Flip Discs
The classic disc-flipping game against the computer, with an owl who shows the best move and why.
How to play Flip Discs
Flip Discs is the classic disc-flipping game on an 8 by 8 board, played against the computer. An owl shows the best move and says why.
The rules
- Dark moves first. Place a disc so that a straight line of the other colour sits between it and one of yours.
- Every disc in that line flips to your colour, in all eight directions at once.
- A move that flips nothing is not allowed. With no move, you pass; when neither side can move, the most discs wins.
Starting a game
- The game opens on the board. Pick the computer, Easy, Medium or Hard, and whether you play First, with the dark discs, or Second.
- Playing first, tap one of the four marked squares and the game begins with that move. Playing second, press Play.
- A game in progress shows on the board with Continue and the discs each side has; New game starts again.
The computer
Pick Easy, Medium or Hard before a game. A game in progress is kept, and Continue picks it up where it stood.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Half the time it takes the move that flips the most discs, otherwise any legal move. It never looks ahead. |
| Medium | Looks three moves ahead and plays the last 10 empty squares perfectly. One move in eight is its second choice. |
| Hard | Looks up to six moves ahead and plays the last 14 empty squares perfectly. |
During a game
The bar between the two counts shows who leads and by how much. A move that flips five or more discs shows the number on the board. When a side has no move, the board says so and the other side plays again.
With hints on, the owl looks back when the game ends: after a loss it names the move the game turned on, and after a win what won it.
Controls
- Tap or click a marked square to place a disc. Squares that cannot be played are not marked.
- Hint and Undo are the two buttons in the bar at the foot; the gear at the top right opens settings.
Help
- The owl's hints are on by default: Hint shows the best move and why, and one line explains the computer's reply when it means something. Settings turns them off.
- Undo takes back your last move and the reply to it.
- Settings also holds sound and five looks: the Tea tray, which is free, the Cap sheet for 40 coins, the Club table and the Sewing tin for 50 each, and the Lily pond for 60. A look changes nothing in play.
Coins and saving
| Result | Coins |
|---|---|
| A win | 10 |
| A draw on Hard | 10 |
| Any other finished game, after five of your own moves | 3 |
Your settings and the game in progress are kept on your device.