How the AIs play
The 8 opponents of solo mode, from easiest to hardest. This order is not set by hand: it follows players’ win rate against each one, and updates itself every day. The two beginner levels stay first. Each portrait is drawn from the AI’s own program.
How the AIs play
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Level 1 of 8
Novice Sower
The kindly beginner
How it plays
It does not think at all: it rules out the moves that would leave you with nothing to sow, and sows at random among the rest. But it talks, and that is the whole point of it: before you play, it announces what it is watching for on your side; afterwards, it tells you what your move left it, and why. It is the only opponent that is not trying to win — it is trying to teach you.
What gives it away
Its moves follow no plan: it lets an obvious harvest go, then lands one by accident. The same position twice gives two different sowings.
How to beat it
Use it to learn to see harvests: look for a hole opposite with one or two seeds that your last seed can reach. That is the whole game — and this is the only opponent that leaves you time to find it, and that warns you when you walk past one.
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Level 2 of 8
Seed Keeper
The greedy one
How it plays
It sees one move ahead, no more. If it can harvest, it takes the biggest harvest, without the slightest thought for what you will take back straight after. If there is nothing to take, it simply puts its seeds out of reach.
What gives it away
It throws itself at the biggest harvest, always, even when it has plainly been laid out for it. That is what makes it so predictable.
How to beat it
Let a hole ripen under its nose: offer it a small harvest that opens a bigger one for you next move. It will help itself — this is where almost everyone gets their first win.
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Level 3 of 8
Probabilistic Strategist
The unpredictable one
How it plays
It judges no position at all: it replays the game in its head, thousands of times, down to the last seed, and keeps the move that most often won. So it is not looking for the best move — it is looking for the one that turns out well most often.
What gives it away
The same position twice does not always give the same move. And when it is behind, it starts trying things the others never would.
How to beat it
Take the lead early and keep it. While it is ahead it sows soberly; it turns dangerous when behind — but that is also when it leaves the most harvests. And no two games against it are ever alike.
Players’ wins 25.6 %
Elo rating 1334 (± 58) How is it calculated?
Play against Probabilistic Strategist -
Level 4 of 8
Furrow Wanderer
The professional
How it plays
The first opponent that really plays like a club player. It looks far ahead, and it does not want the same thing throughout: early on it takes space and keeps its options open, late on it thinks only of harvesting and staying safe. Before every move it checks one last time that it is not handing you a big harvest.
What gives it away
It never falls for anything in the short term. Its moves look sensible, almost textbook — and that is exactly what gives it away: it never gambles.
How to beat it
See further than it does. A plan that only pays off on the fifth or sixth move — patiently feeding a hole for a big crop — goes beyond what it calculates. It is the first opponent you cannot beat without a plan.
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Level 5 of 8
Immutable Sage SIR
The closer
How it plays
It reasons like its twin, but it watches itself far more closely: it hates leaving its own holes on two or three seeds, and is pleased with the ones it has emptied. Above all, its whole attitude changes as the board empties: every seed harvested suddenly counts double, the slightest weakness is punished, and it brings its last seeds in out of reach.
What gives it away
The opening is quiet, almost sleepy. It wakes up when there is little left on the board, and then it gathers everything.
How to beat it
Make the difference early: take your seeds while it is still dozing. Once the endgame starts it lets almost nothing through — and a lead built in the middlegame is worth far more than a comeback.
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Level 6 of 8
Immutable Sage ZAK
The watcher
How it plays
It judges a position on one thing only: who holds the best lookout posts. It counts its own empty holes — where it can strike from — against your holes with two or three seeds — what it can harvest. If it leads that count, it treats the game as won and gives nothing away. Everything else only serves to break ties.
What gives it away
It empties its own holes, sometimes for no visible reason, and seems to pass up harvests. It is not passing them up: it is preparing the ground it will strike from.
How to beat it
It often strips its own side too far. When its row is bare it has few moves left: press it, move after move, giving it no time to sow again. That is the moment, and just about the only one, when it can be caught.
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Level 7 of 8
Ancestral Spirit
The smotherer
How it plays
It looks ahead, and one idea obsesses it: leaving you no choice. As soon as you are down to two playable moves, it treats the game as nearly won and gives up a lot to keep it that way. The rules forbid it from leaving you with nothing to sow — but a single hole is exactly where it wants you.
What gives it away
It aims at your full holes rather than at your seeds: its moves dry out your row instead of filling its own. You end up with three seeds in a single hole without having seen a thing coming.
How to beat it
Always keep something to sow: spread your seeds across several holes, even at the price of a small harvest. Hold out three or four moves longer than it can, and it is the one who runs out of ground.
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Level 8 of 8
V2 Oware Master
The master
How it plays
It knows its openings by heart — close to a thousand prepared positions — and once only a handful of seeds is left, it already knows who wins: it stops calculating and simply reads the answer. In between, it sees far further than any other. If it can win, it picks the fastest way; if the game is drawn, it refuses to share and plays on for the win.
What gives it away
Its first moves land without hesitation, as if recited. And it does not always vary the same way: between two moves of equal value it will switch — a game won against it cannot be replayed move for move.
How to beat it
Expect no miscalculation and no botched endgame: it makes none. Everything is decided in the middlegame, by keeping your seeds spread and never offering anything. Lasting a long time against it is already something — and every game teaches you something.
The row of seeds shows how hard the opponent is, from easiest to hardest. “Players’ wins”: today’s share of games won against this AI.