I am going to have three parts of the review, first, is the components for the game. Second, is the game play. Finally, will compare the game to other games in the genre.

Components: 5/5

The production is excellent on this game. Starting with the player screens which double as player aids are great, the sheets for deducing information have ample space for stating what you know, eliminating possible answers and tracking your number choices. The cards have both symbols and written explanations for what they do. But, by far the best component is the cut cardboard analog computer component. This final piece is incredible in what it does and how cleanly it works. By taking 3 of the number cards, you can place them on top of the answer grid and be given and answer for a question. The only neutral component is the whiteboard marker which I am guessing I will need to replace soon, but is only used during set up so isn't a major issue.

Game Play: 5/5

This game fits a lot into 30 minutes! Trying to determine a three digit code in 30 minutes doesn't sound too difficult, but only having 4 to 6 questions to get there and while racing to do it both the fastest and with the least amount of clues provides plenty of challenge. The game uses both the questions you ask and the clues given as possible deductions and choosing the right number is paramount for experienced players. But the questions themselves are not too difficult to understand for new players. The game has several puzzles in the rulebook, but that is expanded by the website which seems to have an endless supply of games for all three modes: solo, competitive and cooperative.

Comparisons:

The game can have some clear connections to the classic game mastermind and but would be most closely connected to the paint the roses deduction game which is also excellent and deals with asking the correct questions. What makes this game different from most others is you do not ask the questions they are already provided based on the game which does reduce the downtime as you don't need to think of what to ask, but instead are immediately tasked with finding connections between questions.

Overall: 5/5

The game of Turning Machine allows you the opportunity to play a 30 minute game that is both challenging and satisfying and if you enjoy deduction games I cannot recommend it enough.

This game is all about guessing a 3 digit code. Each "game" will provide between 3 and 6 clues that you use. By making guesses and "querying" the machine you gain insight into the final code. Be the first in your group to correctly guess the code and you win.

This game is really easy to learn but is surprisingly deep! Initially you will take lots of guesses, but in time you start to learn where you can take short cuts, and in some puzzles you could even solve the final answer with just a single query!

The game provides 3 modes of play, classic (the easiest), extreme, and nightmare! As you play your skills at deduction become quite good and even the nightmare games no longer seem horrendously hard to solve, although the first time you try one, you may take 50 guesses or more!

If you enjoy logical deduction games, you simply cannot go wrong with this game, it will hone your skills and seriously put them to the test. I cannot recommend this game enough!

This is the number one game in my collection. It is super fun both solo and with a group of friends. Note that it's not for the faint of heart: it requires not just logic and deduction skill, but an ability to think through details and understand nuance. Many people probably would not have the patience for it.

It's like a combination of Clue, Mastermind, and Sudoku. Don't be fooled by how simple it sounds (solving a 3-digit code). You can tune it to be as hard as you like. If Mastermind sounds too boring, don't worry. There is plenty here to keep you puzzling for years to come. It's also a little bit more involved than just regular Mastermind (clue-guessing).

The punch card concept is really cool and it actually does feel like paper becoming a thinking machine that is answering your questions.

This game is fantastic... and rage inducing. I've introduced it to several people, and after a couple of rounds, they're hooked. The biggest down side is the set up for a new game (and I'd LOVE to see an Android app to allow me to play, or, at least, a companion app that had the cards and could generate new puzzles), but it's not terrible (a minute or two per game). The game came quickly, and brand new. I couldn't be happier with this purchase, and I play it every day. It should be noted that this is basically a single player game, that has shoehorned multiplayer into it. It would be kind of like playing multiplayer sudoku.

This quickly became my favorite game of the moment. I'm a solo player and this game is so fun and relaxed to just play at your own pace. You have to crack a code with 4-6 parameters given. If you like puzzles or mastermind, this might be your jam. Do be aware that for solo, you need to use their website, which you can turn into an app on your phone. You can also print a bunch of puzzles to use. There's many difficulty levels on the website, I stick to classic hard. The nightmare and challenge modes are a bit too intense for me.

I bought this for my teen son who is into problem solving. It took us longer than usual to understand game play, but once we did it was engaging and challenging. If you are easily frustrated, this is not the game for you. If you are looking for a game that will help you think logically and critically...it's your game. Big Brain Game. You can also play this game by yourself, which is a plus.

In Turing Machine, you use a paper computer to deduce a number from a puzzle. The game itself contains about 20 puzzles, but there's hundreds more on the website. It might take a couple of minutes at first to understand how the computer works, as in, what the results shown in the punchcard means...assuming you're pretty good at deduction games like sudoku. If you don't have a head for logic puzzles, this game might be confusing.

I only play solo games, and there aren't many deduction games out there suitable for solo play. The few that exist usually incorporate an app that takes the place of another player. This game doesn't need an app during gameplay, although you'll need to check the game website to get new puzzles. Overall I really enjoy this game, and recommend it to any puzzle lovers.

The downside to this game is that setting up the puzzle takes about as long as solving the puzzle. There's a huge deck of cards to dig through to find the specific cards you need for the puzzle. So that can get a bit tiring, since you also need to put the cards back in order once you're finished.

Once I actually learned how to play this game properly I have played it several times a day every day for the past few weeks. It's a great puzzle game to play alone or with friends. The mechanical engineering of the physical game itself is incredibly impressive. The website is an endless source of new puzzles and they give you free .pdfs of the note sheet.

The basic mechanics are pretty easy to understand and the "easy" puzzles also are also easy to understand. But once the game gets more complicated(more fun) it takes some time to understand some of the more complicated "criteria" cards. You'll get it though, I found that looking at the solution to a puzzle on the website helped me understand the more complicated aspects of the game.

If you like heady puzzles, this one is for you.

Super easy to learn. As your game improves, so can the difficulty level of the puzzles. And, there is an endless supply of new puzzles available online. So the variability of the game is practically limitless; there are likely billions of combinations of the different cards involved. It’s as fun to play solo as it is to play with friends. If you’re old enough to recall Mastermind, that game is kinda “meh” compared with this one. It’s not really even close.

Good condition and arrived quickly. I was looking for a game like The Search for Planet X and this game scratches the same itch.

Brought this for our son for Christmas who just loves any kind of coding & maths, so this was certainly for him! Very additive despite the rest of us just not grasping the answers as quick as our son! Very clever game which has been played no end by us all since Christmas! Highly recommend waking up the brain 🧠

One of the few games that is as enjoyable in solo form as it is with a group of up to up to 4 people. It is challenging but not too daunting and most people get the hang of it after a single walk-through. The free app is also a well organised source of extra puzzles - a quoted 7 million seems reasonable after exploring the app. You can also print selections of these extra puzzles out as well as spare score sheets. A very well planned and presented board game.

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