Code breaker online

How do you play a code breaker game?

In a code breaker game, a code of colors is hidden and you try to crack it in up to 10 tries. After each guess, the game tells how many pieces are in the right place and how many belong to the code in another position. With those answers, you rule out options until every position is right.

How to play

1. The game hides a code of 4 pieces on the padlock row. On the hard level, the code has 5 pieces.
2. Each piece has a color and a symbol: circle, triangle, square, star, diamond, cross, heart and moon. The symbol alone is enough to tell the pieces apart.
3. Tap the pieces to build your guess on the highlighted row. On a computer, use the keys 1 to 8.
4. Wrong piece? Tap the slot to pick that position and tap again to clear it. The Erase button removes the last piece.
5. Tap Check guess. On a computer, the Enter key does the same.
6. The game answers with two numbers. The green number, with the check mark, counts the pieces in the right place.
7. The yellow number, with the two arrows, counts the pieces that belong to the code but sit in another position.
8. The game does not say which pieces were right. Working that out is your part.
9. You win when every piece is in the right place. You get 10 tries. If they run out, the game shows the code.

Levels and modes

• Easy: a code of 4 positions with 6 possible pieces. No piece repeats in the code.
• Medium: a code of 4 positions with 6 possible pieces. The same piece may show up more than once.
• Hard: a code of 5 positions with 8 possible pieces, with repeats.
• One player: the game draws the code and you crack it.
• Two players on the same device: one person builds the code while the other looks away, then taps Hide the code. Then they hand over the device, and the other person cracks it.
• Count possible codes: with this help on, the game shows how many codes still match every answer. It is good practice to see how much each guess rules out.
• There is no clock. Think as long as you like on each guess. The match is saved on your device.

Tips to play better

• Add the two numbers of the answer. The sum tells how many pieces of your guess belong to the code, wherever they sit.
• On the easy level, start with 4 different pieces. If the sum is 2, the 2 pieces you left out are in the code, because it uses 4 of the 6 pieces.
• On the levels with repeats, start with two pairs, like circle, circle, triangle, triangle. In two or three tries you know which pieces are in and how many times.
• An answer of zero and zero is great news. None of those pieces is in the code, and you can use them later as neutral pieces to test one position at a time.
• Change very little from one guess to the next. If you swap one piece and the green number goes up, the new piece is in the right place. If it goes down, the old piece was.
• The yellow number says the piece exists, but not there. Do not put that piece in the same slot again.
• Before you check, compare the guess with every row above. A good guess could be the code: it would give the same answers you already got.
• With repeated pieces, the count goes piece by piece. If the code has one circle and the guess has two, only one circle is counted.

Who this game is for

The code breaker game exercises logical reasoning: you make a hypothesis, test it, read the answer and rule out what does not fit. It suits children who can count, adults and seniors.

The pieces are large and each color has its own symbol, so you can play without relying on colors. In the two-player mode, take turns: whoever hides the code in one round cracks it in the next.

Frequently asked questions