How to Beat the Bots in Number Phase

The Number Phase bots are twelve robot rivals that play on Easy, Normal or Hard. You’ll meet them across the campaign, where a house champion guards every VIP table and a boss waits every 15th level, and in custom games, where you can face up to five at once. They don’t see your hand, which means you can outplay them with good discards and smart timing.

This guide covers how the rivals are set up, where the tough ones live, and the habits that beat them most often. If you’re brand new, read the how to play guide first so the turn steps are second nature.

Meet the robot rivals

Number Phase has twelve robot rivals, and they’re the reason the game works solo. Each plays at one of three levels:

• Easy: good for learning the turn order and the phases.
• Normal: a fair game. You’ll need to read your hand and watch the discard pile.
• Hard: punishes loose discards and slow lay-downs.

We recently made the bots easier and the campaign’s warm-up levels gentler, so the first tables are a friendly place to learn.

The bots play fair

The bots make decisions from the same view of the table you get. They see the discard pile and the groups on the table. They don’t see your hand. So everything you do to hide your plan, like drawing blind instead of grabbing an obvious discard, works on them the same way it would on a person.

Key takeaway: the bots can only read what you show them. Give them less to read.

Where you’ll face them

The campaign road

The campaign is an endless road of tables, each with its own phases and rivals. You can earn up to three stars on each level, and stars, felts and card backs mark your progress.

Two kinds of tables stand out:

• VIP tables are guarded by a house champion. Expect a tougher opponent than the tables around them.
• Boss levels come every 15th level. Treat them as a test of everything since the last boss.

Custom games

Want a full match? A custom game gives you all ten phases against up to five bots, and you pick how hard they play. A full ten-phase match runs about 20 to 30 minutes. A quick game is a five-phase match that takes about eight.

More bots at the table means more chances for someone to go out early, so a five-bot game rewards fast lay-downs even more than a one-on-one does.

Which difficulty should you pick?

Start on Easy if you’re still learning what each phase needs. Move to Normal once you finish most rounds with only a few cards left in your hand. Try Hard when Normal games feel comfortable and you want every discard to matter.

You don’t have to climb in a straight line, either. A mixed table is a good way to practice. One or two bots is a calmer game where you can watch each rival’s picks. Five bots is a scramble where a round can end before you’ve finished your phase.

Tips to beat the bots

1. Lay down fast, then shed

Every round ends the moment one player empties their hand. A sharp bot won’t wait for you, so a phase you’re sitting on is a phase that can cost you. Lay down as soon as you can, then add cards to groups on the table every turn to shrink your hand.

2. Draw blind when the discard is a “maybe”

Everything you take from the discard pile is public. If a card only might help, draw from the deck instead. The bots can’t learn from a card they never saw you take.

3. Feed them nothing

Pay attention to what each bot picks up. If one grabs a 10, it’s probably building around 10s or a run nearby. Don’t discard the next piece. When you’re unsure, throw a card that’s already been discarded by someone else, since nobody seemed to want it.

4. Save Skips for the bot that’s ahead

When a bot has laid down and its hand is getting small, it’s close to going out. That’s the moment for a Skip. Skips stack, so two Skips on the same bot cost it two turns.

5. Use the hints

Slots glow when a group is ready, and the game tells you when you’re one card away from your phase. Against Hard bots, that one-card-away hint is a signal to grab the right discard the moment it appears. Tap Suggest if you’re not sure your cards fit, then one-tap Lay Down.

6. Learn from the loss screen

After a loss, the game shows a coaching tip. It’s short, and it’s aimed at what went wrong in that game. Read it before you replay the level.

Chasing three stars

Getting through a level and getting three stars aren’t the same. Once you can clear a table, replay it with tighter play: lay down earlier, hold fewer cards when rounds end, and use your Wilds where they save the most draws. Our Number Phase strategy tips cover each of these in more detail.

Stars aren’t the only thing to collect. Number Phase has 24 achievements, and they unlock new felts and card backs for your table.

Practice plan

If a VIP table or a boss level keeps beating you, try this:

1. Play a quick five-phase game on Normal to warm up.
2. Focus on one habit per game, like “never take a maybe from the discard pile.”
3. Move to Hard in a custom game with one or two bots.
4. Go back to the campaign table that stopped you.

It’s free, it runs in your browser, and a quick game takes about eight minutes, so practice doesn’t cost much. When you’re ready, take on the bots in Number Phase, or browse more free games on HulaGames.

FAQ

How many bots are in Number Phase?

There are twelve robot rivals. They play on Easy, Normal or Hard, and a house champion guards every VIP table in the campaign.

Can the Number Phase bots see my cards?

No. The bots play from the same view of the table a player gets, so they see the discard pile and the groups laid down, but not your hand.

How many bots can I play against at once?

In a custom game you can play the full ten phases against up to five bots. The quick game is a shorter five-phase match.

What happens every 15th level of the campaign?

Every 15th level is a boss table. Expect a tougher rival, and treat it as a check on everything you’ve learned in the levels before it.