Turing Machine

Goal and scope: The 2022 English base game is for one to four players and takes about 20 minutes. Players find the unique three-digit code, with a value from one to five in each colored position, that passes all Verifiers in the problem. Competitive players race to solve it; solo and cooperative players try to use fewer rounds and questions and can compare their result with the Machine. Competitive results use correct solves in the deciding round and counted questions.

Problem setup: Place the Machine tile at the center, assemble the Punch-card Holder, and arrange the three colors of Punch cards as directed. Select a problem and place the specified Criteria card and Verification card in front of each Verifier. Problems can use four, five, or six Verifiers. Each player takes a screen, Player Aid, and Note Sheet. The base booklet includes 20 problems, while the official website can generate more. Match the specified Verification card number and symbol exactly, keep it face down, and temporarily mark its A–F letter to avoid mixing cards. Erase that mark after play. The Player Aid doubles as the screen rather than requiring a second separate aid.

The code and a proposal: The secret code has one value from one to five in each of three colored positions. A player selects one Punch card of each color and combines them into a three-digit Proposal. The Proposal is the candidate being tested that round, not the player’s final declaration. It is correct only if it satisfies the criteria checked by every Verifier in the problem. Digits may repeat:113 and333 are valid proposals, subject to the puzzle’s conditions. There are125 possible triples rather than only permutations of distinct digits. Punch cards are shared; wait if another player is using the copy you need.

Question limit each round: All players simultaneously go through Compose, Question, Deduce, and End of Round. First create a Proposal, then use it to question at most three Verifiers. The Proposal cannot change while questioning in that round. Each Verifier checks the proposal against its own criterion and returns a pass or fail result. Players then record the feedback, update their deductions, and simultaneously indicate whether they have found the code.

Punch-card operation: Overlay three different-colored digit cards to leave one viewing hole. Place the selected Verifier’s Verification card underneath, aligning the corner symbols, and read its check or cross through the hole. Do not insert the stack into the storage support to test it. Immediately return the Verification card face down to its correct Verifier; the support only stores punch cards. A result reports whether this proposal meets that Verifier’s hidden criterion, not which digit is the answer.

Recording and information: Record the proposal, every question and each check/cross to count questions. Proposals and which Verifiers you ask are public; answers and notes are secret. Evaluate feedback against the candidate criteria printed on that card. For example, if its options are blue equals1 or blue greater than1, a pass with blue3 identifies greater than1, not blue3 as the secret answer. Every Verifier is necessary to the unique code and none repeats another’s information. You may stop below three questions when you have enough information.

Competitive round end: Once everyone has finished questions and deductions, extend a fist, count to three together and simultaneously show thumbs up for solved or down for not solved. With no up, start another round. Claimants first secretly write their codes clearly, then check the booklet solution or official app in turn. Among correct claimants in that deciding round, fewest total questions wins; a remaining tie is shared. Compose the claimed solution and pass all tests to demonstrate it. If none is correct, wrong claimants are eliminated while others continue; a sole remaining player wins by default. Do not disclose a code before other claimants commit theirs.

Solo and cooperative modes: A solo player or team shares one Note Sheet and works through the same puzzle together. Each round still allows at most three questions. The goal is to solve using as few rounds and questions as possible, then compare the result with the Machine through the official “Did you beat the MACHINE?” process. Matching or beating the Machine’s round/question result counts as success. This is not the same judging framework as the multiplayer race.

Online problem modes: Classic matches the standard physical rules. In Extreme, each Verifier has two candidate Criteria cards in front of it, but only one condition is active. In Nightmare, players do not know which Verifier corresponds to which Verification card. These are official online challenge modes that change the information structure; they are not the default setup for every problem in the base box.

Criterion wording and handicap: Discuss the meaning of the printed criteria before starting. Exactly one pair means two matching digits;333 is not exactly a pair. Ascending order is strict, so223 is not ascending; consecutive values differ from merely increasing, so135 is not a consecutive sequence. The optional handicap prefills one or two answer squares for an experienced player in round one only. These count as questions and consume that round’s three-question allowance:two filled squares leave one real question. Later rounds use the normal limit.