Join the game
The rules
- The vault is locked with a secret code of colored gems. No gem is used twice.
- Pick gems and press Try this code. You get 10 tries.
- A green light means a right gem in the right spot. A yellow light means a right gem in the wrong spot.
- Use the lights to think! The first player to open the vault wins the round.
Stay on this page. If you open a new tab or click away, you are out for the round.
How to play
1The secret codeThe vault is locked with a row of colored gems. Each gem color is used only once.
2Make a guessClick gems to fill your row, then press Try this code. Click a gem in your row to take it back out.
3Read the lightsEach green light is a right gem in the right spot. Each yellow light is a right gem in the wrong spot. The lights do not tell you which gems!
4Think, then try againChange your guess to test one idea at a time. You have 10 tries.
5Crack it firstAll green lights opens the vault. The first player to crack it wins the round and gets the most points.
6Points1st gets 5 points, 2nd gets 4, 3rd gets 3, and everyone else who cracks it gets 2.
Practice vault
Try a practice vault by yourself. It has 4 gems from 6 colors.
Right gem, right spotRight gem, wrong spot
Click gems to fill the first row.
Thinking tips
- Your first guess is a test. Any guess is fine.
- If you swap one gem and the lights change, that gem matters!
- No lights at all? None of those colors are in the code.
- A yellow light means move that color to a new spot.
Start a game room
Show this page on the board. You will get a room code for students to type in.
How it runs
- Students click Play and type the room code and their real first name.
- You pick the vault level, the rounds, and the time. Then press Start.
- The game makes a secret code. Nobody sees it, not even you, until the round ends.
- Your board shows each student's tries and lights, and who cracked it in what order.
- After the last round, the top three land on the winners platform.
Teacher note
- Vault levels: Easy is 4 gems from 6 colors. Medium is 5 gems from 8 colors. Hard is 6 gems from 8 colors. A gem color is never used twice in one code. More gems and colors means less luck and more thinking.
- Ties: places go by who cracks the code first, timed to the thousandth of a second, so ties do not really happen.
- Points each round: 1st gets 5, 2nd gets 4, 3rd gets 3, and every other student who cracks it gets 2. The total after the last round decides the winners platform.
- Same code or own code: with the same code, everyone races to open one vault, which is the most exciting. If students sit close together, choose "Each student gets their own code" so peeking at a neighbor does not help.
- Clues: Classic lights only say how many gems are right, which is real code breaking. Helper clues mark each gem, which is easier for younger players.
- Tab rule: students could look up a code solver, so leaving the tab puts a student out for that round. Press Put back in if it was an accident.
- Your board: it shows tries and lights but never the gems, so the projector does not give anything away. The code is shown after each round.
- Rooms: a room closes by itself after four quiet hours. Up to 40 students can join.