Jamzu Release Notes

NOTE: Make sure you have Game Center notifications turned ON.
On your iPhone or iPad: Settings → Notifications → Game Center

Jamzu 2.0 (build 9) release candidate

TestFlight beta — October 17 2026 · the new release candidate, with build 8's changes

Improved

  • Game Center turn notifications open straight to the correct game.
  • Play Again will now start with new Training and AI think time settings if you changed them mid-game.
  • Home: the Settings dots move to the top-right corner.
  • Help: updated lines on scores across devices, Decline and Forfeit versus Delete, the AI's close-out, and DieDeck Hidden at Master.

Fixed

  • DieDeck Hidden: the AI will never see any hidden numbers that it is not supposed to see.
  • The easier AI levels will never throw away a certain win in the very last moves of the endgame.
  • In rare situations, the AI would make an illegal jammer move, ending on the square it started from. This is no longer possible.
  • Online play: moves are always routed to their correct games.

Performance

  • DieDeck Hidden at Master: no more long waits when both decks turn over. On that one move, the AI only looks 3 turns ahead.

Known issues

  • Online play: Replay button stops working once you select a jammer.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 7) release candidate

TestFlight beta — September 29 2026

New

  • Game Center. 12 achievements and 11 leaderboards.
  • Points for every win against the AI, counted up on the win card. Deeper AI searches score more, Blue earns a quarter more, and Live doubles it.
  • A points-per-win chart in Features.
  • The depth badge (Choose). A number on the opponent's name shows how deep the AI searched, when it goes past its level's usual depth.
  • Add Friends. Send a Game Center friend request from Play Online.
  • AI think time has a new 3-minute setting.

Improved

  • Stronger AI endgames in every variant.
  • Endgame playouts (Classic and DieDeck, Skilled and up). On some endgame positions, the AI may use statistical playouts to decide on its best move.
  • Invite Friend now lists your Game Center friends who have Jamzu.
  • Training and AI think time are set in Features, and stay locked for the whole game.
  • Stats count Training and Live games separately, and now include Scores.
  • Help is rewritten: How to play, Features, and Game Center.
  • New jammer animations.
  • Choose: every game gets a fresh variation, Play Again included.
    • At the start of each game against the AI, Jamzu makes a slightly nudged copy of the neural network, adding tiny random noise (a spread of 0.01) to every weight.
    • The nudge is small enough not to affect strength in deep search, so the AI keeps its strength, but it may play the opening and other positions differently from game to game.
    • A resumed game keeps its original nudged weights, so you continue against an identical opponent.
  • The Top Shelf switch sits with the other switches at the top of Features.
  • The screen stays awake while the AI is thinking.
  • Clear All Stats asks whether to clear stats only, or reset Game Center too.

Fixed

  • Choose, with AI think time off: the AI always takes a win that's there on the spot.
  • Classic, at the largest text sizes: the die keeps its room.
  • The win % bar starts fresh with each new game.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 6)

TestFlight beta — August 30 2026

New & Improved

  • Polish fixes and changes.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 5)

TestFlight beta — August 23 2026

New

  • Number notes. A toggle in the Game page settings giving each number rolled or selected its own pitched sound. OFF by default.

Improved

  • Classic has a new roll sound.
  • Game Center Rematch improvements.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 4)

TestFlight beta — August 21 2026

Changes for internal Game Center testing. Nothing to report for players.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 3)

TestFlight beta — August 12 2026

One fix for online play through Game Center.

Fixed

  • Game Center: tapping a turn notification now opens your game in progress. Previously it opened a fresh board at the starting position, and you had to reach the match from the Online Matches page instead.

Known issues

  • The AI can miss an immediate win in Choose, on Hard difficulty or higher, with AI think time set to OFF. Setting think time to Auto, or to a specific time, appears to avoid it. Carried over from build 1.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 2)

TestFlight beta — August 11 2026

One fix for online play through Game Center, and one for the DieDeck AI.

Fixed

  • Game Center: the end-of-game sound no longer loops for the losing player.
  • DieDeck: the AI now judges positions correctly right after a deck reshuffle. Previously, on the turn after a player used their last card, it could play as though it knew which card was coming next. Most noticeable at Hard and above.

Known issues

  • Game Center: Opening a match in progress from a Game Center notification opens to a fresh board, at the starting position. Workaround: back out of this page, and return to the match from the Online Matches page.
  • The AI can miss an immediate win in Choose, on Hard difficulty or higher, with AI think time set to OFF. Setting think time to Auto, or to a specific time, appears to avoid it. Carried over from build 1.

Jamzu 2.0 (build 1)

TestFlight beta — August 09 2026

First public build of Jamzu 2.0.

New

  • Three game variants, sharing the same board and pieces. What changes is how you get your number each turn.
    • Classic. Roll the die and make your move.
    • DieDeck. A random deal of numbers 1 - 6 you can see fully, partly, or not at all.
    • Choose. You pick your number every turn. Pure strategy, no luck.
  • Neural-network opponents, trained through millions of games. Classic and Choose each offer several personalities, selectable on the home screen.
  • Nine difficulty levels, from Beginner to Unbreakable. The top two — Master and Unbreakable — are unlocked in Classic and DieDeck by turning on Top Shelf in Help.
  • Local two-player, playing "over the board" on one device with a friend.
  • Online play through Game Center. Turn-based, so you can take your turn whenever you like. You’ll get a notification when it’s your turn.
  • Saved games. Games save automatically as you play, so you can leave one mid-turn and resume it later.
  • Statistics, recorded per variant, difficulty, and opponent.
  • Board themes, piece styles, and move trails, in Settings.
  • Sound and haptics, with individual switches in Help.
  • Help pages, including a gameplay guide and The Story of Jamzu.
  • No account or sign-up. Nothing is collected; games, statistics, and settings stay on your device.

Known issues

  • The AI can miss an immediate win in Choose, on Hard difficulty or higher, with AI think time set to OFF. In an endgame it will occasionally play a strong move rather than a winning one: moving a runner up to the finish edge instead of picking the number that would send it off the board. The game finishes normally. Setting think time to Auto, or to a specific time, appears to avoid it.
  • An online game's end sound can loop. In a Game Center match, the player who loses may hear the losing sound repeat and the end animation play more than once. Tapping End Game stops it. The result is recorded correctly and other games are unaffected. A fix is planned.

Found something that isn’t listed here? Use the feedback option in TestFlight, or email doug@realfunart.com.