Crack today's 4-digit code in 10 guesses

Every guess tells you how close you are. 🎯 means a digit is right and in the right place, 🔄 means it's in the code but somewhere else. Everyone gets the same code today.

🎯 right place🔄 wrong place

Long-press a digit (or right-click) to cross it out in your notes.

A strategy that cracks most codes in 7 guesses

Guess 1: 0123. Count the bulls plus cows. That's how many of the digits 0 to 3 are in the code.

Guess 2: 4567. Same again for 4 to 7. Whatever is missing to reach four must be 8 or 9.

Guess 3 onward: change one thing at a time. Swap two positions, or replace one digit. If your bulls go up or down by one, you've learned exactly where something belongs.

Cross out as you go. Long-press digits on the pad to grey them out. Seeing what's left makes the last guesses easy.

Where this game comes from

Bulls and cows is a pencil-and-paper code game that's at least a century old, and the board game Mastermind is a coloured-peg version of it. It's a pure deduction puzzle: there's no luck after your first guess, only reasoning about what each answer rules out.

If you like the feeling of numbers clicking into place, that's the itch our iPhone game Sumbriska scratches too, with island sums instead of a code.

Free tool by Sumbriska · Get the iPhone app

Add this free tool to your website

Teachers, bloggers and community sites are welcome to embed it. Copy this code:

<iframe src="https://udrwu9c0tjuedqy2.github.io/hla-games/sumbriska/bulls-and-cows-online/?embed=1" width="100%" height="760" style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:760px" loading="lazy" title="Bulls and cows number game"></iframe><p><a href="https://udrwu9c0tjuedqy2.github.io/hla-games/sumbriska/bulls-and-cows-online/">Bulls and cows number game</a> by Honest Little Apps</p>

Number Puzzles: Sumbriska

Sumbriska is a quiet number puzzle for iPhone: each island shows a target, and you flip bridges to send numbers between islands until every sum lands exactly. Calm, clever and free.

Free on the App Store

Questions

How do you play bulls and cows?

There is a secret 4-digit code with no repeated digits. Type a guess. A bull (🎯) means a digit is correct and in the right place. A cow (🔄) means the digit is in the code but somewhere else. Use the clues to crack it within 10 guesses.

Can the code start with 0?

Yes. Any digit 0 to 9 can be in any position, but each digit appears at most once.

Is the daily code the same for everyone?

Yes. The daily code is built from today's date, so you can compare guess counts with friends. Practice mode gives a fresh random code every time.

What is the sum hint?

Tap Sum hint to see what the four digits add up to. It is a big clue, so your result shows that you used it.

What is the best strategy?

Start with two guesses that share no digits, such as 0123 and 4567. Between them they tell you how many of your code's digits are 8 or 9. Then change one digit at a time to learn positions.

Is this the same as Mastermind?

It is the number version of the same idea, and it is older: bulls and cows was played with pencil and paper long before the board game existed.

Updated November 11, 2026.

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