Mastermind, break the hidden code, vintage game of the year 1972

Mastermind, break the hidden code, vintage game of the year 1972.

• Publisher: Invicta
• Release Date: 1972​

Description
One player tries to unravel the other player's secret code.

The code maker secretly chooses four code pawns and places them in a chosen order behind the screen. It is allowed to choose two or more pawns in the same colour. The code maker has a choice of six different colours. This is the hidden code that the code breaker should unravel.

Condition
This set is in a very neat vintage condition with normal traces of use and age-related traces of wear. As good as new! Pictures are part of the description.

Size of box

• Height: 3.5 cm.
• Length: 31.5 cm.
• Width: 13.5 cm.

Mastermind or Master Mind is a code-breaking game for two players. The modern game with pegs was invented in 1970 by Mordecai Meirowitz, an Israeli postmaster and telecommunications expert. It resembles an earlier pencil and paper game called Bulls and Cows that may date back a century or more.

The game is played using:

• a decoding board, with a shield at one end covering a row of four large holes, and twelve (or ten, or eight, or six) additional rows containing four large holes next to a set of four small holes;
• code pegs of six different colours (or more; see Variations below), with round heads, which will be placed in the large holes on the board; and
• key pegs, some coloured black, some white, which are flat-headed and smaller than the code pegs; they will be placed in the small holes on the board.

The two players decide in advance how many games they will play, which must be an even number. One player becomes the code maker, the other the codebreaker. The code maker chooses a pattern of four code pegs. Duplicates and blanks are allowed depending on player choice, so the player could even choose four code pegs of the same colour or four blanks. In the instance that blanks are not elected to be a part of the game, the codebreaker may not use blanks in order to establish the final code. The chosen pattern is placed in the four holes covered by the shield, visible to the code maker but not to the codebreaker.

The codebreaker tries to guess the pattern, in both order and colour, within eight to twelve turns. Each guess is made by placing a row of code pegs on the decoding board. Once placed, the code maker provides feedback by placing from zero to four key pegs in the small holes of the row with the guess. A coloured or black key peg is placed for each code peg from the guess which is correct in both colour and position. A white key peg indicates the existence of a correct colour code peg placed in the wrong position.

Some translations come from an automated system and may contain errors.