Mastermind (board game) facts for kids
A completed game of Mastermind
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| Designer(s) | Mordecai Meirowitz |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1970 to present |
| Genre(s) | Board game Paper & pencil game [root] |
| Players | 2 |
| Setup time | < 5 minutes |
| Playing time | 10–30 minutes |
| Random chance | Negligible |
Mastermind is a super fun code-breaking game for two players! It's like a puzzle where one person hides a secret code, and the other tries to guess it. The modern game we know today, with colorful pegs, was created in 1970 by Mordecai Meirowitz. He was a smart person from Israel who worked with mail and phones. The game is a bit like an older pencil and paper game called Bulls and Cows.
Contents
How to Play Mastermind
Mastermind is played with a special board and colorful pegs. Here's what you use:
- A decoding board: This board has rows of holes. One end has a hidden spot for the secret code.
- Code pegs: These are the colorful pegs (usually six different colors) that you use to make and guess codes.
- Key pegs: These are smaller, flat pegs, usually black and white. They are used to give clues about how good a guess is.
Setting Up the Game
First, the two players decide how many games they will play. It's usually an even number so everyone gets a fair turn. One player becomes the codemaker, and the other is the codebreaker.
The codemaker secretly chooses a pattern of four code pegs. They can use any colors, and they can even use the same color more than once! For example, they could choose four red pegs. This secret pattern is placed in the hidden part of the board, so only the codemaker can see it.
Making Guesses and Getting Clues
The codebreaker's job is to guess the secret pattern. They need to figure out both the colors and their exact order. They have a limited number of turns, usually eight to twelve.
For each turn, the codebreaker places a row of code pegs on the board as their guess. After they make a guess, the codemaker gives clues using the small key pegs:
- A black key peg means one of the codebreaker's pegs is exactly right: it's the correct color AND in the correct spot.
- A white key peg means one of the codebreaker's pegs is the correct color, but it's in the wrong spot.
If there are duplicate colors in the secret code or in the guess, the clues are given carefully. For example, if the secret code is red-red-blue-blue and you guess red-red-red-blue, you'd get two black pegs for the two correct reds and one black peg for the correct blue. You wouldn't get a clue for the third red peg you guessed, because there are only two reds in the secret code.
You keep guessing and getting clues until one of two things happens:
- The codebreaker guesses the secret pattern exactly!
- The codebreaker runs out of turns.
Scoring Points
Usually, only the codemaker earns points. The codemaker gets one point for each guess the codebreaker makes. If the codebreaker can't guess the pattern at all, the codemaker gets an extra point! The player with the most points after all the games are played wins.
Mastermind Strategies
People have studied Mastermind to find the best ways to play, especially for the codebreaker. They want to figure out how to guess the code in the fewest moves possible.
Knuth's Five-Guess Strategy
In 1977, a smart person named Donald Knuth showed that the codebreaker can always solve the pattern in five moves or less! This is for the classic game with four pegs and six colors. There are 1296 possible secret codes in this version of the game.
Knuth created a special step-by-step plan. It works by starting with a good first guess (like 1122 if you use numbers for colors). Then, after each clue, you remove all the possible secret codes that wouldn't have given you that clue. This helps you narrow down the possibilities until you find the right one.
Average Number of Turns
Later, other mathematicians found even better ways to play. They figured out that if the secret code is chosen randomly, the best way to play can solve the code in about 4.34 turns on average. In the worst case, it might take six turns.
Different Kinds of Mastermind Games
Over the years, many different versions of Mastermind have been made. They change things like the number of colors, the number of holes for pegs, or even what kind of "pegs" you use! Some versions use numbers or letters instead of colors.
Here are some examples of different Mastermind games:
| Game | Year | Colors | Holes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mastermind | 1972 | 6 | 4 | Original version |
| Bagels | 1972 | 10 digits | 3 | Also played as a word game with 2- or 3-digit numbers |
| Royale Mastermind | 1972 | 5 colors × 5 shapes | 3 | |
| Mastermind44 | 1972 | 6 | 5 | For four players |
| Grand Mastermind | 1974 | 5 colors × 5 shapes | 4 | |
| Super Mastermind (a.k.a. Deluxe Mastermind; a.k.a. Advanced Mastermind) | 1975 (in Poland - Copyright Invicta 1972 in cooperation with Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza) | 8 | 5 | |
| Word Mastermind | 1975 | 26 letters | 4 | Only valid words may be used as the pattern and guessed each turn. |
| Mini Mastermind | 1976 | 6 | 4 | Travel-sized version; room for only six guesses |
| Number Mastermind | 1976 | 6 digits | 4 | Uses numbers instead of colors. The codemaker may optionally give, as an extra clue, the sum of the digits. |
| Electronic Mastermind (Invicta) | 1977 | 10 digits | 3, 4, or 5 | Uses numbers instead of colors. Handheld electronic version. Solo or multiple players vs. the computer. Invicta branded. |
| Walt Disney Mastermind | 1978 | 5 | 3 | Uses Disney characters instead of colors |
| Mini Mastermind (a.k.a. Travel Mastermind) | 1988 | 6 | 4 | Travel-sized version; room for only six guesses |
| Mastermind Challenge | 1993 | 8 | 5 | Both players simultaneously play code maker and code breaker. |
| Parker Mastermind | 1993 | 8 | 4 | |
| Mastermind for Kids | 1996 | 6 | 3 | Animal theme |
| Mastermind Secret Search | 1997 | 26 letters | 3-6 | Valid words only; clues are provided letter-by-letter using up/down arrows for earlier/later in the alphabet. |
| Electronic Hand-Held Mastermind (Hasbro) | 1997 | 6 | 4 | Handheld electronic version. Hasbro. |
| New Mastermind | 2004 | 8 | 4 | For up to five players |
| Mini Mastermind | 2004 | 6 | 4 | Travel-sized self-contained version; room for only eight guesses |
You can make the game harder by letting "empty" spots count as another color. Or, you can make it easier by only needing to guess the colors, not their exact positions.
Many computer and Internet versions of Mastermind also exist. They sometimes have different names to avoid trademark issues. You can even play Mastermind with just paper and pencil! There's also a version where you guess a 4-digit number instead of colors.
The game was also included in a video game called Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics for the Nintendo Switch, where it's known as "Hit & Blow".
Images for kids
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Invicta Electronic Master Mind game
See also
In Spanish: Mastermind para niños
