Hand Cricket

Pick a number from one to six. Match the bowler and you are out. That is the entire game

2 player, one device
sports
casual
2 player

▶ Play Hand Cricket Loads here in the page. No download, no account.

Prefer it full screen? Open Hand Cricket on its own.

About Hand Cricket

The playground version, kept exactly as simple as it should be. Both sides choose a number from one to six at the same time. Different numbers and the batter scores whatever they showed. Identical numbers and the batter is out, and since an innings here is a single wicket, that ends it.

One innings each and no over limit. Bat first and you post whatever you can before your luck runs out, then defend it. Bowl first and you chase a target you already know, which changes how much risk each ball is worth. There is no toss: you decide in the settings which end you start at.

What gives it teeth is the opponent. On the middle and top settings the computer keeps a record of what you have played and uses it, which turns the whole thing into a bluffing contest conducted in single digits. Two people can also play on one device, picking in secret and passing it across, which is closer to how the game is actually played at school. A match takes two or three minutes.

What is different about this version

Zero is not on the pad. Numbers run one to six, which removes the safe non-scoring option most versions include and means every ball has to be worth something. The opponent is the real difference. On Normal it counts how often you have played each number and bowls your favourite back at you. On Hard it also keeps a transition table of which number you tend to play after each other number, and uses it once it has seen the same pairing twice. Both models pool everything from the whole match, so the habits you show while bowling are used against you when you bat. When the computer is batting it does not choose evenly either: six and four come up roughly three times as often as one.

How to play Hand Cricket

Set the opponent to Easy, Normal or Hard, or switch to two players on one device.
Decide in the settings whether you bat or bowl first.
Each ball, both sides secretly pick a number from one to six.
Different numbers and the batter adds their own number to the score.
Matching numbers and the batter is out, which ends the innings.
The side batting second chases one more than the first total.
Reaching the target wins at once; falling short or levelling does not.

Controls

Desktop	Press the number keys 1 to 6, or click a hand; Escape pauses.
Phone or tablet	Tap a hand to lock in your number.
Players	One or two people on the same device. Nothing here plays over the internet.

Strategy

Work out what each setting is doing. Easy picks at random, and against a random bowler the chance of being out is one in six whatever you show, so you should always play six: same risk, most runs. That stops being true a level up. On Normal and Hard the risk is no longer flat, because the bowler aims at the number you have played most, and six every ball makes you the easiest read in the game.

So the batting problem is spending your six without announcing it. The models count cumulatively and never forget the early balls, which gives you a trick: lean hard on one number in the first innings, then abandon it. The count keeps pointing at a number you no longer play. The transition table is easier still to poison, since it only fires once it has seen the same two-number sequence twice, so never repeat a pairing.

Bowling is the other half. The computer's batting preferences are fixed and lopsided towards six and four, so early in an innings, before it has read anything off you, those two are your best guesses for a wicket. If you need one ball to save a match, bowl six. And when chasing, the target ends the match the instant you reach it, so there is no reason to risk a big shot when a two gets you home.

Mistakes that cost you the game

Playing six every ball past the Easy setting. It is the highest-scoring choice and also the first number the computer learns to bowl at you.
Forgetting that one match ends the innings. There is no tail to bat with, so the ball that gets you out is the last you face.

Tips

Vary the number you follow each number with, not just the numbers themselves.
Build a habit deliberately in the first innings, then drop it in the second.
When bowling early, try six and four. The computer's batting leans heavily on both.
Chasing a small target, take ones and twos. Passing it ends the match.
Setting a target, take the risk early while the opponent has no read on you.
In two-player mode, keep the screen turned away. The first pick locks before the second player chooses.

Questions about Hand Cricket

Can I play zero?

No. The pad runs from one to six, so every ball is a scoring shot or a wicket.

How many wickets do I get?

One. The innings ends the first time your number matches the bowler's.

Is there an overs limit?

No. An innings lasts as long as you avoid matching, so a good one can run to a hundred balls.

Does the computer see my pick before it chooses?

No. It chooses from your history, not the current ball, which is why changing your habits works.

What happens if the scores finish level?

The match is tied, and the end screen says so rather than awarding it to either side.

Can two of us play on one phone?

Yes. Player one locks a number, hands the phone across, and player two picks without seeing it.

Does it cost anything?

No. Hand Cricket is free to play, runs in your browser, and needs no download, install or account.

More games like this

See all 105 games · Read the articles