Play Yaniv against the computer

Setting up a table of bots

Yaniv here is for two to six players. Open a table and press "Add an opponent" once per bot: one bot is a two-player game, and up to five bots fill the table.

The table rules are chosen before the first hand: call at seven or at five, play to 100 or 200, with two jokers or none. Only the host can seat bots, and only before the first hand.

What a bot can see

Its own five cards, the pile, and how many cards everyone holds. Hands are kept on the server, so no bot can see yours, and none knows what is in the deck.

Bots take about a second over each turn, so you can follow what they threw and what they took.

How the bots play

A bot throws the highest-scoring discard it can make — a pair of kings before a single king — and takes the card on the pile only if it is worth 3 or less; otherwise it draws from the deck.

It always calls yaniv at 3 or less, and at anything else under the line about six times in ten. It does not look at what the others are holding, and it does not keep cards because they pair with something.

How to beat them

The bots call without counting your cards, so they can be assafed. When you are low and a bot has few cards, stay down rather than racing to call: there is a good chance it calls into you.

And keep cards that pair. The bots throw their highest card regardless, so a set you build is a move they never make.

Bots and people together

Invite friends with the code and let bots take the empty chairs. More players make every call a bigger gamble, which is when yaniv is at its best.

After each hand everyone presses "Ready for the next hand"; bots are ready at once. If somebody leaves mid-game a bot plays their seat, and if their connection drops it is held for twenty-five seconds and handed back when they return.