Break their number before they break yours.
You pick a secret for your rival, they pick one for you. Then you take turns guessing, every guess comes back marked digit by digit, and your clock runs only while it is your move.
Hide a number, hunt a number
Four or five digits, agreed before the match. No dictionary, no dice, nothing left to luck.
Choose a secret
You both pick a number for the other to break. Pressing ready stops your clock, and once both secrets are in, the first move is drawn at random.
Read the marks
Take turns guessing. Each digit comes back exact, present elsewhere or absent, so every row narrows down what the secret can be.
Break it first
Whoever finds the other's secret first wins. Run out of time or resign and you lose, so think, but not for too long.
A small game with deep moves
A clock each
Six time controls, from 30-second bullet to 30-minute rapid. Only the player on the move spends time.
Your format
Four or five digits, repeats allowed or all different, marks per position or totals only.
Real opponents
The lobby lists the players waiting, by name and on their terms. Take a seek with one tap, or send a friend an invite link.
Ratings
An Elo rating for every format, starting at 1200. Play unrated when you only want a game.
Practice alone
Break a secret on your own, without a clock, an opponent or an account.
Friends and rivals
See when your friends are online, and keep a head-to-head record against everyone you play.
Eight palettes
Pick the colours you like, each in light and dark, on every device.
Browser, Android, iPhone
One account on every screen, in English, German, Russian, French, Italian and Spanish.
FAQ
Is it free?
Yes. Signing in and playing cost nothing, and there are no ads.
Do I need an account?
To play other people, yes: you sign in with your Google account. Practice works without one.
Where can I play?
In any current browser at shifr.zyfron.com. Apps for Android 13 and newer and for iPhone are on their way to Google Play and the App Store, and they use the same account.
What do the formats change?
Per position marks every digit where it stands. Totals only tells you how many digits are exact and how many are misplaced, and leaves which ones to you. All different means no digit twice, in the secret or in a guess.
What data does it keep?
What a game needs: your email address and Google account ID, your profile, your matches and your friends. No ads, no analytics and no tracking. The privacy policy lists everything.
How do I delete my account?
Email us from the address you signed in with, and we delete the account within a month. Your past matches stay on your opponents' records, without your name.
Your move.
Open shifr in your browser and take a seek from the lobby, or warm up alone first. Nothing to install.
Play in your browser