Codebreaker

Codebreaker is a free online code-guessing puzzle you can play instantly in your browser, no download, no account, and no waiting for another player. The game hides a secret row of colored pegs; you guess a full row back and get instant feedback — a black key peg for every color in the exact right spot, a white key peg for every color that's in the code but in the wrong spot. Use that feedback to narrow the possibilities guess by guess until you crack the exact code before your guesses run out. Play through 15 levels that grow the code from 3 pegs and 4 colors up to 6 pegs and a full 8-color palette, with fewer guesses allowed as the deduction gets tighter.

How to play Codebreaker

1. Tap any peg slot in your current guess row, then tap a color from the palette below to fill that slot. Filling a slot automatically selects the next empty one.
2. Fill every slot in the row, then tap Submit Guess to lock it in.
3. Each submitted guess scores feedback pegs: a black peg for every color you placed in the exact right position, a white peg for every color that's somewhere in the code but in the wrong position.
4. Use that feedback to rule out colors and positions, then submit a sharper guess on the next row.
5. Crack the code — every peg scored black — before you run out of guesses to win the level.
6. Clear a level to unlock the next one, where the code grows longer and the color palette gets wider.

Tips

• Open with a guess that uses several different colors rather than repeating one color — you learn more from a spread-out first guess.
• A white peg tells you a color is in the code but not where you just put it — try that color in a different slot next guess rather than dropping it.
• If a color scores zero black and zero white pegs, you can rule it out completely and stop using it for the rest of that code.
• Track which colors you've confirmed for which slots and lock those in every future guess, so each remaining guess only tests the slots still in doubt.

FAQ