Codebreaker
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Codebreaker
(1979 on
TRS-80, 1984 on
Atari 8-bit)
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Codebreaker
(1984 on
TRS-80)
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Codebreaker
(1994 on
DOS)
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Codebreaker
(1998 on
Windows)
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Codebreaker
(2019 on
Windows)
Description official descriptions
In Codebreaker your goal is to guess a 3 or 4 digit secret code which is generated by either the computer or another player. Depending on the difficulty setting, the player has either 8 or 12 guesses to figure out the code by entering in values with the keyboard controller. After each guess, the computer analyzes your input and displays results which indicate if you have a correct digit in the correct position, a correct digit in the wrong position, or no correct digits at all. Points are scored based on how many turns it takes to correctly identify the code. A second game variation called Nim is also included. In this game, two players take turns removing items from a stack. On each turn, a player must take at least one item from a stack, and the player who removes the last item from the screen wins. You can have the computer set up the stacks automatically or set them up manually, and a variation is included where the player who removes the last item from the screen loses rather than wins.
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Credits (Atari 2600 version)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 30% (based on 3 ratings)
Players
Average score: 1.7 out of 5 (based on 13 ratings with 1 reviews)
The Good
Guessing numbers is mildly entertaining for a short time.
The Bad
This game consists entirely of guessing or picking numbers and the numbers are pretty small. That equals early boredom.
The Bottom Line
This cartridge includes two games: Codebreaker and Nim. The first allows you to guess a 3 or 4 digit number consisting of numbers 1-6 or 1-9. The computer tells you how many numbers you have guessed correctly and how many are in the proper position. You have - curses - only a limited number of guesses before you have failed to solve the code and ... well I guess that's it, Atari provides an evocative box cover but no back story. In any event the settings are limited as is the challenge. Using simple logic you will quickly be guessing numbers regularly - good for you. The fact that you can play this in a two player version leaves me astounded - does Atari really think we can spend our days no better?
The second game is also a number puzzle, but slightly better dressed. In Nim, there are a set of stacks of objects. You and the computer take turns taking any number of objects from any one of the piles. Depending on the setting, selecting the last object makes you either a winner or a loser. It seems simple enough, but like the ancient Chinese game it is, there is some subtlety to the play. Alas, because of the limits of the Atari cartridge the subtlety lasts only a brief time and one can - using math - quickly learn to win nearly every game.
Not nearly a must have cart. Unless of course you're sharpening your skills for espionage or ancient Chinese wisdom-learning. In that case, this might be a nice remedial start.
Atari 2600 · by eratik (105) · 2011
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Servo.
Xbox 360, Windows added by Alaka.
Game added January 13, 2004. Last modified March 4, 2024.