About this game
Strikode is a Bulls and Cows number guessing game, like Wordle with digits. A secret 3-digit code is hidden on the scoreboard, every digit from 0 to 9 appears at most once, and you throw a ball to test a guess. Each throw comes back with a verdict: a Strike for every digit in the right place, a Ball for every digit that exists in the code but sits in the wrong slot, and an Out when none of your three digits are in the code. Read the lamps, cross off what cannot be true and narrow 720 possibilities down to one. There is no timer and no throw limit, but every round scores 100 points plus a bonus for finishing fast, up to 450 for a first-throw strike and 150 for solving in seven. Your bonus points add up on a personal code with no login required, so you can keep climbing the all-time and weekly leaderboards by total score or by average throws. Play on the keypad or with your keyboard, and share a seed link so friends can crack the exact same code and compare throw counts.
Bulls and Cows strategy guide
Bulls and Cows is a game of elimination, not luck. Every throw comes back with a verdict that rules out part of the 720 possible codes, and anyone who uses that information can finish within seven throws. Here is how to bring your throw count down in Strikode.
The rules at a glance
The secret code is three different digits from 0 to 9. It may start with 0 (for example 047). Because no digit repeats, there are 10 × 9 × 8 = 720 possible codes.
A digit in the right place is a Strike (S). A digit that is in the code but in the wrong place is a Ball (B). If none of your three digits are in the code, the verdict is Out. Three strikes end the round. There is no timer and no throw limit.
Any first throw works. The second throw is where you win
Every first throw gives you exactly the same amount of information, so do not overthink it. 012 is as good as 579. What matters is how you read the first verdict and choose the second throw.
It helps to know how many codes remain after the first throw. Out leaves 210 candidates, one Ball leaves 252, one Strike leaves 126, two Balls leave 63, one Strike and one Ball leave 42, and two Strikes leave 21. An Out is not a bad result. It removes three digits in a single throw.
New digits early, positions late
Throwing three digits you have not used yet tells you which digits are in the code. Reusing digits in different positions tells you where they go. The most reliable way to keep your throw count low is to spend the first two or three throws finding the three digits, then lock in their positions.
For example, if 123 is Out, the code is made of three digits from 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. If 456 then returns one Ball, exactly one of 4, 5 and 6 is in the code and it is in the wrong slot. Narrow the digit set this way first, then shuffle positions to turn Balls into Strikes.
Make elimination a habit
After every throw, keep only the codes that agree with every verdict so far. If that is hard to hold in your head, reread the log from the top, pick one candidate, check it against each line, and throw it. Throwing a code that contradicts an earlier verdict is the most common way to waste throws.
- Keep a Strike digit in its slot and only move the others
- Never put a Ball digit back in the same slot
- Forget all three digits of an Out completely
- When two or three candidates remain, throw one of them. Trying to narrow further usually costs a throw
What counts as a good score
We ran all 720 codes through a plain elimination strategy. It solves a code in 5.3 throws on average and never needs more than 9. A slightly more careful choice of candidates averages 5.2 throws with a worst case of 8. Most people land between 5 and 7, so a steady average under 6 puts you near the top of the board.
Strikode scores 100 points for a solved round plus a bonus for speed: the bonus starts at seven throws and grows by 50 points for every throw you save, so three throws score 350 and a first-throw strike scores 450. The average-throws leaderboard only counts players with at least ten rounds.
Leaderboards and your player code
After your first solved round you pick a nickname and receive an eight-character player code. There is no login. The same device continues automatically, and on another device you enter the code under "Continue with code" to carry your record over. A lost code cannot be recovered, so copy it somewhere safe.
There are two leaderboards, total score and average throws, each for all time and for the current week (reset Monday 00:00 KST). Every round has a five-character seed: share the link and a friend gets the exact same code to crack, so you can compare throw counts.
Frequently asked questions
- Can the code start with 0?
- Yes. Zero is treated like any other digit and can sit in any position, so 047 is a valid code.
- Can a digit appear twice?
- No. The three digits are always different, which is why the keypad disables a digit once you have picked it.
- Is there a time limit or a throw limit?
- No. Taking your time costs nothing. The score depends only on how many throws you needed.
- What happens if I give up?
- The code is revealed and the round scores zero. It does not count toward your total score or your average.
- I lost my player code.
- It cannot be recovered. You will need a new code and a fresh record. You can copy your code at any time from the "My code" tab.
- Is this the same as Bulls and Cows or Mastermind?
- Same family. Bulls and Cows is the pencil-and-paper original (a Bull is a Strike, a Cow is a Ball), Hit and Blow is the Japanese name, and Mastermind is the board game version with colored pegs. Number baseball is the Korean name, which borrows baseball terms for the verdicts.
- Does it work on mobile?
- Yes. It runs in any modern browser on phones and desktops with nothing to install.
