Combination Lock Tips: Reading the Dials and Timing Every Digit

Updated October 2026

Combination Lock gives you a three-digit code and three spinning dials, and asks you to stop each dial on the matching digit. There is no clock, no penalty for waiting and no bonus for speed. The only thing that can end your run is a wrong digit, and you can afford three of those. That makes it a game of patience and timing rather than reflexes, and a clear picture of how the dials move is the best advantage you can have.

How the dials move

Each dial is a strip of the digits 0 to 9 that scrolls upwards through a window three digits tall. The digit that counts is the one between the two dashed lines in the middle. Because the strip moves up, the next digit to arrive always comes from below and the digits arrive in ascending order: 3 is followed by 4, and 9 is followed by 0. The digit just below the centre line is your early warning; when your target appears at the bottom of the window, it will reach the centre after one digit's worth of travel.

All three dials share a base speed, and each one multiplies it by its own factor: one dial runs at 0.8 times the base, one at exactly the base and one at 1.25 times. Those three factors are shuffled every time a new code appears, and each dial also starts from a random position. So you cannot learn that dial 1 is always slow; you have to look at the dials each round and see which is which. The fastest dial moves about one and a half times as fast as the slowest one.

How fast it gets

The base speed starts at 140 pixels per second and rises by 5.5 for every code you crack, until it reaches 280 at 26 points. After that it keeps rising more slowly, by 2.5 for every further code, with no top speed. The number in the top-left corner of the game, labelled speed, shows the current base value. Failed attempts do not speed the dials up, because the speed depends only on your score.

Each digit occupies 64 pixels of the strip, so it is easy to convert those speeds into the time a digit stays in the window:

• At the start (speed 140): about 0.57 seconds on the slow dial, 0.46 on the middle one and 0.37 on the fast one. A full turn of ten digits takes 5.7, 4.6 and 3.7 seconds.
• At 10 points (speed 195): about 0.41, 0.33 and 0.26 seconds per digit.
• From 26 points (speed 280): about 0.29, 0.23 and 0.18 seconds per digit, with full turns of 2.9, 2.3 and 1.8 seconds.

At 26 points the slow dial still gives you more than a quarter of a second, which is generous for a prepared tap, and the fast dial about 0.18 seconds. Beyond that the windows keep narrowing: by 100 points the fast dial shows each digit for about 0.11 seconds, and by 200 points about 0.07. The fast dial is the real test of the game, and it is where most late runs end.

What a tap does

Tapping a dial freezes it on whatever digit is currently in the centre of its window. Once frozen, it cannot be released for that attempt. The tap area is forgiving: it covers the whole width of the dial and extends a little above and below it, so you can tap the small label under the dial without blocking your view of the numbers.

As soon as a dial is frozen, the matching digit in the target at the top turns green if you got it right or red if you did not. That feedback arrives before the whole code is checked, but there is no undo, so a red digit simply means the current attempt will cost a life. When all three dials are frozen the code is checked: a full match scores a point, anything else costs one of your three lives. Either way a new code and new dial speeds appear after a short pause.

A routine that removes the guesswork

The absence of a clock is the most important fact in the game. Since nothing happens while you wait, you can watch the dials for as long as you like before committing. A routine built on that freedom works far better than tapping the moment you see the right number.

1. Identify the speeds. At the start of each code, spend a couple of seconds deciding which dial is fastest and which is slowest. The order changes every code.
2. Pick one dial. Focus on a single dial and ignore the others. Trying to track two at once is how players freeze the wrong digit.
3. Count in from below. Wait until your target digit is about to appear at the bottom of the window, or start from the digit just before it. Tap when the target settles into the centre band, not when it first appears.
4. Pass if unsure. If you feel late, do not tap. The digit will come round again in a few seconds and costs you nothing but time.

Which dial to take first is a matter of taste. Some players prefer to lock the fastest dial while their concentration is freshest, others to bank the two easier dials first. Since there is no time pressure, the order matters less than the discipline of handling one dial at a time.

Aiming inside the window

A digit counts from the moment its centre crosses into the band between the dashed lines until the moment it leaves. The safest tap is therefore when the digit is centred, not when it is at either edge of the band. At high speed, think of the band as having a safe middle and two risky edges. If you habitually tap as the digit enters, you will be on time at low speed and a fraction early or late at high speed. Aim for the middle and your timing error has room to go either way.

It also helps to use the digit before the target as a starting signal. When that digit leaves the centre band, your target is entering it, and a tap about half a digit later lands in the middle of the window.

Common mistakes

• Rushing because the dials look fast. There is no clock. Waiting a full turn is always free.
• Assuming the slow dial is in the same place. Dial speeds are reshuffled with every new code.
• Tapping the moment the digit appears. At top speed that tap is often still on the previous digit or just catches its edge.
• Watching the target instead of the dial. Memorise the three digits once, then keep your eyes on the dial you are about to stop.

Planning a long run

The early part of a run, below about 10 points, is the time to make your routine automatic, since the dials are slow enough for you to correct mistakes in your counting. Between 10 and 26 the windows shrink steadily. Past 26 the speed climbs more gently but never stops, so a long run tests both consistency and ever-faster reflexes. With three lives and no time limit, skipping doubtful taps is still the best way to stretch a run, but sooner or later the fast dial outruns any player.

Your best score is kept on your device, and any score above zero can be saved to the Hall of Fame from the game-over card.