What the vault game measures
Cards appear showing the numbers one to six in a scrambled order, and you get three seconds to learn which card holds which number. Then the numbers vanish and every card fills with competing information: a background colour, an outer shape in its own colour, an inner shape in a third, a colour word, a shape word, and a decoy digit that is deliberately wrong.
You are then asked for two attributes of two of the original numbers, and you type both in order before the clock runs out. One wrong answer ends the run, so your score is how many you cracked in a row.
Two things make it hard. The first is that the digits now on the cards are lies: the question refers to the numbers you saw at the start, so you have to remember which card that was while ignoring the number printed on it. The second is Stroop interference. The word PURPLE might be painted green, and the game asks for the word in one question and the paint in another. Reading a colour word while ignoring its colour is the classic demonstration that reading is automatic and hard to suppress.
The ten things it can ask for
| Prompt | What you read |
|---|---|
| Background colour | The card's fill |
| Number colour | The colour of the decoy digit |
| Shape / Shape colour | The outer shape and its colour |
| Inner shape / Inner shape colour | The small shape in the middle |
| Text colour | The colour word itself, not how it is painted |
| Colour text background colour | How that word is painted |
| Shape text | The shape word itself |
| Shape text background colour | How that word is painted |
| In a row | Standing |
|---|---|
| 0 – 1 | First few tries |
| 2 – 3 | About average |
| 4 – 6 | Good |
| 7 – 9 | Very good |
| 10 – 14 | Exceptional |
| 15+ | Rare |
How to crack more of them
- Learn positions, not numbers. In three seconds you cannot memorise six digits as a list. Most people do better remembering two or three cards by position and accepting they will guess on the rest.
- Know the two text traps before you start. Text colour is the word. Colour text background colour is the paint. They are different questions and they are the ones people fail. Read the prompt to the end.
- Answer in prompt order. The two tokens must be in the order asked, separated by a single space. Reversed answers are marked wrong even when both words are right.
- Ignore the printed digit completely. The number on the card during the second phase is a decoy and never matches the question. If you find yourself looking for a card showing the number in the prompt, you have already lost the round.
- Start on four cards. The four card vault gives you the same ten question types with less to hold. Move up once the text traps stop catching you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the vault mini game?
A memory and interference test. You learn which card holds which number, then read two specific attributes off cards covered in conflicting colours, shapes and words before a timer expires.
What is the difference between text colour and colour text background colour?
Text colour is the word written on the card, so if the card says PURPLE the answer is purple. Colour text background colour is the colour that word is painted in. They are usually different, and mixing them up is the most common mistake.
Why does the number on the card not match the question?
Because it is a decoy. The question always refers to the numbers shown during the first three seconds, not the digits printed during the answering phase.
How do I type the answer?
Two words in prompt order, separated by one space, like blue square. Capitals and surrounding spaces are ignored. Inner shape answers drop any trailing digit, so a flattened square is still square.
What is a good score?
Two or three in a row is about average. Four to six is good and anything above ten is exceptional. One wrong answer ends the run.
Is this from a game?
Versions of this puzzle appear as hacking minigames in several games. This is an independent browser implementation, built from a description of the mechanics rather than anyone's code, and it is not affiliated with any of them.