Rules
Black and White II is a sealed-bid game for two players. Each player has a private pool of 99 points and must spread it across nine rounds. You never see the exact bids. All you get is a card colour and a row of lamps, and you have to work out the rest.
A round
- The first player secretly bids any whole number of points from their pool. A bid of 0 is fine.
- The opponent is shown a hint: a white card if the bid was 10 or more, a black card if it was 9 or less.
- The second player then secretly bids from their own pool.
- The higher bid wins the round. Equal bids are a draw.
- Both bids are spent, whoever won. Neither player learns the other’s exact number.
The winner of a round bids first in the next one.
The lamps
Each player has five lamps that show roughly how many points they have left. Both players can see each other’s lamps the whole time.
| Lamps lit | Points left |
|---|---|
| 5 | 80-99 |
| 4 | 60-79 |
| 3 | 40-59 |
| 2 | 20-39 |
| 1 | 1-19 |
| 0 | 0 |
End of the game
After nine rounds, the player who won more rounds wins. If both won the same number, the whole game is replayed.
When the game ends, every bid is revealed round by round.
Our version
- A coin flip decides who bids first in round 1.
- On a draw nobody wins the round, and the player who bid first bids first again.
- All nine rounds are always played, even when one player can no longer be caught.
- A tie in rounds won is a drawn game. “Play again” starts a fresh one, as the show’s replay did.
- The last lamp goes out at exactly 0 points, so no lamps means an empty pool.
- Lamps change when a round is settled, not the moment the first bid is sealed.
- The second bidder’s card is shown too once the round is settled, so you see a white or black card for every bid the opponent makes.
- Your bid needs two presses (Bid, then Seal), so a mis-tap never spends your points.
- The “Lamp ranges” helper (on by default) writes the points band next to the opponent’s lamps.
Strategy
Win cheaply. A round is worth the same however much you bid. Every spare point you keep can win you a later round.
White covers a wide range. A bid of 10 and a bid of 60 both show white. Bidding just over 10 can make the opponent believe you are trying hard when you are not.
Use the lamps to measure. If a white card is followed by a lamp going out, you can often narrow the bid down a long way. Keep a rough tally of the opponent’s pool after every round.
Plan your wins. You only need five rounds out of nine. Decide early which rounds you are willing to give away, and bid 0 or close to it there.
Leading tells the opponent something. The round winner bids first and gives away a card colour. Sometimes losing a round cheaply is worth it to bid second next time.
Watch for a starved pool. Once the opponent is down to one lamp, they have fewer than 20 points left, and a modest bid may be enough to win every remaining round.