The bird needs to be played like a trump
The bird should only be played like a trump it should not be able to be played on any set of cards you should have to play a card in the color that dealt before you play the bird
The official rules are the only rules that allow the Blackbird to be played anytime. In the settings, you can change the rules set or create your own.
The other rule set (Western Wyoming) that is shipped with the game does not allow the Blackbird to be played anytime. If you don’t like the Western Wyoming rules, you can create your own rule set by going to Settings → Active Rule Set → Manage → +
When you are creating your own rule set, you have the option of specifying whether or not to allow it to be played anytime or not.
Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for playing!