The other person should not be able to see the code when you hand them the phone. That is the whole problem with a two-player guessing game on one device. The secret has to live on the same screen the other player is about to hold.
Don't Peek is a pass-and-play code game for that setup. Two people, one phone. Each of you sets a secret 4-digit code, you take turns guessing, and only a digit in the exact spot locks in. It is from Culi. The seller on the App Store is Rene Fandida. The current description calls the couch version what it is: one phone, a cover so nobody peeks, and a handoff after every guess.
Two people, one phone, two secret codes
The listing's duel is simple. Guess their 4-digit code before they guess yours. Each of you secretly sets a number. You take turns. After every guess, only the digits in the exact right spot lock in. There is no "almost." First to crack all four wins.
Read "exact right spot" the way it is written. A digit counts only if it is the right digit in the right place. The description does not offer a second kind of hint for a digit that is in the code somewhere else. If it did not lock, you do not get a consolation mark. That is the whole feedback.
A short example, using only that rule. Suppose their code is 1234, and you guess 1243. The 1 and the 2 are in the exact spots, so those two lock. The 4 and the 3 are in the guess, but not in those spots, so they do not lock. The description does not tell you that those digits exist elsewhere in the code. You only learn the locks. Next guess, the locked digits stay put, and you are still guessing the rest.
Repeats are allowed. The description says so in plain words, and it adds the cocky case: re-guessing 4444 because you got cocky is allowed too. You are not playing a version where every digit in the code has to be different, and you are not banned from typing a guess you already tried.
The product page leads with the same idea in one line: duel a friend on one phone, beat the CPU, crack the Daily, or fight Online. The friend duel is this section. The other three are later. None of them changes the lock rule. Exact spot, or it does not lock.
How to choose a guess, and what to do when you are close, is a different piece. How to win a 4-digit code guessing game owns the strategy. This article stays on the rules of the handoff, not on openings or endgames.
The cover and the handoff
Don't Peek is the couch version of that fight. One phone. A cover so nobody peeks. A handoff after every guess. You set your code while the other person is not looking. You pass the phone. They guess. You pass it back. The cover is there so the code, and the locks, are not sitting in plain sight during the pass.
The handoff is the game, not a pause in it. On two phones, each person can look at their own screen. On one phone, the same glass has to hold a secret and then be given to the person who must not know it. That is why the cover exists, and why the pass happens after every guess rather than once at the start. A code you set and then leave face-up is not a secret. A guess you make while they can see your locks and their code is not a turn.
The listing's last line is the house rule for that pass: pass the phone, don't peek, don't relax at three. Three locked digits feels like the game is over. It is not. The fourth digit is still a secret, and the other person still has a code you have not cracked. Relaxing at three is how you hand them the win while you are admiring your own progress.
Set your code in secret. They should not be watching the screen.
Pass the phone. The cover is the point of the pass, not a decoration.
They guess. Only exact spots lock.
Pass it back. Same rule, other code.
First to crack all four wins. Three is not four.
Pass the phone. Don't peek. Don't relax at three.
That is a rules-level how-to. The description does not name screens, buttons, or a tour of the board, so this guide will not invent them. If you can set a code, cover it, hand the phone over, and read which digits locked, you can play the couch game. Sit close enough to pass the phone, and far enough that a glance does not do the work the cover is there to stop.
The other modes the listing names
The couch duel is the main case. The same description names three other ways to play the same lock rule, plus a clock.
No one around? Play the phone. The CPU hunts your code fairly and never peeks at yours. You still have a secret 4-digit code. The phone is the other player. "Never peeks" means it does not look at your code to decide its guess. The description stops there. It does not explain the CPU's method beyond hunting fairly.
Crack the Daily, one code the whole world shares. That is the whole Daily claim in the listing. One shared code. Not a second ruleset.
Or take the fight Online over Game Center: same rules, two phones, no cover needed. This is the two-phone case. You are not handing one device back and forth, so the cover is unnecessary. The listing does not describe how you find an opponent. Same rules, two phones, Game Center.
Want panic? Blitz gives every guess ten seconds. Miss the clock, lose the turn. Ten seconds is the panic. It does not change what a lock means. It only changes how long you may stare at the phone before the turn is gone.
A wider look at two people and one device, beyond this one game, is one phone, two players. Don't Peek's own notes and related pieces are gathered under Don't Peek resources. The rest of the journal is on the Culi blog.
FAQ
How do two people play Don't Peek on one phone?
Each of you secretly sets a 4-digit code. You take turns on that one phone. A cover stops the other person peeking, and you hand the phone over after every guess. Only digits in the exact right spot lock in. First to crack all four wins. Repeats are allowed.
What does a guess tell you?
Only whether a digit is in the exact right spot. Those digits lock in. There is no "almost." A digit that did not lock gives you nothing else to go on.
Are repeated digits allowed?
Yes. Repeats are allowed. Re-guessing 4444 because you got cocky is allowed too.
Can you play alone, or on two phones?
Alone: play the phone. The CPU hunts your code fairly and never peeks at yours. Two phones: take the fight Online over Game Center, same rules, no cover needed. If you want a clock on a guess, Blitz gives every guess ten seconds, and missing the clock loses the turn.
Set a code the other person cannot see. Cover it. Hand them the phone. Don't relax at three.
This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor before publishing.