1. Open with two doubled colours
In Mindo, the most studied first guess is 1 1 2 2: one colour twice, another colour twice. It is the opener of the strategy Donald Knuth published for Mastermind, which follows exactly the same rules.
Its strength: whatever the answer, at most 256 of the 1,296 possible codes remain. By comparison, an opener with four different colours, 1 2 3 4, can leave 312, and 1 1 1 1 up to 625. The full breakdown is in our guide to optimal Mastermind strategy.
The numbers here stand for the palette colours, 1 to 6. Which colours you pick does not matter: only the "two pairs" structure counts.
2. Always add up both counters
Right spot plus wrong spot: that total is the number of colours from your try that are in the code, in place or not. It is the most reliable piece of information in every row.
An answer of "1 right spot, 1 wrong spot" to 1 1 2 2 says the code contains exactly two pegs among colours 1 and 2. It could be one 1 and one 2, two 1s or two 2s: cross-checking with later tries will settle it.
3. Only play consistent codes
Before you submit, check one thing: if your guess were the secret code, would it have produced exactly the answers you have already received? If not, it is inconsistent and cannot win.
That discipline alone is enough to play very well. Studies of Mastermind show that a strategy as simple as "pick any consistent code at random" finds the code in a little under 5 tries on average. No heavy maths needed: just never waste a row.
4. Make the most of zero answers
A row with no pegs at all is a gift. All its colours are absent from the code, at every position. If you played 1 1 2 2 and got 0 and 0, the code only uses colours 3, 4, 5 and 6: just 256 possibilities remain, all easy to picture.
Likewise, "0 right spot" with some wrong-spot pegs gives you forbidden positions: every colour from that row that is in the code sits somewhere other than where you put it.
5. Don't underestimate repeats
Many players instinctively guess four different colours. The odds say otherwise: of the 1,296 possible codes, only 360 have four distinct colours. The other 936, or 72%, contain at least one repeated colour.
When the counter totals don't match your theory, think of a repeat first. A doubled test, as in the 1 1 2 2 opener, is often the fastest way to confirm it.
6. To place colours, change few pegs at a time
Once you know all four colours, you still have to order them. Swap just two pegs from one try to the next: the change in the "right spot" counter tells you directly whether the swap gained or lost positions.
For example, if "2 right spot, 2 wrong spot" becomes "4 right spot" after swapping two pegs, those two were the misplaced ones. If the counter drops to 0, the two pegs you swapped were in place, and the other two need to swap with each other.
7. Keep the joker to avoid a loss
Mindo's joker reveals the colour of a position you don't know yet, but it costs more than in other SIWA games. Each joker takes off 60 points and caps the final score: 700 points at best with one joker, 450 with two, 200 with three.
Compare that with the cost of a try: about 67 points of performance per extra try. As long as you are on track to win, a joker almost always loses you points. It becomes useful if you risk not finding the code by try 10: a lost game is capped at 400 points.
Mistakes to avoid
- Thinking the pegs follow the order of your colours: they give counts, not positions.
- Playing an inconsistent code to "test an idea" without checking it fits the earlier answers.
- Forgetting an old row: a constraint from try 2 counts as much as one from try 5.
- Dawdling: the reference time is 2 min 30 s, with a bonus below it and a penalty beyond.
Going further
Our beginner's guide to Mindo walks through a full game move by move. For a related challenge, Decrypto has you crack a 5-digit code in 6 tries, with feedback on every tile.