As a code breaker in the game, a player’s job is to infer the sequence and pattern of colors that might have been chosen by the other player (called the code maker). Generally, four colors are chosen by the code maker to construct a hidden ‘code’ (although, some other variants of the game might involve more or less colors to be chosen). The code breaker is given a fixed number of chances to decipher the code, failing which, some points are allotted to the code maker. Consequently, an even number of games (this even number is pre-decided) is played between the two players and the roles of being a code maker or a code breaker are often interchanged after each game. At the end of all the games, the person with the maximum number of points, is the winner.

The pegs are very important to the game play, and come in six colors- Red, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Black and White. Once a guess about the probable color is made by the code breaker, the code maker marks the particular guess with a feedback. The marks are either white or black and both of these signify things like ‘you are correct’, ‘your might be correct’ or ‘you are dead wrong’. Based on the feedback given by the code maker, the other player is expected to decipher the code within a fixed number of chances, and this number is also decided prior to the start of the game.

A black marker peg conveys the message that one of the pegs ‘guessed’ by you is present in the code, and is in the right position as well, but it doesn’t tell you which one of your pegs is the correct one. Similarly, a white marker peg suggests that one of the pegs selected by you is present in the code, but it is in the wrong position. Again, a white marker doesn’t tell you anything about the peg you might have got correct. At times, the code maker might have selected a color more than once while forming the code, and this can be more confusing to the code breaker (as no information about the correct peg is provided by the code breaker while giving a feedback).

The game is an intriguingly complex mix of luck and mathematics. You need luck to get the first couple of option right, but after that, with careful mathematical pondering and manipulation, you might be able to crack the code withing 6 moves. It is this combination of mathematical nuances and destiny, that has made the game a long standing success for Invicta plastics (the company that has all the intellectual property rights for the game).

As a beginner, you might find it somewhat difficult to get a good grasp on the game, but adequate practice and understanding of the mathematical nature of the game would keep you in good stead, as you progress further in the game- all you need is the determination to keep learning the tricks of the game and to keep experimenting with the first move strategies.