Getting a good reading, and answers to common questions.
Fan them so the corners step evenly across, like a staircase. Hold them flat-on to the camera rather than tilted away, and keep the whole fan inside the frame. Cards laid out on a table work just as well as a hand held up.
Close enough that the fan roughly fills the frame, but far enough that the corners are sharp and in focus. If the photo is blurry, the corners cannot be read. Tap your camera's screen to focus before taking the shot.
Normal room light is usually fine. The two things that cause trouble are glare — a lamp or window reflecting off the glossy card surface — and shadow, where your own hand or phone darkens the corners. If a reading fails, move slightly so the light is coming from behind you rather than in front, or use your camera app's flash.
A plain, contrasting surface helps. A dark tablecloth or felt makes white cards stand out. A busy patterned surface makes it harder.
Almost always one of four things: a corner was covered by another card, the photo was blurry, glare washed out the corners, or the fan was too far away. Re-spread the fan so every corner shows, tap to focus, and try again.
That card's corner was probably covered, shadowed, or cut off at the edge of the frame. Widen the fan slightly and re-take the photo — or, quicker, tap the + beside the cards it did find and pick the one it missed. The total updates as soon as you save. (On the first release there is no +; re-take the photo instead.)
This can happen with worn cards, unusual card designs, strong glare, or a soft-focus photo. You do not have to re-take the photo: tap the card that is wrong under Detected Cards, pick the right rank and suit, and save — the total recalculates, and corrected cards are marked so you can see what you changed. Re-taking the photo with the fan spread wider and better focus also works. (On the first release the cards are not tappable; re-take the photo.)
PipScore is built for standard playing cards. Jumbo-index decks — the ones with oversized corner numbers and suit symbols — may not read correctly, because the corners look quite different from a standard deck. We are looking at this.
Use the dials on the main screen to set what an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten are worth. Number cards always score their face value — a 7 is 7 points. Set the dials before you take the photo, and the total will use your values.
Yes, if you ask them to. Tap the gear in the top right to open Settings, then switch on Remember my point values — your Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten settings will still be there the next time you open the app. Leave it off and the values start from their defaults each session.
If there is no gear on your screen, you are on the first release, where the values always reset — the update that adds the switch is on its way.
Yes. PipScore does not know the rules of any particular game — it reads the cards and adds up the values you set. Any game where you total the points in a hand will work.
While the app is open, PipScore keeps a list of your recent hands so you can look back at earlier scores in the same session. This list is held in memory only — it is cleared when you close the app, and nothing is written to storage.
PipScore totals the points in each hand you photograph. It does not add hands together into a game-long score or track players — you keep the running score the way you normally would.
Tap the gear in the top right corner of the main screen. The Settings screen opens over the app; the back arrow in its top left returns you to scanning. Nothing you change there affects a scan already on screen. (On the first release there is no gear — the update that adds it is on its way.)
The version number sits at the bottom of the Settings screen. Worth quoting if you ever report a problem, so we know exactly which build you are on.
Yes. Tap the gear in the top right and choose System, Light or Dark. System follows whatever your phone is set to, so PipScore turns dark when your phone does — useful if your phone switches automatically in the evening. Pick Dark to keep it dark whatever the phone says, which is easier on the eyes at a dimly lit table. (On the first release there is no gear; the update that adds it is on its way.)
No. The theme only changes how the app looks. Your phone's camera app takes the photo, and the reading happens on the picture itself — so lighting on the cards matters, and the app's colours do not.
By design. PipScore hands the job to the camera app already on your phone instead of running a camera itself. That is why it needs no camera permission at all — and it means you get your phone's own focus, flash, and zoom.
None. PipScore requests no permissions whatsoever — not camera, not storage, not network access.
The photo is held in PipScore's private app storage only as long as it takes to read the cards, then deleted. It is never uploaded, never added to your gallery by PipScore, and never shared. Note that your phone's own camera app may keep its own copy in your gallery, as it does for any photo — that copy is outside PipScore's control, and you can delete it like any other picture.
Yes, entirely. PipScore has no internet access at all — everything happens on your phone. It works in airplane mode, on a plane, or anywhere with no signal. Full details are in the Privacy Policy.
The quickest route is inside the app: tap the gear, then Contact support — it starts the email for you with your version number already in the subject line, which saves us both a round trip. You can also email 13thrabbit02@gmail.com directly.
If a hand did not read correctly, it helps enormously to describe the deck you were using and the lighting — that is exactly the information we need to improve the reading.