire game and the time game you play the cards as you require, getting the highest score and being the fastest is your prioity here!

Sound effects (sounds), music and voices can be set separately via the "Settings" menu in the lobby. If you don't want to leave the current game you can select the pop-up menu then select the pause button and you will enter the settings screen allowing you to make changes simply and quickly.

Sound effects (sounds), music and voices can be set separately via the "Settings" menu in the lobby. If you don't want to leave the current game you can select the drop-down menu then select the pause button and you will enter the settings screen allowing you to make changes simply and quickly.

Sound effects (sounds), music and voices can be set separately via the "Settings" menu in the lobby. If you don't want to leave the current game you can select the drop-down menu then select the pause button and you will enter the settings screen allowing you to make changes simply and quickly.