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Board · The Devil's Plan · Season 1

Blind Five-in-a-Row

Five in a row, but every stone looks the same. Remember which ones are yours.

Level 3 of 3 · Hard10 min2 playersvs AIOnline
Appeared inHidden
Mode
Full rules

How to play Blind Five-in-a-Row

Face-down stonesEvery stone is placed face down. The board shows where stones are, never whose.
Pick any colourChoose one of 4 colours for each stone. Colours mean nothing: both players use them.
RememberKeep track of which stones are yours and which are theirs.
Five in a rowFive or more of yours in a line, across, down or diagonally, wins.
Read the full rules

Settings

How to play

  1. Face-down stonesPlayers take turns placing stones on a 15x15 board. Every stone is face down, so the board never shows whose it is.
  2. Any colourYou pick a colour for each stone. Both players use the same colours, so a colour means nothing.
  3. RememberKeep track of which stones are yours and which are your opponent's.
  4. Five in a rowFive or more of your stones in a line, across, down or diagonally, wins. The stones are turned over at the end.

Rules

Blind Five-in-a-Row is five-in-a-row (omok, or gomoku) with a memory twist: every stone is placed face down.

The board

A 15x15 grid. Players take turns placing one stone on any empty point. The first player goes first for the whole game.

Face down

The board shows where the stones are, never who placed them. Each player picks a colour for every stone from the same four colours, so colours say nothing about the owner. You have to remember which stones are yours.

Winning

Five or more of your stones in an unbroken line, across, down or diagonally, wins. When the game ends, every stone is turned over.

Our version

  • The show played this in a secret room, with the player against a simple computer. The player moved first and there were no forbidden moves. We keep both.
  • Colours: four colours, picked freely for each stone, by both players.
  • The AI sees the board as you do and must remember whose each stone is. Older stones get mixed up: often on easy, now and then on medium, rarely on hard.
  • Timer: 60 seconds per move. Running out of time loses.
  • Helper: “Mark the last stone” (on by default) rings the stone just placed.

Sources: Namu Wiki and fan write-ups of the episode.

Strategy

Give your stones a pattern. On the show the winner used one colour for his own stones and a different colour for the move that made four. Any system you can trust beats raw memory.

Build in one area. A line in one place is easier to remember than stones scattered over the board.

Count their threats too. It is easy to remember your own stones and forget theirs. Every few moves, check where they could be making four.

Use gaps. A line with gaps (X X _ X X) is harder for your opponent to spot and remember than a solid four.

Questions people ask

Can you play the blind omok from The Devil's Plan online?

Yes. Mindverse has Blind Five-in-a-Row against an AI at three levels, and against a friend in an online room.

Does the AI cheat by remembering everything?

No. The AI must remember too. On easy it mixes up many older stones, on hard only a few.

Can I use one colour for all my stones?

Yes, and it helps. But your opponent can use that colour too, so it is no guarantee.

Are there forbidden moves like 3-3?

No. Any empty point is allowed, and five or more in a row wins.

How is this different from Blind Omok?

Here you see where every stone is, just not whose. In Blind Omok (University War) you see no board at all and call out coordinates.

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