Chipline: Five in a Row

Lay chips on a board of playing cards to get five in a row. Jacks are wild, so any hand can turn on one card. Win three runs to take the match.

Play solo against bots, pass one device around the table, or everyone plays on their own iPhone or iPad. It all works offline, so a long flight or a cabin with no signal won't stop the game.

Chipline is a board game for two, four or six players. Everyone sees the board on their own phone and holds their own hand there, so nobody sees your cards. Kids without a phone? Pass and play runs the whole game on one device, handed round. Odd number of people? Bots fill any empty chair.

Want an audience? Lay an iPad, iPhone Duo or a spare phone flat in the middle of the table as the board. Nobody needs it to play, but its ten-by-ten grid of big, readable cards lets friends who aren't playing follow every move.

Heading somewhere without signal? Install Chipline on every phone before you leave and start the free trial on the device that will run the game. Joining is free, and after that nothing needs the internet again.

HOW IT PLAYS • Play a card from your hand and put your team's chip on a matching space. • Five chips in a line, across, down or diagonally, makes a run. • The first team to three runs wins. • Two-eyed jacks go on any open space. • One-eyed jacks take an opponent's chip off the board, unless it's part of a finished run. • The four corners are free and count for every team.

MADE FOR WHERE YOU ACTUALLY PLAY • No internet, no cell signal, no router. The devices reach each other directly over their own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, so leave those switched on. • Kitchen tables, cabins, campsites, long train rides, the back of the car. • No accounts, no sign-up, no ads and no tracking. The app collects nothing. • Bots fill any empty chair and play by the same rules, so three people can play a four-seat game. • If a phone locks or a call comes in, that player gets their seat and their hand back when they return. • No iPad? A phone can be the board in the middle of the table. Or host and play runs the game from one phone while everyone else joins from theirs. Pass and play runs the whole game on one iPhone or iPad, handed round the table. • Works with VoiceOver, and text follows your system text size.

AT THE TABLE • Big seat numbers round the board, each turned to face its chair, show everyone where to sit. • The cards pick the dealer: one to each chair until a spade ace or face card turns up. • Teams alternate round the table, so partners never sit side by side.

ONE PURCHASE RUNS THE TABLE Chipline is free to download, and joining someone else's game is free forever. Running a game, whether that's the table in the middle, host and play or pass and play, starts with a free 7-day trial and then needs a one-time purchase. No subscription and nothing to renew. The one purchase covers everyone playing, and Family Sharing extends it to your family's devices.

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