How to play

Four Stones is played on an upright board with 7 columns and 6 rows. You take turns dropping a stone into a column; the first to line up four across, down or diagonally wins.

Four Stones rules

• Your stone falls to the lowest empty spot in the column you pick.
• You can’t drop into a full column.
• First to get four in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line wins.
• If the board fills up and nobody makes four, it’s a draw.
• Each new round, the first move switches to the other side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the winning strategy in Four Stones?

The middle columns are part of the most possible fours, so playing there is an advantage. And always block the end of your opponent’s three.

Play Four Stones

In tic-tac-toe (XOX) two players take turns placing X and O on empty squares; the first to line up three across, down or diagonally wins. In Vanishing XOX you only get 3 marks on the board: place a new one and your oldest vanishes.

Vanishing XOX rules

• The board can be 9 squares (3x3) or 12 squares (3 columns, 4 rows).
• You take turns placing your mark on an empty square.
• Place a 4th mark and your oldest one vanishes. Your shaking mark is the one that disappears on your next move.
• If your three marks are in a line after the new one goes down and the oldest leaves, you win.
• If nobody lines up three in 30 moves total (40 on 12 squares), it’s a draw.

Frequently asked questions

Why does tic-tac-toe always end in a draw?

In classic tic-tac-toe, if both sides play perfectly, the game ends in a draw. In Vanishing XOX old marks get wiped, so the board never fills up and the game stays open until the end.

Play Vanishing XOX

In this naval battle game, both players secretly place their ships on their own sea, then take turns firing at the other’s sea. The first to sink the whole enemy fleet wins.

Admiral Down rules

• The sea is 8x8 squares. Your fleet is five ships, 4, 3, 3, 2 and 2 squares long.
• Ships can’t touch, not even corner to corner.
• You take turns firing at one square of your rival’s sea. Hit or miss, the turn passes to your rival.
• A ship sinks when every one of its squares is hit, and every sinking is announced.
• You can’t fire at the same square twice.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play a naval battle game on paper?

Two players each draw two grids on squared paper: one for their own ships and one to track shots at the rival. When you fire, you call out a square (like B5) and the other player says “hit” or “miss”. On Stockboi you don’t need paper: send the link and play together.

Play Admiral Down

Backgammon is for two players, with 15 checkers each and two dice. You roll and move your checkers around the board; whoever brings all their checkers home and bears them off first wins the game.

Backgammon rules

• Checkers always move in the same direction. Each die is a separate move; roll doubles (like 4-4) and you play that number 4 times.
• You can’t land on a point held by 2 or more of your opponent’s checkers.
• Land on a lone opponent checker and you hit it. A hit checker goes to the bar in the middle and must re-enter through your opponent’s home board; while you have a checker on the bar, you can’t move anything else.
• You must play as many dice as you can. If only one of the two can be played, you must play the higher one.
• Once all your checkers are in your home board (the last 6 points), you can start bearing off. A die higher than your farthest checker bears that checker off.
• Win before your opponent bears off a single checker and it’s a gammon: 2 points. Otherwise the game is worth 1 point.

Frequently asked questions

How do you set up a backgammon board?

Each player’s 15 checkers go like this: 2 on the farthest point of your opponent’s home board, 5 on the midpoint on your opponent’s side, 3 on the point in your outer board, and 5 in your own home board. On Stockboi the board sets itself up.

What is a gammon in backgammon?

If the player who loses hasn’t borne off a single checker by the end, it’s a gammon and the winner scores 2 points instead of 1. Even when you’re behind, try to bear off at least one checker to dodge the gammon.

How does a checker on the bar get back in?

A checker on the bar re-enters on the point of your opponent’s home board that matches the die you rolled. If that point is blocked by 2 or more opposing checkers, it can’t enter; and until it’s back in, you can’t move anything else.

Play Backgammon

Mangala is a classic Anatolian stone-sowing game. Each player has 6 pits and 1 store; you sow stones around the pits, and when the game ends, whoever has more stones in their store wins.

Mangala rules, step by step

• Every pit starts with 4 stones, 48 in total.
• On your turn, pick one of your pits and scoop up all its stones. Drop the first stone back into the same pit, then one by one into the pits that follow. If a pit has a single stone, it moves straight into the next pit.
• Your own store gets a stone along the way; your opponent’s store is skipped.
• If your last stone lands in your store, you go again.
• If your last stone makes an opponent pit even, you take that whole pit into your store.
• The game ends when one side’s pits are all empty. The stones left on the other side go to the store of the player who emptied their pits. Biggest store wins; 24-24 is a draw.

Frequently asked questions

What is the empty pit rule in Mangala?

If your last stone lands in one of your own empty pits and the opponent pit directly across has stones, you take that stone and everything across into your store.

How many stones do you play Mangala with?

48 stones: 4 in each of the 12 pits. The stores start empty.

Play Mangala

Turkish checkers (dama) is played on an 8x8 board with 16 pieces each, set up in two rows. Pieces move forward and sideways; whoever captures all of their opponent’s pieces or leaves them with no legal move wins.

Turkish checkers rules

• Pieces move one square forward or sideways. Never backward or diagonally.
• If an opponent piece is in front of or beside yours with an empty square behind it, jump over it to capture.
• If you can capture again after a capture, you keep capturing with the same piece.
• A piece that reaches the far row becomes a king. A king slides any distance in a straight line and can jump a single distant piece, landing on any empty square beyond it.
• No pieces left or no legal moves means you lose.

Frequently asked questions

Is capturing mandatory in Turkish checkers?

Yes, capturing is mandatory. If there are several routes, you must take the one that captures the most pieces; if they tie, you choose.

How does a Turkish checkers game end in a draw?

If each side has only a single king left, the game is a draw. It’s also a draw after 50 moves each (100 in total) with no captures.

Play Turkish Checkers

Nine Stones (a nine men’s morris style game) is played on 24 points across three nested squares. Each player has 9 stones; line up three on one line and you take one of your opponent’s stones.

Nine Stones rules

• First you take turns placing the stones in your hand on empty points on the board.
• Line up three of your stones on one line (a mill) and you take one of your opponent’s stones. A stone in a mill can’t be taken; if all of their stones are in mills, any of them can be taken.
• Once your hand is empty, you slide stones along the lines to a neighboring empty point. Breaking a mill and forming it again also earns you a capture.
• Down to 3 stones, you can fly: move a stone to any empty point you like.
• Your opponent drops to 2 stones or has no legal move: you win.

Frequently asked questions

What does flying mean in Nine Stones?

When a player is down to three stones, they no longer have to slide to a neighboring point. They can put a stone on any empty point. It’s a last chance for whoever is behind.

Play Nine Stones

In hangman you guess a hidden word letter by letter. Correct letters open up in the word, every wrong letter costs you a try; find the word before you run out. In Balloon Hangman, the tries are balloons.

Balloon Hangman rules

• The letters of the word are hidden; its category is shown as a hint.
• Pick a letter. If it’s in the word, every copy of it opens up.
• If it isn’t, a balloon pops. You have 7 balloons; lose them all and you lose.
• Get the word and your streak goes up by 1. Words get harder as your streak grows.
• In a duel, you both guess letters on the same word in turns: guess right and you go again, and the first to 3 rounds wins.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play hangman with two players?

In the classic version, one person picks a word and the other guesses. On Stockboi the game picks the word, and the two of you take turns guessing letters on it, so nobody knows the word in advance.

Play Balloon Hangman

In Letter Rush, every round reveals a letter and everybody writes one word per category, name, city, animal, plant, object, all starting with that letter. Answers are scored at the end of the round, and the highest total wins.

Letter Rush rules

• Each round reveals a letter. You get 60 seconds to fill every category with a word starting with it.
• Filled them all? Hit “Done!” and everyone else has at most 10 seconds left.
• Answers must start with the letter and be 2–24 letters long. Rude words don’t count.
• In an online room the categories are Name, City, Animal, Plant and Object, over 5 rounds.
• A word that isn’t on our list goes to the other players for a vote; if most say no, it doesn’t count.

Frequently asked questions

How is Letter Rush scored?

Per category: 20 points if you’re the only one with a valid answer, 10 if nobody else wrote yours, 5 if someone else wrote the same thing. An empty or invalid answer scores 0.

How many people can play Letter Rush?

2–8 players in an online room. You can also play solo against computer players; then you pick the categories yourself.

Play Letter Rush

In Word Duel you find words by linking neighboring letters on a 5x5 grid. Longer words score more, and after three rounds the higher score wins.

Word Duel rules

• Slide your finger over neighboring letters; letters must touch horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
• You can’t use the same tile twice in a word. Words need at least 3 letters and must be in the dictionary.
• Points: 3 letters 2, 4 letters 3, 5 letters 5, 6 letters 8, 7 letters 12. A word that uses the gold letter scores x2.
• Words you both found give each of you half points.
• Each round is 70 seconds, a match is 3 rounds.

Play Word Duel

In Odd Sheep Out, every question has 6 answers and you secretly pick one. Everyone who picks the most popular answer scores; the player who stands alone becomes the odd sheep, and the odd sheep can’t win the match.

Odd Sheep Out rules

• Each question gives you 20 seconds to secretly pick an answer; all picks are revealed at once.
• Everyone who picked the most popular answer gets 1 point.
• If there’s a flock and you’re the only one on your answer, you become the odd sheep. It stays with you until someone else stands alone.
• If everyone picks something different, nobody scores.
• After 10 questions, the player with the most points who isn’t the odd sheep wins.

Frequently asked questions

How many people can play Odd Sheep Out?

3–8 players in an online room. You can also play solo against computer players (BOT).

Play Odd Sheep Out

In this forbidden words game, the describer explains the word on their card to their team without saying any of the banned words on it. The team that guesses the most words wins.

Forbidden words game rules

• Get at least 4 people into two teams. One phone is enough, and it gets passed around.
• Someone from the team that’s up is the describer; someone from the other team sits next to them and watches for banned words.
• Got it: +1 point. If the describer says a banned word, the word itself or part of it: −1 point.
• No gestures, no sound effects, no “it starts with…” and no saying it in another language.
• Passes are limited and don’t change the score. A team that reaches the target at the end of a round wins; if both do, the higher score wins. Tied? Play another round.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a turn in the forbidden words game?

You pick the turn length and the target score at the start. Swap describers every turn so everybody gets to describe.

Play Loose Lips

In Word Chain, every word starts with the last letter of the one before it. You take turns; whoever can’t find a word, runs out of time or types a word that isn’t in the dictionary loses a life.

Word Chain rules

• The game gives you a starting letter, and the first word starts with it.
• The next player types a new word starting with the last letter of the previous word.
• Words need at least 3 letters and can’t already be in the chain.
• Words ending in X continue from the letter before the X (BOX → O).
• You both have 3 lives; first to lose all of them loses. Each turn starts at 15 seconds, and every 8 words the clock loses 1 second (8 seconds minimum).

Play Word Chain

In Doodle Party, whoever’s turn it is draws a word and everyone else guesses what it is. The sooner you get it, the more points you score; most points at the end wins.

Doodle Party rules

• The artist picks one of 3 words: easy, medium or hard.
• They have 80 seconds to draw it with their finger. Writing letters isn’t banned, just lame!
• Everyone else types guesses. Nobody sees anyone else’s guesses. A correct guess scores 50-100 points.
• The artist scores too, based on how many got it: 100 if everyone did.
• As time passes, letters of the word are revealed one by one.

Frequently asked questions

How many people can play Doodle Party?

2–8 players in an online room, everyone on their own phone. With 2 players everyone draws three times, with 3 twice, and with more, once.

Play Doodle Party

In Dolmuş, Istanbul’s shared minibus, you switch lanes to pick up passengers at stops. Fill the dolmuş without hitting traffic, drop everyone off at the DROP stop, and chase a high score.

Dolmuş rules

• The dolmuş drives itself; you switch between 4 lanes.
• To pick up passengers, pass a stop in the far left or far right lane. Each passenger is 10 points.
• Up to 14 people fit inside. At a DROP stop everyone gets off: 5 points each, +30 if you drop a full load.
• Hit a car and it’s over. The longer you drive, the faster and busier the road gets.

Play Dolmuş

In Simitçi, you drop sliding simits (sesame bagels) onto the one below to build a tower. Whatever hangs over gets sliced off; try to build the tallest tower you can.

Simitçi rules

• A simit slides left and right; tap to drop it.
• Whatever hangs over the simit below gets sliced off, and the tower gets thinner.
• Land it perfectly and nothing gets cut; the simit even grows a little, and your streak grows.
• Miss the one below completely and the game is over. The higher you go, the faster they slide.

Play Simitçi

In Çay Ocağı you pour each customer’s tea exactly how they like it: brew first, then water, stopping right on the line. Rack up the highest score before your 3 lives run out.

Çay Ocağı rules

• The customer orders: light, rabbit’s blood (the classic deep red) or strong; half, regular or to the brim.
• Hold the Brew button and let go on the brew line. Then fill the water up to the full line.
• The pour doesn’t stop the instant you let go, so release a little early.
• A bad tea, a spill or a customer kept waiting costs a life.

Play Çay Ocağı

In Eras at War you send troops out from your base, jump eras as you beat the enemy, and try to wreck your rival’s base before they wreck yours.

Eras at War rules

• Gold trickles in over time. Spend it on melee, ranged or heavy troops; they march and fight on their own.
• Beat enemies to earn gold and XP. When the XP bar is full, you jump an era: Cave, Bronze, Castle, Gunpowder, Engine, Star.
• Each era has a special power; it charges every 45 seconds.
• You can build up to 3 turrets on your base.
• Knock your rival’s base down to zero and you win. After 10 minutes, both bases crumble a little every second.

Play Eras at War

In Gold Hunter, you swing a hook to haul gold, diamonds and old coins out of the mine. Each level gives you 60 seconds to hit the akçe goal.

Gold Hunter rules

• Tap the screen: the hook shoots out in that direction and reels in the first thing it touches.
• Heavy stuff is slow: big gold and rocks eat your time, diamonds zip right up.
• Hit the goal and the Bazaar opens; miss it and the game is over.
• Dynamite blows up whatever is on the hook, and the hook comes back empty and fast.

Play Gold Hunter

In Fruit Butcher you swipe to slice the fruit flying through the air. Slicing many in one swipe makes a combo; just don’t touch the flying slipper!

Fruit Butcher rules

• Each fruit is 1 point; the rare golden pomegranate is 5.
• Slice 3 or more in a single swipe for a combo.
• Solo, you have 3 lives; every fruit that falls without being sliced and every slipper you slice costs a life.
• In a race, you both get the same fruit for 60 seconds, and most points wins.

Play Fruit Butcher

In Speedy Cat, our mascot runs on its own across three lanes of Istanbul rooftops. You swipe to switch lanes, jump and slide; whoever goes furthest without crashing and grabs the most fish sets the record.

Speedy Cat rules

• Swipe left or right to switch lanes. Swipe up to jump, down to slide.
• Switch lanes to dodge chimneys, water tanks, satellite dishes, roof doors and pigeon coops.
• Jump over tile piles and AC units; slide under washing lines and diving seagulls.
• Each metre is 1 point; a fish is 10, a simit 50, a golden fishbone 250. One crash ends the run.
• The evil eye bead forgives a crash, the magnet pulls in fish, and the energy drink speeds you up and makes you untouchable.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play Speedy Cat with a friend?

Yes. Tap “Play with a friend” and send the link; you both run the same rooftop course with the same obstacles at the same time, and your rival shows up as a see-through cat. Higher score wins.

Play Speedy Cat

The notebook-margin classic: you take turns drawing lines between dots. Draw the fourth side of a box and it’s yours; whoever closes the most boxes wins.

Box Grab rules

• Take turns drawing one line between two neighboring dots.
• Draw the 4th side of a box and it’s yours, plus you go again.
• One line can close two boxes at once.
• When every line is drawn, the player with more boxes wins.
• The board can be 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5; online games are always on 4x4.

Frequently asked questions

What is the trick to winning dots and boxes?

Avoid drawing a box’s 3rd side, or you hand your rival a free box. Near the end, who has to open the long chains decides the match.

Play Box Grab

In Penny by Penny, you swipe on a 4x4 board and every tile slides that way. When two matching tiles collide, they merge into the next level up; try to rack up the highest revenue before the board jams.

Penny by Penny rules

• Every tile slides in the direction you swipe.
• Two matching tiles merge into the next level: Penny, Piggy bank, Bagel tray, Street cart… Values double every level.
• A tile can only merge once per swipe. After every swipe, a new tile pops up in an empty spot.
• When no move is left in any direction, the shutters come down and the game is over.
• The goal is the Mega corp (level 10). Reach it and the game keeps going.

Play Penny by Penny

Ember & Dew is a two-character puzzle adventure: get the little flame Ember and the water drop Dew to their own doors together. The level ends when both are standing at theirs.

Ember & Dew rules

• Ember walks through lava, Dew walks through water. If Ember touches water or Dew touches lava, the level restarts; green poison gets them both.
• Stand on a colored button to run the door or lift of the same color.
• Push boxes onto buttons or use them as steps.
• Only Ember can grab red gems, only Dew can grab blue ones.
• 3 stars per level: clear it, collect every gem, and finish under the time limit.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play Ember & Dew alone?

Yes, you control the two characters one at a time. Play online with a friend and each of you controls one character.

Play Ember & Dew

In Mine Hunt you open squares to work out where the mines are. A number tells you how many mines are in the 8 squares around it; open every safe square without stepping on a mine to win.

Mine Hunt rules

• Tap a square to open it. Your first tap is always safe.
• A number is the count of mines in the 8 squares around it. Empty squares open their neighbors on their own.
• Sure there’s a mine somewhere? Long-press it to plant a flag.
• Tap a number that already has the right count of flags around it and the rest of its neighbors open at once.
• Difficulty: Easy 9x9 (10 mines), Medium 10x14 (22 mines), Hard 12x18 (44 mines).

Frequently asked questions

What do the numbers mean in a minesweeper-style game?

A 2 on a square means exactly two of the 8 squares touching it (sides and corners) hold a mine. Compare the numbers and you can work out which squares are safe.

Play Mine Hunt