The NLVM notifies: "The holders of Mastermind trademark have required us to take this applet down." Here you will find my opinion to this destructive frenzy.

The following is the HELP from the original page:

"This virtual manipulative is a version of the classic Mastermind game of logic. Win the game by discovering the colors of the four peg solution. You have 8 chances to correctly guess answer. After each guess you receive feedback consisting of black and white pegs. The number of black pegs is the number of correct pegs in your guess. That is, for example, one black peg tells you that exactly one of the pegs in your guess is the right color in the right place, but you don't know which one is correct. The number of white pegs is the number of pegs in your guess that are the correct colors but that are not placed in the correct positions, so two white pegs would tell you that two of your four pegs are correctly colored but not in the right locations.

To play:

Determine how many colors you want to work with, using the up and down arrows. The default is six different colors, but many players like to play with fewer colors until they have more experience. Click Start Playing to begin. One "hole" is circled and you choose the color you want for that hole by clicking on the peg color. When you have filled in colors for all four pegs, by default your guess will be automatically submitted. If you would rather think about your guess before submitting it, you can uncheck the Auto Submit button. If you uncheck the Auto Submit option, you press the Submit button after filling in the colors of the four pegs of your guess. With Auto Submit unchecked, you can change colors in an unsubmitted row.

After your guess, the computer indicates how many pegs of the correct color you have (white) and how many are actually in the right spot (black). Use this feedback to figure out what your next guess should be.

You can see the solution displayed by clicking I Give Up.

The name "Mastermind", the toy and distinctive likenesses thereof are the properties of Hasbro Inc. This manipulative is an unofficial version and neither it nor this site is endorsed by Hasbro in any way."

I would add: The name "Mastermind", the toy and distinctive likenesses thereof are the properties of Pressman Toy Corporation. This manipulative is an unofficial version and neither it nor this site is endorsed by Pressman Toy in any way."