The Original Mastermind Game LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
The Original Mastermind Game is a project created by Norders that combines the creativity of LEGO with the challenge of the game Mastermind. If you have never played the game before, Mastermind is a strategy game where one player created a pattern of four pegs (colors can be repeated if desired) and the other player tries to discover what that pattern is using strategic guesses. The player who created the pattern will then place pegs (white for right color wrong spot and black for right color right spot) in the square above the guessed pattern. The game ends when the guesser has successfully determined the pattern or when the guesser runs out of empty rows on the board. For more information, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
Personally, this project brings back many fond memories of playing Mastermind for hours with various members of my family. It was always fun to either come up with a pattern that my opponent could not guess, or try and discover the pattern that my opponent placed behind the panel cover. Trust me, this game takes critical thinking skills on both sides! In some ways, Mastermind reminds me of building with LEGO bricks. You have to think how the available pieces can be used to achieve the desired result. Thus, I think this is a great pairing, and would make a great set because both LEGO and Mastermind require creativity and critical thinking skills.

As far as the board goes, there were several different board layouts throughout the years, and this one pays tribute to one of the earliest design while including the end compartments (what I believe are a later, and very useful feature). Everything is very accurate in the design from the brown color to the locations for the white and black pegs being on both sides, even to there being a raised (or lowered) section around each row where the guesser places the colored pegs. The build of this game looks like it would be enjoyable by itself (even without the game feature) due to the various SNOT techniques used with the bricks with Technic holes built in on their sides and the 2x2 plates being used upside down as the locations for the black and white pins.

Areas for Improvement
As it currently is, this design remains true and very accurate to the early Mastermind board designs. One thing that could be improved, (and Mastermind has done this in more recent board designs) would be to include a cover for the two end compartments. I do realize that this decreases the accuracy of the design, so I am torn between saying it should be included and it should not be included, but I think it should at least be considered. One other minor comment, the original Mastermind game only had six colors, and this project has eight, making it a version about 20 years older than the original Mastermind game. However, I am glad to see the larger number of colors as this adds another level of challenge to the game. If someone wants to play with six colors, they can do so by simply not using two of the eight colors included.

Conclusion
Mastermind is a fun game to play, and is centered around many of the same principles that LEGO is based on. I firmly believe this Original Mastermind Game would be a fantastic set for both young and old if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review Process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become a set, you can visit the project on LEGO Ideas here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.

Photos used and review completed with the permission of Norders.