Mastermind Hints

The roles are rather different in this game, and so the hints are also.

For the Master, the choice of word is all-important. Probably the best feeling is when you choose a word that takes your opponent ages to guess, but which isn't too rare. Here are some of the words which have proved hardest to guess:

• ZULUS - Two Us and a Z. Rather tricky.
• ASSES - A triple letter always makes things awkward.
• ADDED - Similarly.
• XEROX - Two Xs, obviously.
• TARES - When you're playing that anagrams have to be fully guessed, any word with lots of anagrams is a real pain.

There are plenty of others. The best way to see if a word will be hard is to try it out. The proof is in the guessing.

For the Guesser, the goal is usually to guess the word in as few turns as possible. A different game can be had when you try to guess in as little time as possible, but as I said, that's a different game. I've found it best to write out a copy of the alphabet, and as you eliminate certain letters, cross them off. As you find that one is in the secret word, circle it. Also, be sure to keep a record of how many letters of your guessed word were in the secret word.

Good luck!