Pure Evil

August 13, 2004 12:17 AM

This Flash game kinda drove me nuts and I never got it right once. (turn off your sound. the game don't need it and there's some cheesiness) {click games them m3 or m3 expert if you're a glutton for punishment}
posted by dobbs (18 comments total)

On m3 (not expert) I nailed the first puzzle in about five rows. I'm going to bed, but I'd be appreciative if somebody would quickly explain what makes expert harder, so I can decide whether or not I should play again when I get up ;)
posted by The God Complex at 12:43 AM on August 13, 2004

For kicks, since it was still loaded, I decided to try one more on m3 and finished it in two attempts (second time I've tried one). I nailed two black the first row and somehow guessed which two were correct while selecting the other two proper colours on the next row. If I had $20, I'd bet nobody can duplicate that in three tries !!
posted by The God Complex at 12:45 AM on August 13, 2004

the difference between normal and expert modes is that in normal mode each color can only be used once.

at first i thought it was challenging too, but in reality its actually relatively easy if you just figure out which colors aren't being used. you figure that out by starting each game by filling out a row with only one color, i.e. put four black pegs in the first row. after you figure out which colors aren't being used, it's only a matter of rearranging the rest.
posted by joedan at 1:13 AM on August 13, 2004

In the expert mode colors can repeat within a pattern, I think.
posted by mmcg at 1:16 AM on August 13, 2004

Ah! Mastermind! This was sold as a puzzle game in the UK in the 80's. Was boring then, and is boring now!
posted by metaxa at 1:53 AM on August 13, 2004

Interesting for 5 minutes, but I never failed once. Even on expert mode, it took me an average of 7 rows. Like joedan, I started off with 4 black pegs, and whittled down the colours that way.
posted by salmacis at 2:34 AM on August 13, 2004

Nice little site this guy made.
posted by raaka at 4:03 AM on August 13, 2004

I definitely dig the site. The game was fun for nostalgia value, I remember playing it on Windows 3.1 so very long ago.
posted by sciurus at 5:12 AM on August 13, 2004

I find the interface incredibly painful. Dragging and dropping the colours, and then not being permitted to grab the next one until the lame animation has finished it's cycle. It's like regular mastermind, only extra boring.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:38 AM on August 13, 2004

The game is simple. It's the 3d perspective and dragging that are 3vil.
posted by rudyfink at 5:54 AM on August 13, 2004

Yeah... game is simple when you can put multiple pegs of the same color down. Now, if you coudln't do that, it becomes harder.

That *should* be the difference between M3 and M3E.
posted by psychotic_venom at 6:15 AM on August 13, 2004

5 rows first try on m3, 6 rows first try m3 expert, though I can't quite tell how the expert level works. I put 4 blues in one row, and the pegs told me I had two correct colors, but in the wrong place. ummm?

I remembered some of the strategies from playing this in the 80s, but it's been at least 20 years since I've played. Kinda fun, but I'm done now.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:19 AM on August 13, 2004

Hmm. I've never heard of Mastermind before. Didn't realize it was an online version of a real game. Last night at 3 in the morning it seemed difficult but yer all right... it doesn't seem so hard bright eyed and busy tailed.
posted by dobbs at 10:07 AM on August 13, 2004

2 rows, first try (m3). beginners luck, i guess.
posted by awadwatt at 10:32 AM on August 13, 2004

...and aren't you supposed to start at the other end of the board?
posted by awadwatt at 10:34 AM on August 13, 2004

There was a harder version on my Nokia cell phone a couple years back (5150 model?). So a problem: for the version linked in this FPP, what is the optimal strategy and, using this optimal strategy, what is the maximum number of guesses (rows filled out) you might possibly need to solve an instance of the puzzle?
posted by Krrrlson at 10:34 AM on August 13, 2004

Yeah... game is simple when you can put multiple pegs of the same color down. Now, if you coudln't do that, it becomes harder.

uh huhuhuhuh, so uh yeah, just dont put multiple colors down beavis, uh huhuhuhuh
posted by Satapher at 3:51 PM on August 13, 2004

It's actually pretty easy without multiple pegs of the same color too. I didn't do it intentionally, but I never used multiples. My strategy is to put down three rows using colors 1234, 1256, and 3456, and then make deductions based on the three results taken together. Average five rows to complete, no multiples.
posted by Nothing at 9:20 PM on August 13, 2004