Pocket Saucers Support
Need help, want to report a bug, have a feature request, or want to argue about Three Men's Morris opening theory? Write to pocketsaucers@kenlaws.com. The aliens are pleased to hear from you.
Pocket Saucers is a single-developer indie project; replies typically come within a few days.
Common questions
What is this game, exactly?
Pocket Saucers is a modern, animated take on the Morris family of board games: strategy games that pre-date chess by about a thousand years, found scratched into Roman temple steps and Viking ship decks. You play against an AI opponent. Make a row of three saucers to win (or, in the larger variants, to capture one of your opponent's pieces).
What are the three variants?
- 3 Saucers. Three pieces each. The first to make a row of three wins. Whole match in under a minute. Heritage name: Three Men's Morris.
- 6 Saucers. Six pieces each. A row of three captures one of your opponent's saucers. Reduce them below three to win. Heritage: Six Men's Morris.
- 9 Saucers. Nine pieces each. Includes the iconic "flying" rule: when you're down to three saucers, you can hop any of them to any open spot on the board, not just adjacent ones. Heritage: Nine Men's Morris.
How does the "flying" rule work in 9 Saucers?
Once a player drops to three pieces (the minimum needed to win), they may move any of their pieces to any empty position on the board on their turn, instead of only an adjacent position. This is a balancing rule from the heritage Nine Men's Morris game; it gives the trailing player a fighting chance and tends to produce dramatic endgames.
Can I disable the flying rule?
Yes. Settings → House Rules → Disable flying.
Where's my game state when I quit and come back?
In v1.0, an in-progress match isn't saved between launches; you'll start a fresh game when you reopen the app. Persistent match state is on the roadmap.
Can I play against a friend?
Not in v1.0; solo against the AI only. Online turn-based play via Apple's Game Center is on the roadmap for a future update.
The AI on Hard is too strong / Easy is too dumb.
The AI uses minimax search at varying depths. Hard searches deeper and knows Morris theory cold: 3 Saucers is actually a solved game, and a perfect-play Hard opponent can force a draw or win from many positions. Easy and Medium intentionally play sub-optimally to make games more enjoyable for new players, but they still play legal moves. If a difficulty feels off, write to us with the variant and difficulty and we'll take another look.
What does the app collect?
Nothing about you personally. In-app purchases go through Apple's StoreKit; we never see your payment information. See the Privacy Policy for the full story.
Does the app work offline?
Yes. Pocket Saucers v1.0 requires no internet connection. The cheering aliens have no cellular plan.
Reporting a bug
If something looks wrong, please include:
- Your device (e.g. "iPhone 15 Pro" or "Apple TV 4K").
- The iOS / tvOS version.
- The variant you were playing (3 / 6 / 9 Saucers) and AI difficulty.
- What happened, and what you expected to happen.
- A screenshot or screen recording if you can.
Send to pocketsaucers@kenlaws.com.