General
You can play Bulls and Cows (= Cows and Bulls, MASTERMIND, SuperHirn) as browser game (HTML5 game) or as download for Android, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD / PC-BSD / TrueOS / GhostBSD / NomadBSD, Apple Mac OS X / OS X / macOS, Solaris and DOS / DOSBox (and thus OS/2 and RISC OS).Bulls and Cows or Cows and Bulls is a logic-game for two players.
Bulls and Cows at Wikipedia.
MASTERMIND or SuperHirn is the commercial implementation of the game on a breadboard.
MASTERMIND at Wikipedia.
The program cannot only provide a solution but also guess
and thus becomes a real opponent for humans.
But you can also (for demonstration purposes) let the program play against itself or
play 'normal' with a friend, as you used to do without a computer or smartphone.
The program then monitors the game and only allows entries that conform to the rules.
Compared to the two original games, the game-program offers the following extensions:
-
freely selectable length of the code and freely selectable character set ('colours');
option to allow or forbid repetitions - option to guess incomplete codes
-
option to play 'fair' or to 'cheat',
i.e. the coder changes his solution code during the course of the game
within the scope of the information he has already given,
to make it as difficult as possible for his opponent.
Note on this version:
The code breaker determines by its attempts the solution.
Each game can be played again and again with always the same result.
The images in the DOSBox simulation are developed that way.
So there is an exchange between non-determinism and determinism
(or vice versa, depending on the perspective) and 'entanglement'.
In terms of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, or 'Schrödinger's cat's'
it is not clear when and where the solution comes from.
On another paradox should be noted at this point:
Guessing strategy is to reduce the amount of allowed solutions with each guessing process as much as possible,cheating strategy is to keep this quantity as large as possible.
The presumption is that a smaller amount of solutions will ever result in a faster solution,
surprisingly, the proof is wrong.
Both strategies, however, are still successful.
In the case of length of the code = 6 and 6 allowed characters ('colours') there is an anomaly:
If repetitions of characters are allowed, the computer needs 6 attempts to find the solution.
If repetitions of characters are not allowed, the computer needs 7 attempts to find the solution.
A tremendous reduction in the size of the initial solution set from 6 ^ 6 = 46 656 elements to 6! = 720 elements
increases the number of the required attempts from 6 to 7.
Using this variant the problem could only be solved by allowing generally no repetitions of characters,
when the Computer was 'cheating'.
In order that it is not so noticeable, I have chosen different start codes.
'Bulls and Cows' has a version number in the format 'Year-Month-Day' of the last change.
The actual version is:
To play, you can choose between:
-
You can play several games parallel in different browser tabs / windowsBulls and Cows as browsers game:
Start the game
e.g. (match and rematch).
- slow, but runs on any operating system without installation
-
requires an HTML5 capable browser and
a physical keyboard (also on a smartphone)
The online-version of Bulls and Cows was programmed and compiled with Borland Pascal 7.01.
-
A suitable download for the respective operating system:
-
just download, no installation effort,
only the user rights have to be set to executable:-
Windows:
-
Click away the warning messages:
'Allow' or 'Additional information' -> 'Execute anyway'
-
Click away the warning messages:
-
otherwise:
-
Change the program properties -> user rights
or
in the terminal with the command 'chmod 755 ...'
-
Change the program properties -> user rights
otherwise there may be problems with line breaks.
Start the program from the terminal and select option 8 for the configuration in the main menu.
-
Windows:
-
one version with graphic symbols and
one version without graphic symbols (if the display causes difficulties) -
each as a 32-bit version and as a 64-bit version
the 64-bit version offers the (theoretical) advantage of being able to play even more game variants,
but at the price of a disproportionately high storage requirement, see comparison of operating systems
-
Downloads for the specific operating systems:
DOSBox Android Windows Linux + FreeBSD macOS Solaris
-
just download, no installation effort,
-
Installing the program DOSBox and the DOS-versions of Bulls and Cows (BC.EXE and BCR.EXE):
- under Android, OS/2 and RISC OS mostly the only possibility of an installation
- advantages in the display (window size, graphic characters, line breaks)
- offers additional options through the DOSBox program itself
- language packs for DOS
- different keyboard layouts: best: 'auto' for automatic setting
- a great number of free DOS games for download on the Internet
-
possibility to install a DOSBox front end:
- for a graphical DOSBox configuration without a configuration file
-
to manage several games with different search criteria and descriptions
and also different configurations (e.g. graphics card, etc.) -
with additional functions
-
Installation:
-
For Android you need: the zipped file BC.zip, a program to unzip this file
and a DOS-emulator for Android, preferably Magic DOSBox.
As a virtual keyboard is Hacker's Keyboard optimal, with all the necessary special characters.
A useful helper is Total Commander (with built-in editor).
As a service, the zipped file BC.zip contains the file BC.mgc, a profile for Magic DOSBox
with virtual buttons for a smartphone in vertical and horizontal orientation.
When everything is fully installed it looks like this on my smartphone (Huawei P30 Pro) in landscape format:
and in portrait format like this:
-
All other operating sytems:
Please download one of the following archives and unzip it:
BC.zip ---- BCunzip.exe (Windows, self-extracting) ---- BC.7z ---- BC.tar (Linux, Unix)
If this causes difficulties, the individual files can be downloaded here:
BC.EXE ---- BCR.EXE ---- README.EXE ---- RTM.EXE ---- DPMI16BI.OVL
Also install DOSBox.
or make the appropriate settings in the graphical front end:
memsize=63 (or 64), core=auto, cputype=auto, cycles=auto, xms=true, ems=true, umb=true, keyboardlayout=auto.
Therefore the Windows configuration as described in the BC.EXE or README.EXE program is not required.
If you do not use a graphical frontend:
Start DOSBox and make the directory with the BC.EXE file accessible in the DOSBox using the mount command,
change to this directory and start Bulls and Cows with the command BC.EXE.
All DOSBox commands such as mount are explained in the DOSBox program itself.
Simulation with instructions of the game Bulls and Cows in the DOSBox version.
The DOS/DOSBox-version of Bulls and Cows was programmed and compiled with Borland Pascal 7.01.
-
For Android you need: the zipped file BC.zip, a program to unzip this file
-
using VirtualBox (or VMware Workstation Player) as virtualization software.The installation within a virtual Linux operating system especially under Windows
Background:-
The Linux-version of Bulls and Cows is much faster than the Windows-version
and therefore offers the most game variants.
It also offers advantages in terms of display (window size, graphic characters, fonts). -
I have the best experiences with Windows 10 with the following installation:
- Virtualization using VirtualBox (license and options better than VMware Workstation Player)
-
As a guest operating system: Linux Mint 18.3 'Sylvia' - MATE
(each faster and more stable than the current Mint-version and/or Cinnamon) -
Bulls and Cows in the Linux-32-bit-version with graphic and special characters,
Please select the character encoding Western (IBM 850) in the terminal
-
As a 'side effect', a completely new second operating system is available to you,
with a great number of games and other applications, that you only need to select
in the application management or in the package management.
-
The Linux-version of Bulls and Cows is much faster than the Windows-version
-
Or you can try out several of the options mentioned parallel:
Installation options under the different operating systems (in addition to the browser version): Used
operating sytem:DOS &
Win 3.11Win32 Win64 Android32 Android64 OS/2
RiscOSExecutable
versions of
Bulls and Cows:DOS
(BCR.EXE &
BC.EXE)DOS
(BCR.EXE &
BC.EXE)
Win32
Win32
Win64
Android32*
* !! only with
root rights !!
Android32*
Android64*
* !! only with
root rights !!--- DOSBox: --- Download Download Download:
selection
recommended:
Magic DOSBoxDownload:
selection
recommended:
Magic DOSBoxDownload DOSBox-
frontend:--- Download:
D-Fend ReloadedDownload:
D-Fend Reloadedsometimes
integrated:
Magic DOSBoxsometimes
integrated:
Magic DOSBox--- VirtualBox:
Linux-Download:--- Version 5.2.x
Linux32current version
Linux64--- --- --- VMware Player:
Linux-Download:--- --- Download
Linux64--- --- ---
Installation options under the different operating systems (in addition to the browser version): Used
operating sytem:macOS
until
MojavemacOS
from
CatalinaLinux32 Linux64 FreeBSD32 FreeBSD64 Solaris32 Solaris64 Executable
versions of
Bulls and Cows:mac32
mac64
mac64Linux32 Linux32
Linux64FreeBSD32 FreeBSD32
FreeBSD64Solaris32 Solaris32 DOSBox: Download Download package
manage-
mentpackage
manage-
mentover ports over ports --- --- DOSBox-
frontend:Download:
boxer or
DapplegreyDownload:
boxer or
Dapplegrey--- --- --- --- --- --- VirtualBox:
Linux-Download:current
version
Linux64current
version
Linux64version
5.2.x
Linux32current
version
Linux64--- --- version
5.2.x
Linux32current
version
Linux64VMware Player:
Linux-Download:--- --- --- Download
Linux64--- --- --- ---
Compare different operating systems
In order to guess, the computer has to request main memory (RAM), the more complex the task, the more memory.The table shows how powerful the individual operating systems are (regardless of the time required):
| Maximum size of the character set (number of 'colours'), depending on the operating system, RAM and the length of the code to be guessed (by the computer !). |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length of the code to be guessed: | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Maximum | RAM: |
| Operating system used: | ||||||||||
| Browser- / Online-version | 36 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12^4 = 20 736 | 640 KB |
| DOS/DOSBox: DOS - Real Mode | 36 | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3^9 = 19 683 | 640 KB |
| DOS/DOSBox: DOS - Protected Mode (DPMI) | 36 | 36 | 33 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8^7 = 2 097 152 | 64 MB |
| Windows+Solaris - Bulls and Cows 32 bit | 36 | 36 | 36 | 31 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7^9 = 40 353 607 | 2 GB |
| Linux+macOS+BSD - Bulls and Cows 32 bit | 36 | 36 | 36 | 31 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 13^7 = 62 748 517 | 2 GB |
| Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD - 64 bit 64-bit-version of Bulls and Cows needs much more memory than Bulls and Cows 32 bit |
36 | 36 | 36 | 29 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 29^5 = 20 511 149 | 2 GB |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 9^8 = 43 046 721 | 4 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 21^6 = 85 766 121 | 8 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 23 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 15^7 = 170 859 375 | 16 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 26 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 26^6 = 308 915 776 | 32 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 29 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 18^7 = 612 220 032 | 64 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 33^6 = 1 291 467 969 | 128 GB | |
| 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 21 | 14 | 10 | 35^6 = 1 838 265 625 | 256 GB | |
| For comparison: Original MASTERMIND | Length of code: 4, 6 colours with repetitions | 6^4 = 1 296 | ||||||||
