How to Play Bulls and Cows

Bulls and Cows is a classic number-logic puzzle where you crack a hidden 4-digit code using deduction. It is closely related to Mastermind, but uses digits instead of coloured pegs.

Play now: Daily Game · Bull Rush · Color Cows · Multiplayer

Rules · Example · Pen & paper · Strategy · Teachers & printable resources · Game modes

What are the rules of Bulls and Cows?

The aim is to guess a secret 4-digit number. In the classic version, each digit is different — no repeated digits.

After each guess, you receive two pieces of feedback:

• Bull — a correct digit in the correct position
• Cow — a correct digit in the wrong position

Use those clues to narrow down the possibilities until you find the hidden code. Reach 4 Bulls to win.

Example of Bulls and Cows gameplay

Secret code: 4271

Guess: 1234  →  1 Bull, 2 Cows

• The 2 is in the code and in the correct position — 1 Bull.
• 1 and 4 are both in the code but in the wrong place — 2 Cows.
• 3 is not in the code at all.

Every guess gives you information to use on the next one. Try it now →

How to play Bulls and Cows on pen and paper

Bulls and Cows started as a pen and paper game and still works beautifully that way. One player creates the secret number, the other guesses and records feedback in a table.

How it works

1. Player A secretly writes a 4-digit number with no repeated digits.
2. Player B writes a guess.
3. Player A scores the guess — how many Bulls, how many Cows.
4. Player B writes a new guess using the feedback so far.
5. Repeat until Player B reaches 4 Bulls.

Typical layout:

Attempt 1 — 1234 — Bulls: 1 — Cows: 2
Attempt 2 — 1427 — Bulls: 2 — Cows: 2
Attempt 3 — 4271 — Bulls: 4 — Cows: 0

Great for classrooms, family games, and travel — no devices needed.

Simple strategy tips

• Start with a guess that uses four different digits to maximise information.
• When you learn a digit is not in the code, stop using it.
• When you know a digit is in the code, move it around to test which position it belongs in.
• Read Bulls and Cows together — a digit can be right but in the wrong place.
• Make every guess count. Each one should test a specific idea, not just be random.

Good players treat it like a logic grid: every guess eliminates possibilities.

Teachers, printable resources, and custom puzzles

If you use Bulls and Cows in class, visit the Teachers' Guide for classroom setup ideas, strategy prompts, a printable tracking grid, and a link to Haystack where you can build your own single-solution puzzles.

• Download the printable tracking grid for pencil-and-paper lessons, pair work, and warm-ups.
• Visit the Teachers' Guide for curriculum links, classroom ideas, and unplugged activities.
• Open Haystack to build your own custom puzzle with a single solution.

A simple teacher flow: introduce the rules here, hand out the tracking grid, then use Haystack to generate a custom puzzle for the class.

Ways to play at bullsandcowsgame.com

The site includes several versions of the game and closely related deduction puzzles.

🧠 Daily Game

The classic Bulls and Cows experience. Everyone gets the same daily 4-digit puzzle — compare results, build streaks, and share your score. Navigate back through previous days if you want more games.

🐂 Bull Rush

You are given five clues and must deduce the daily code from those clues alone. One shot to get it right. Faster and more puzzle-like than the standard game.

🌈 Color Cows

The same Bulls and Cows logic applied to colours instead of digits. A fresh daily challenge that plays differently and builds the same deduction skills.

🥯 Pico Fermi Bagels

A closely related clue game using classic Bagels terminology: Fermi for right digit and place, Pico for right digit wrong place, and Bagels when none of the digits appear.

🔒 Lockpick

A code-cracking variant with a different twist on the feedback rules, built for players who enjoy narrowing possibilities under new constraints.

🪵 Haystack

Build and share your own Bulls & Cows-style puzzles with a guaranteed single solution. Great for classroom challenges, friend puzzles, and extension work.

⚔️ Multiplayer

Challenge a friend in real time. Both players set a secret code and race to crack each other's first. Uses the live lobby at challenge.html.

Play the Daily Game · Play Bull Rush · For Teachers

Why Bulls and Cows is such a good puzzle

It is simple to learn but rewarding to master. It teaches deduction, elimination, pattern recognition, and disciplined guessing — which is why it has survived as a pen and paper game, a classroom activity, a programming exercise, and an online daily puzzle.

Start with the daily game for the classic experience, or try Bull Rush for a faster, clue-based twist.