Rules
Black and White is a two-player game of bluffing and deduction. Both players start with the same nine tiles, numbered 0 to 8. The even numbers (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) are black and the odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7) are white, so each hand has five black tiles and four white ones.
A round
- The leader chooses one tile and places it face down.
- The follower is told only the colour of that tile, then places one of their own tiles face down.
- The tiles are compared in secret. The higher number wins the round and scores 1 point.
- Only the result is announced. Neither player ever sees the other’s number.
- Played tiles are out of the game for good.
The winner of a round leads the next one. If the tiles are equal, the round is a draw, nobody scores, and the same player leads again.
End of the game
After nine rounds every tile has been played. The player with more points wins. A tied score is a drawn game. When the game ends, both sequences are revealed side by side, so you can finally see what the opponent was holding.
Our version
- A coin flip decides who leads the first round.
- All nine rounds are always played, even when one player can no longer be caught.
- The colour counter (on by default) shows how many black and white tiles the opponent has left. You can turn it off in Settings if you prefer to count in your head, as the players on the show did.
Strategy
Count colours. You always know the colour of every tile the opponent has played. If they have used all four whites, every tile they have left is black, and so is every tile they will lead.
Winning has a cost. The round winner must lead, and leading tells your opponent the colour of your tile. A cheap win now can hand the opponent the information they need next round.
Win small, lose big. A round is worth one point however you win it. Beat a led tile by the smallest margin you can afford, and throw your lowest tiles into rounds you expect to lose.
Use the 0 as bait. Your 0 can only lose or draw. Leading it early (it shows as black, like 8) invites the opponent to spend a high tile on a round you never meant to win.
Read the white tiles. There are only four white tiles: 1, 3, 5 and 7. When a white tile is led late in the game, you can often work out exactly which white tiles are still out there.
Track your own information leak. The opponent sees your colours too. Varying when you play your black 8 and your white 7 makes you much harder to read.