Bulls and Cows (Hit & Blow)

How to play

Bulls and Cows is a code-breaking logic game, also known as Hit & Blow. A secret code is hidden behind 3, 4 or 5 digits, all different (a leading 0 is allowed). Type a guess with the same number of different digits and press ✓. Each guess is scored: a bull is a digit that is in the code and in the right place, a cow is a digit that is in the code but in another place. "1B 2C" means one digit is exactly right and two more are in the code somewhere else; "No match" means none of your digits are in it. Use the clues from all your guesses to narrow the code down until you get every digit in place. Turn on Notes to cross digits out (✕) or mark them as certain (✓) on the keypad. Solo is unlimited: crack as many codes as you like with 3, 4 or 5 digits, and tap New code to start the next one straight away. Each code length has its own leaderboard, where your fewest guesses count. Two players is a pass-and-play duel on one device: each player picks a secret code for the other, you take turns guessing, and the first to crack the opponent's code wins — if player 1 gets there first, player 2 still gets the same number of turns to tie.

Tips

• Start with guesses that share no digits, like 0123 and 4567: together they tell you how many of the code's digits are in each group.
• A guess with no match at all is great news: every digit in it can be crossed out at once.
• Compare two guesses that differ by a single digit: the change in bulls and cows tells you about exactly that digit.
• Once you know which digits are in the code, move them around one or two at a time to find their places.
• Four digits can almost always be found in 7 guesses or fewer; experienced players average around 5.