📚 May 11, 2026 — Support PlayAwale with HexasudokuNEW

Beyond donations, here's another way to support PlayAwale: if you enjoy logic puzzles, I've published a 16×16 Sudoku book on Amazon: Hexasudoku — 100 Grids, Pure Logic.

Born from a game engine written in 2008 as an algorithmic challenge, revisited in 2026, this book features 100 16×16 grids solved purely by logic — every empty cell follows a specific technique: Naked Single, Naked Triple, Swordfish, Skyscraper… Hints and detailed techniques included. 10 easy grids to ease into the format, then the difficulty ramps up.

• 🔢 100 grids — 10 easy, then advanced levels
• 🧠 Solved by logical reasoning, never brute force
• 💡 Precise hint and exact technique provided when stuck

Buy Hexasudoku on Amazon →

🔁 April 19, 2026 — JSON export reactivatedUPDATE

The per-game JSON export has been reactivated and is available again from the replay page.

If you need bulk access for research or training, please contact me instead of scraping — I can provide a suitable data-access solution.

April 9, 2026 — Bug fix: AI was starving opponent after captureUPDATE

While reviewing games #3077 and #3078 at the Seeds Guardian level, I discovered that the AI could starve the opponent after a chain capture — which is forbidden by the rules of Awale.

The issue was in the move simulator used by the anti-starvation filter: it did not correctly walk back through the chain of captures, so it believed the opponent still had seeds when in fact they would all be captured.

The bug also affected the Novice Sower level. It is now fixed for both levels. Higher levels (Expert and above) were not affected as they use a separate simulation engine.

While reviewing game #3270, a second bug was found — this time on the human player's side: when a chain capture took all seeds from the AI's camp, the capture was not cancelled. The player would then win the game instead of losing. The anti-starvation rule is now enforced in both directions: if any move (player or AI) would empty the opponent's entire camp, the capture is cancelled and the seeds remain in place.

🏆 April 9, 2026 — Country ranking overhaulUPDATE

The country ranking system has been completely redesigned to be fairer and more dynamic.

Time decay (60 days) — Recent games now count much more than older ones. A win today is worth 2× more than a win from 2 months ago, and 8× more than one from 6 months ago. A country that stops playing will naturally see its ranking decline.

Exponential difficulty weights — Winning at higher levels earns far more points: Novice Sower (×1), Seeds Guardian (×3), Ancestral Spirit (×6), levels 6-7 (×10), Probabilistic Strategist (×15).

Risk multiplier — Countries that dare to play at higher levels are rewarded. Winning only on easy mode is no longer enough to be first.

🛡️ April 7, 2026 — Playawale: the end of uncontrolled Open DataUPDATE

I detected a massive scraping wave on my JSON file generators. Around 600 games were collected by bots.

That is not dramatic in itself, but the method is not fair. Public JSON export has therefore been disabled for now.

If someone is working on a Deep Learning AI and needs datasets for training, honest collaboration is far better than data plundering.

🗝️ March 22 — Sage KeyUPDATE

Activate your Sage Key on PlayAwale to save your avatar, victories, and replays, with no account, no email, and 100% anonymity. It is simply a secret code between you and the game.

Create my Sage Key

🏆 Featured

March 16 — Club Awale Contest

Club Awale is launching a contest: if you manage to defeat Master Awale, you win a VIP game of your choice from their shop. Offer valid for the first winner.

Shop: www.clubawale.com/shop

Instagram: view the post

Website: www.clubawale.com

📘 March 15 — Levels & AI GuideUPDATE

Guide to the Sages and their AI

Read the level guide to discover the 8 Sages, their playing styles, and tips for choosing the right opponent.

Open the guide