They really should add chit chat for friends.

Moderation is a complex business, and requires the hiring and training of moderators to monitor chat and respond to reports.

Then you have the fact that people pay to play the game. They are not going to keep playing and paying if you ban them.

Furthermore, human interaction is subjective. One person's friendly banter is another's grossly offensive insult. Who do you listen to?

Reports for offense and harassment can be weaponised. Having a chat and a report function for it opens the door to that potential abuse.

Then you have to consider that this is an international game. Each country has different laws and regulations with regards to speech and online communications. How do you keep track of it all?

And all of this is compounded when you remember that this is a child focused game. The second children get involved and potentially exposed to danger, people become hypersensitive and the laws and liabilities become more intense and restrictive. To say nothing of the PR disaster if a child ever comes to any harm while using your software.

So, like most online card games, and video games in general for that matter, it is far easier to eliminate inter-player communication from your app entirely and avoid all of these headaches.

I made a lot of friends online. I loved the banter and verbal mosh pits that were online game lobbies. But for now at least, that era is passed. It might be a safer world as far as the bureaucrats, activists and lawmakers are concerned, but it is definitely a lonelier one.