Cryptography and Codes

Puzzles involving deciphering, decoding, or decrypting a message

Categories
Brain Teasers and Puzzles

Tricky, Tricky

Can you figure out the number I am thinking of?

Some cryptic clues:

  • Call it sin, and mess it up (9)
  • Between θ and κ (4)
  • Engage emotionally (5)
  • Half a byte (6)
  • Mottle (5)
  • Never mix meds & gin (7)
  • – (4)

If you have all the answers right, that’s only about 33% percent of the solution: you need to justify them too.

Some clues were left over, so here’s a second set:

  • Sing about the matter (10)
  • Frog’s pole (3)
  • Heroin or slap (5)
  • 0 or 1 (1,3)
  • A toy asking a question on an online forum (4+2 = 6)

An ingenious and very difficult puzzle by Bass on Puzzling StackExchange (spoiler warning: contains the solution)

More info and solution “Tricky, Tricky”
Categories
Brain Teasers and Puzzles

Hidden Word

What hidden word can be found among these pairs of words?

  • Staple, paste
  • Phasor, sharp
  • Uneven, venue
  • Secret, crest
  • Litter, title
More info and solution “Hidden Word”
Categories
Brain Teasers and Puzzles

Break the Cipher

The CIA is tracking a criminal organization and have reason to believe they are about to launch some sort of attack on New York City. One morning, they intercept this message, can you break the cipher and figure out what it means?

8 HIJP
11 IATC
2 BEIO
7 NTYH
4 AAWC
15 LLAT
12 NOML
6 TONF

More info and solution “Break the Cipher”
Categories
Brain Teasers and Puzzles

Secret Translation

The CIA intercepted some messages from a criminal organization, some in English and some in an unknown foreign language or code. As a CIA analyst and translator, you have figured out the following sentences and their English translations, but you do not yet know which sentence matches which translation:

  • Casara ashter osar
  • Intara amar
  • Intara orter osar
  • Alatara inter osar
  • Ortara amar
  • Alatara orter osar
  • I see a spy
  • I run
  • You see me
  • You see a spy
  • A suspicious man sees an enemy
  • You run

You have the opportunity to send a message in order to provoke a reaction from the criminal organization. Can you figure out and match up the translations above, and then send a message saying “a suspicious man runs” in this foreign language?

More info and solution “Secret Translation”