Guesses 0
Best –
How to play
Goal
Work out the secret number in as few guesses as you can.
How it works
- Choose a 3- or 4-digit secret with the buttons below the keypad. No digit appears twice (for example 4071), and it can start with 0.
- Type a guess with the keypad (or your keyboard) and press Guess. Your guess must also use different digits.
- Each guess is scored:
- Bull (filled dot): a right digit in the right place.
- Cow (ring): a right digit in the wrong place.
- The dots don't say which digits scored, only how many. Four bulls means you've cracked it.
Example
The secret is 4071 and you guess 1074. The 0 and the 7 are in the right places (2 bulls). The 1 and the 4 are in the secret but in the wrong places (2 cows).
Tips
- Start with guesses that share no digits, like 0123 then 4567. Their scores tell you which digits are in the secret.
- A guess scoring nothing at all is useful: it rules out every one of its digits.
- Change one or two digits at a time to find out which ones scored.
The history of Bulls & Cows
Bulls and Cows is a pencil-and-paper game said to be over a century old, often traced to Britain. It inspired the 1970 board game Mastermind, which uses coloured pegs instead of digits.