Neopets Clockwork Codebreaker is a fun nostalgic game with one of the most easy trophies to obtain. Far beneath the ground a city run by clockwork lays hidden. This Moltaran machine chugs on effortlessly day by day, but occasionally, the machinery needs some maintenance, which is where you come in! Just like its predecessor, Time Tunnel, You have twelve attempts to figure out the correct combination of runes in order to break the code, hence Clockwork Codebreaker. Doing so will earn you a thousand points, the maximum score, and with this you’ll automatically receive a spiffy new Clockwork Codebreaker trophy for your userlookup.

Controls

Upon playing the game, your screen will look something like this:

The dial at the top left keeps track of the number of attempts left to break the code. You get 12 for every level. The four lights above the dials indicate the closeness of your guess to the solution.

Green – Correct rune, correct colour
Yellow – Correct rune, wrong place
Red – Wrong rune, wrong place

As the levels increase and each rune solution is longer, the number of lights above will increase to five, and then six. Unfortunately however, the position of the light does not match up with the position of the runes. Theres no way to know if that first green light is because the first one is correct, or the second, third or fourth. Just that one of them is correct.

In the centre of the screen are your dials and their runes in neat concentric circles. You can click each dial to move it left and right, thereby aligning your guess in the top centre segment beneath the lights. Once you’re satisfied with your guess, press the large red button in the middle of the screen to see how accurate.

Gameplay

First Stage

In the first stage, you start off with four gears and a possibility of five different runes: White, Pink, Orange, Red and Blank (yes! Blank counts as a possible part of the rune sequence). The aim of the game is to align each colour rune in the correct place, it could be a random combination, or four of the same colour. For every rune you manage to place in the right place, you will score 30 points and theres a bonus at the end of this round for 100 points. If you’re bad at logic, the best method is to take notes as you’re going along, which colours you can eliminate and which to keep. Since theres no clock timing you, you can take as long as you need and this will not affect your points. This same method applies for all stages.

By the end of the first stage, you will have 220 points.

Second Stage

In the second stage, you now have seven possible rune colours to choose from, yet still only twelve guesses. The new set of colours are as follows: White, Purple, Pink, Yellow, Orange, Red and our old friend Blank. If you didn’t have a specific tactic in the first round, from here on in logic is your best friend. The best method, alongside writing them down, is to eliminate each colour in a system.

You click the red button straight away, and however many reds / yellows / greens for the blank set make a note of this before switching to the next colour along, White. For example if you received one green light for Blanks, you’d keep one rune blank in your guess, and the other five as White. Perhaps this one will give you two green lights and one yellow – you now know your final combination will contain one Blank and two Whites. Repeat this until you’ve a set of five lights all green and yellow indicating you’ve established all of the runes, just not necessarily their position. It will have taken up a maximum of 7 of your 12 attempts. If you’re smart, you’ll have changed the position of the runes you’re certain of as you go along and made notes. In this case, you may not even need the last 5 guesses, it might only take 1 or 2.

By the end of the second stage, you should have 520 points.

Third Stage

The third and final stage is by far the most difficult, but if you’ve made it this far its nothing you can’t handle! By now the combination you’re trying to guess is six runes long, out of a possible 9 coloured runes. The colours are as follows: White, Purple, Pink, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red and (you guessed it) Blank.

You’re going to have to use the trial and error method of eliminating each colour as you go along, but be careful this time, guessing all nine different runes will use up almost all of your guesses. Once you reach the end, unless by stroke of luck you find the combination early, you’ll only have 3 more guesses remaining. This means that more than ever you need to make this round count. Don’t be afraid to constantly change the position of the runes you know are in the solution. Approach this particular level calmly and logically and it should be no more complicated than the previous levels.

By the end of the final stage, you will have earned 1000 points, the maximum score and guaranteed yourself a trophy. Congratulations!

Neopets Clockwork Codebreaker Cheats

• The Neopets Community can be your best friend. After all you’re not timed, so theres no rush to finish the levels, especially not that last tricky level. Take a break, go ask a friend or your go-to forum for help, be that the Neopets boards, Reddit or TDN.
• Write down notes as you go along, or take screenshots if thats more convenient. If you’re stuck on the final level just points away from the trophy, glancing back can be a saviour.
• Contrary to popular belief, this game is not a random game. The codes generated are random, but how you apply the logic to Clockwork Codebreaker is not. It is easy to get the hang of it after a few trial runs.