10 minutes to play, a lifetime to find the pieces ;-) (Mastermind)

Member Name: charliebrown

Product:	Mastermind
Date:	22/04/01 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes you think, cheap

Disadvantages: You end up vacuuming half the pegs

Mastermind is a thinking - preson's game, requiring logical thought and concentration, rather than knowledge of trivia like the TV programme of the same name.

I played this a few times when I was younger, and could never get into the blasted game - it was infuriating.

Basically, you have to make up a secret code, consisting of four pegs, each peg can be any of four differnt colours, thus giving lots of possible combinations. This code is tucked away behind a secret screen.

Your opponent then has to place pegs in holes on the board, trying to guess your code. Your opponent has to try and guess the code before he or she runs out of rows (each row representing one guess). If not, you win.

However, you have to give them a bit of help, naturally. So if they place a peg of the corret colour in the correct hole, you have to tell them. You also have to tell them if they place a correct colour peg in a hole, but it's the wrong hole. By using this information and a process of elimination, your opponent might be able to work it out.

Sounds an interesting challenge. The problem with the game is that you then spend the rest of the afternoon finding where all the tiny pegs have got to,. You'd be surprised where they kep turning up.

Apart from that, this game is a cheap board game that will get you thiking, but to be honest, it just doesn't have the playability to keep you coming back for more.

Summary: