A solution of the mastermind board game in scratch suitable for algorithmic thinking development

Abstract

The article is a case study of a specific problem-popular board game Mastermind and its solution in Scratch, visual online programming language. Emphasis is put on the educational perspective both in the logic behind the solution itself and on the way the problem can be presented to elementary school pupils. The article is focused on logical explanation of the solution and on work with several specific programming elements, like IF-ELSE conditions, data structures and simple bug hunting feature. The difficulty is suitable for elementary school pupils as a complex task meant for superior individuals or a group of pupils. It was successfully tested as a small scale preliminary study conducted on pupils aged between 11 and 14 at an extracurricular group.