The game of Mastermind has been around for decades and it reinforces not only logical thinking but also a number of math concepts (e.g. combinations, permutations, probability). My students, from third grade up, have always enjoyed it. I wanted to adapt it for younger students, so I created a beginner version that requires only these game sheets, colored cubes, tiles, or beads, and crayons or dry erase markers.
If you’ve never played this two-player game, this video explains it well. It can be a challenge even for older students!
To introduce this simpler version to younger students, print out and make copies of the game sheets (two-sided copies will allow student pairs to play several games). Your students will also need crayons to match the colors of the cubes, tiles, or beads being used. If you’d rather not make multiple copies of the game sheets, you could put them in sheet protectors and have students mark clues with thin dry-erase markers.
The directions can be adapted to fit your needs; I wanted the clues given in the game to be similar to the advanced level, so my instructions involve outlining the circle to indicate correct color, and completely coloring in the spot when it is both correct color and correct position. A slide show with directions for the simplest version is available here. Once students understand how to play, the difficulty can be increased by playing with more color choices or advancing to the next game sheet.
The “secret screen” is easily made from two index cards. Fold the two cards in half, slide together and hold with a small binder clip or large paper clip. The nice thing about this screen is that it can be made wider by simply sliding the cards further apart.
Recently, I found this version of the game, Mastermind for Kids (affiliate link), which could also be used to introduce the game to beginners. I’m still glad I created this because this way all of my students can play at varying levels without the purchase of boxed games.
I hope you’ll leave a comment if you try this! I would love to send more lessons your way. All you have to do is subscribe to the blog!
I love this (Mastermind for Beginners)! Do you by chance have game sheets for a five or six color game level?
Melanie, thank you for the question. I haven’t created printable game sheets for playing the game with more than four colors. However, you’ve inspired me to add this to a new post that I’m currently working on. I’ll email you when it is published. Hint: students can use regular graph paper to record guesses for up to six colors. I’ll be sharing examples and how to explain this to students.