Mastermind, as such, doesn’t require its players to behave in a pre-defined manner, but there are some general etiquettes which are considered to be good by most players and should therefore, be adopted in your mastermind gameplay. Shaking hands is one of the most important etiquettes that must be displayed and adhered to while starting out with a game of mastermind. This practice becomes all the more important when you are playing a formal version of the game. Formal games require you to follow formal etiquettes.

If you are playing within the family or amongst friends, then you might not need to adhere to these, but in a tournament or while playing against a stranger in the pub, shaking hands can always leave a good, warm impression in the minds of your opponent. Shaking hands also lets your opponent know your confidence levels and your willingness to play the game with him. A good warm handshake can lead to a great game and a wonderful overall experience, to say the least.

Apart from a handshake, saying “good luck” before the game is considered to be a good practice. This is contrary to the common belief with other board games since most board games are equal opportunity games and the luck factor plays a negligible role in deciding the final outcome of the game. In mastermind however, luck plays an important part in deciding if the code breaker would be able to decipher the code or not, therefore, wishing you opponent luck before the beginning of the game is a good thing to do.

Before you start on with the gameplay, it is important that the number of rounds and the number of turns per player per round are decided upon in advance. These numbers should be so decided that both the players mutually agree to them. Once decided, both the players to adhere to them, no matter what. There might be instances when it might become clear by the 7th or the 8th round that one of the players is a clear winner (if he has won more than half the games). If such cases do happen, neither of the players should make an effort of calling it a day right there; rather the full number of pre-decided rounds should be played.

Trying to peep into your opponent’s code is a grave crime and no attempt should be made in this respect, whatsoever. It is better to loose a game than to be caught cheating. In a tournament, such an effort on a player’s part can result in permanent disqualification from the tournament itself.

Finally, while playing the game, uttering nuisance can fetch you grave penalties. In case, you are playing with friends or family members and they are fine with anything you do across the table, you can do anything, but, in the case of a professional tourney, proper decorum and etiquettes needs to be followed, else you might even end up getting a lifetime ban from the tourney.