Q&A for How to Play Mastermind

Many. The strategy proposed as methodical is maybe easy, but needs a large number of guesses. Donald Knuth has described an optimal strategy in his paper, "The Computer as a Master Mind." His first question is "Blue Blue Red Red" and he always wins within 5 rounds.

They're for the code maker to set the code so that she won't forget it (or cheat by changing the code in her head).

The strip of holes on the other side are for keeping track of who won each game. You can play a bunch of games in a row and see who did best overall.

In Mastermind, the pegs are the colorful semi-circles with a line at the bottom. They are used to create the code.

Yes, as long as both colors fill the entire shielded code area.

The holes on the left are for keeping score. Each guess you make to get the code counts as one point, and at the end of all rounds, the person with the lowest score wins.

You would put down one white peg because they only guessed one yellow. If they had guessed two yellow, you would put down two white pegs.

They indicate which guesses are correct, correct but in the wrong position, or incorrect.

The holes on the left side are used for keeping score, while the ones on the right are for indicating how many guesses are correct.

You can use black and white pegs. Most colorblind people can distinguish between different shades, even if they can't differentiate certain colors.

If the guessed color is in the correct position, use a peg for the correct position and color. If it is not in either position, use a peg for the correct color but wrong position.