Pressman Mastermind Codebreakers Card Game | 3 Difficulty Levels of Play | 2-6 Players | Ages 8+ |

The rules seemed to be pretty clear other than it said it was a game played in 5 rounds, and it definitely took more than that for someone to win with 5 of us playing. We played the novice, but there were also advanced and master which wouldn't have been any harder to understand, it just increases the difficulty level because you have to have more specific cards rather than having multiple options. The age range is pretty accurate. All the game parts seemed to be good quality.I would liken it to the game Phase 10 in that you have to get certain cards to advance to the next level, but only the first person to "break the code" gets to advance unless you are lucky enough to draw the Advance action card, which definitely gives an OP advantage. It required A LOT of card shuffling because there were a couple of times the code was broken on the first or second turn. It felt like we spent more time shuffling and dealing than actually playing the game. It was fun, but we decided we might tweak the rules a little bit the next time we played it to see if we could make it a little more enjoyable (like continuing to play without stopping to shuffle and redeal after each code breaker).

We enjoyed this game but didn't love it. It's really just an okay game. Maybe it just wasn't our favorite and others would enjoy it more.

This brain teaser game is a really affordable game to add to your game table. It’s small and compact - easy to store. It’s a great way to teach pattern discernment. My son loves it!

I am a big fan of the original Mastermind game - the one drawback was that it's only 2 player.I was excited to see this card game version for up to 4 players. However, the card game is not an expanded version of the color code guessing game. Instead this card game takes the recognizable component of the original Mastermind games - color code composed of a combination of 4 colors set in a row - and combines it with the gameplay of Uno and rummy.The purpose of the game is to build the set color code combination in your hard (rummy style) through the draw and discard style of Uno. Scoring reminds me of Phase 10 - if you complete the color code set for your turn but you don't empty you hand you can still advance to the next level.The game is really fun once the rules are understood. The rules could have been written with more clear and simple directions and have a better quick start guide.Overall it's a fun card game. I think the Mastermind connection is more a nostalgia marketing point than necessary for the game play.I would buy again and I would recommend to family and friends.

I played this with my game playing group. We all thought it was too difficult to play. Instructions were a little vague when it came to the 'special' cards. The game board and the grid patterns were way too small. The markers are basically like a cardboard back poured plastic bubble. Again, way too small. I put them back in the box and one fell out of the bottom. I did not like the pace of the game. A player seemed to get their pattern too quickly and then we started all over again. Some players didn't get their patterns at all. I expected this to be similar to UNO, or more skill involved. This is mostly luck of the draw type game. Not challenging enough for my liking.

I chose this game because my wife grew up playing Mastermind, loves it, and has started playing it with our kids. I thought she might enjoy this new variation as a fresh take on her beloved classic game.Unfortunately, this game is nothing like classic Mastermind and it's also not fun or well made in its own right.First of all, the rules are not well written. I had to read them several times to understand how it's supposed to work, and even now I'm not sure I have it 100% correct.The game has more in common with Uno than with Mastermind. Players draw cards until they have a hand that matches the "code" presented on a row of the game board. Once they have those cards, they can play them and move on to the next row. Then they draw up a new hand of 4 cards and keep drawing and discarding until they get the cards they need to match each row of the game board.Unlike classic Mastermind, there's no logic or deduction aspect to this game. You just draw and discard until you get the cards you need. So it's very luck-driven. They also included some action cards you can play to slow down other players or give yourself a boost.Alright, so it's a simple game, probably made for younger kids. That could be okay, even if it's not something I would enjoy myself. But unfortunately the production quality of this game is very poor too. As I mentioned, the instructions are not clear and include no pictures. So, for example, when it says to put your player token "on the board" it doesn't say where on the board! It says "the game is played in five rounds", but that could only be true if one player solved a row of the puzzle every single turn. If players can't solve a row during their turn, they're supposed to keep trying on their next turn. So the game would normally take more than 5 rounds, right??Aside from the unclear instructions, the cards are abnormally thin and will not withstand frequent use. Also, the player tokens are very small and easy to lose, especially since the box is barely big enough to hold everything and has no organizational compartments to help keep things where they belong.Overall, this is a pretty big disappointment, and I can't see it being very much fun for anyone.

The directions baffled us for a moment, but once we figured it out, the game was okay to play. Our kids enjoyed it, but I can see them getting bored with it sooner rather than later. There isn't any logic with it, which is our personal preference for games; basically pure luck, as you wait to draw the needed cards to match the code in your row.