TIGERS AND COWS

An ancient Himalayan strategy game, faithfully reborn. Outwit the AI on three difficulties, or face a friend in Pass & Play. One board, two ways to win.

Claws or numbers? An ancient Himalayan strategy game, reborn on your phone. Tigers and Cows is a faithful mobile adaptation of Bagh-Chal, the centuries-old Nepali board game that pits raw power against sheer numbers. Four tigers, each able to leap and devour. Twenty cows, each able only to creep forward — but together, strong enough to wall in a predator. One board. Two completely different ways to win.

A GAME WITH REAL HISTORY Long before app stores existed, this game was already old. Bagh-Chal — literally "the tiger's move" — has been played for generations across the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, scratched into dirt, drawn on cloth, or carved into wood and stone. Close cousins exist all over the region: Do-Dam in Tibet, Puli Aatam in Tamil-speaking South India and Sri Lanka, and — more distantly — Fox and Geese in Europe. Tigers and Cows brings that entire tradition to your pocket, rules intact.

PICK YOUR SIDE Play as the Tigers: four corners, total mobility, and the ability to leap clean over a cow to capture it. Win by devouring five. Play as the Cows: twenty strong, slow but relentless. Win by trapping every tiger until none has a legal move left — no step, no leap. Every match plays completely differently depending on which side you choose.

THREE AI DIFFICULTIES, OR PASS THE PHONE Sharpen your skills against the AI on EASY, NORMAL, or HARD — each a genuinely different opponent, not just a slower version of the same one. Or skip the AI entirely and pass the device back and forth with a friend or family member in local Pass & Play.

SIMPLE RULES, DEEP STRATEGY A 5×5 board of 25 points, connected by straight and diagonal lines. Cows place one at a time, then creep forward one step along a line. Tigers slide one step, or leap over an adjacent cow to devour it — like a checkers jump. Tigers win at 5 captures. Cows win by immobilizing every tiger. Legal moves highlight automatically, and a built-in HOW TO PLAY guide is always one tap away, so newcomers are never lost — while the strategy underneath stays genuinely deep, move after move.

A BOARD WORTH LOOKING AT Gold-and-vermilion tiles, hand-painted dragon borders, and hand-illustrated tiger and cow tokens give this board real ceremonial weight — a look that matches the history behind the game, not just another flat grid.

PLAY YOUR WAY Choose from three background music tracks (or none at all), and pick up a match anywhere — a two-minute placement duel on the train, or a slow, thoughtful hour-long standoff on the couch. Tigers and Cows is free to play, supported by ads. Out of moves you regret? Watch a short video for one extra undo. Whether you're drawn in by the history, the artwork, or the promise of a genuinely asymmetric duel unlike chess or checkers, Tigers and Cows rewards a minute of learning with a lifetime of strategy. Choose your side. The hunt is on.