Cryptograms
Simple crypt/cipher puzzles relating to Christmas
I should warn these are very easy – but if they keep the family occupied for an hour over the holidays that might be useful. There are harder puzzles, known as the Headline Puzzle, down below and at the Phoenix Society website. Try those if you dare!
Headline Puzzles from New Zealand
Most of these headlines are taken from the Dominion Post or its related website stuff.co.nz – though sometimes they’re tweaked a bit to make them shorter or more punchy.
The idea here is the same – each Headline is encrypted with a simple Caesar cipher shift against the same Alphabet. But the shift is different in each case, determined by a 5-letter Setting word – and also the Alphabet itself is jumbled-up.
If you can get the Headlines that’s a start – but it’s only a start. What we really want is the jumbled-up Alphabet and the Setting word used with it to make the encryption. And then we want the Hat and Key words used to create the Alphabet itself. Yes, it’s hard! See the Phoenix Society website for a full explanation.
november 2023
1. GZLTZVXTIR ZBBZRT ‘FZZ SZXN’ XTV RFITTF XJLT (BJBJWJXNJGZIZGZIZ IZJC)
2. TSQAVS’Z SMMDYZ SVD JARRP MSY 12 TSOOPYZ, CNS MSY 25, CKYDD MSY 38
3. QTT-UVEZ DQIL XLDYIX DJYSHXL QWXS LESXXE PSYKM
4. ZLCB JCR HCEBPE XGPNNX NTOP (EASQD FNCDPE NCARHLPX RPZ KECSECRHP)
5. QLOO LC OUI YTU HYQQO DUW DBLXOIWE UFAUZLZ AUWKXYW TBYTHO
October 2023
1. FQLW UJP GQD RU: LT6
2. INJQ ZNZHTLS WNNB OV SOIHQLBL ZSOJNV OJ ‘PND QN RJXLZR ASNI ZSOJNV’
3. EA’Y ‘FNEW MZPJMZ’ HSLTMSH UNKZ TEKN-HNRSJYNKC YQVXTEY
4. YCOI TIPPGXRZCX LKGPQGXRN QISPHOIQ IHOZBFKHAI-WOCXI
5. ‘YTULTK OEL’W RGYUATH YVWCBYGAY’ RBATPARGK FKYTW MAOA WVRRLBC JLB GALTKWWKW
September 2023
1. GIMIQZIQZ: UMSN, DYZS ZSB YZCN UL CMU LS
2. BKGKPFKXA RFT BSNNMY SIGMP ZSXAFBT ESD-LSE KB SXZOHSBY LFTLJSD
3. IT-N.Y. BWLQQIV WLIVND VILE PNVDB JH NZZVJ HVJF DNBCM PNKKNYLIB
4. MHUROMRJ HPRAVFHOL ROFTDAHERJ MT PTNR MT ZRUUVOEMTO
5. PQEGJBMR EPQYVOT: JYA IOH FAKIOTE MTO MYBAMRRL JKGTQCJFN
August 2023
1. DEAE LENZJ BZ BGVZJCN CGKTBGU-BXFZNBTEB ‘HJCBZEGK’ FRBZ
2. YXGZCNUHXZWX WFOAA VZUYP WTXQUOS TCJXZW
3. UMHMCMVN HNAVNRN-QNFQ ZYFJK QY CNQF UNYHF
4. WDFGEZH LGWH 30 ONVVNXM HNLM-YSH INWDNM DXYFH XJ VEYMKD
5. T*S*M*O MYSG MHZZM FWWYM SKX XWD YSDM LWG OHSZYO JSQMH
July 2023
1. XD HJXSM SV TUNJSN J OXASNY QJTALAT
2. JPCALPFDYO ASSHV OS DRJPYN LOV SKY VDUTCLOX ISCUD
3. PIZHHGL QPALX ZQ PIALX SAKEQ CBAO JWOI ZALXBZVS RGCRYZM
4. JBCBGTSYB JSLCCTO BRBHS
5. PDQK NAWHWCV GWAV AVDPQZWF QUDF OJMTVQ ZF PWJFPZE PWFKJEQDQZWF
june 2023
1. GYXZLDRBAS RSHBJD DBJH BERBROR VS QBQE’O OSDD JEC DBSR
2. PINGZYXXYC DGY PUYDKYG XUJC VIOXU
3. ZF QXHLT BXHWNOMOY 10-IOLC TLMAXTLN MCZYM YBXTO-OLMATP WCXDOBM
4. JA CJP CIKDTCBRCJ HCJLK CTW KCNW NTQE ‘HCJL TIJ’ MQJDCXRQJ
5. TSAYSIC ISLBP AHJ VQHQP, IJ HBYPN, QI USIASPW YQJIP PGOSC
May 2023
1. ‘ZG FGVB NVBB IHZSTBX’ CGIKSD IBLABX LHSQILZJ SGHZSKIIGVX TLZUVD
2. SD’G KND NTVH BVD INH TPKWPDW PG OBOCNKV XVTSK CNNLG
3. IZFFS ZTX UOAIZT ONYEKOX HFVU KOT-GOXFVVU HFVAUVFO ‘EVKKZAO’
4. MILSQ SLCX FLQB WGFMKB VBPHVZ LULKZXP BZUILZJ LP PTB MLXKZ
5. VPDSKZ ENHLG PKM SKGVODG XVVJG CNGD LPK PCSTV SK PLPQNK
APRIL 2023
As is usual for April, these are not headlines seen in recent newspapers.
1. FGUIPZR FTRPU LUTAPA HPADGRP ZPLTZH ITTMGSQA: ‘DUPSRE TO ZTTJA UPOR, IKR XP LYS’R QPR ARYOO’
2. HTKHZTZ JHTZGGC UZRRLR DHGG 246: UH TWY RXZTKZVKHBLK ZX 4.0
3. HOBNGVR UNFPAUNFVRVNGQ LAAY MNOU XS XCOGVGB GNFCONZ ZHBQ
4. HYNKC MTEVXFM HUXYZ ZYHWUSTMTZ
5. YLNOKPBOPU HRBAUD DUHUO WLUUOKF AD UHQ LP PXBOKAJHW AWWAUOKHJF
March 2023
1. ASV KVBBGX CAVXD RYGTUDC OAC TGZD WDRGLCD VN OTNBGAOVT
2. BEYRF UFRXL YXL GFAAMMR GFBQ
3. NKWBDUI KB ODBBDGXFS YKFDGDIA CA IFIGSDKW FKKQA
4. PPQR, RPFFZ … IPFK RKCULK VA GMK SUZ
5. UO’K YVUIUIP KOYRROQVAWK UI DRQQUIPOLI KOLYA
february 2023
1. LGDDCYRCOX OGJD QCBBGB EO OA’B DEJPB FJULWDGP EO LDWFS FJQB
2. RVOMMYH IH ZOGY GOSHW XUOGTO IOSOUYZY JXAA, ODIHU PHOU OA ORIYGT RHX
3. OZWFHEKGHEV MZWW: ‘HDDHJIKEHZB BQ BAACW EZ JAE HE’W **** HBEZ JAKI’
4. ALUKCQ XBMN VJDAVLH XJ VJDFX JTNF RFJRJQNY QJVLBH GJDQLAO YNTNHJRUNAX
5. ULT IYBW ZYE ZL TZGAWGKR … OAIA KIA WZDA IATHFAW VZY TKB EIV
A SPECIAL ONE FOR WELLINGTON ANNIVERSARY, MONDAY 23 JANUARY 2023
1. IWQ GFVTGNIMTQ QMNQLTS ‘GU VNHT QTAOFXT VUAT STRTJSNIMT’
2. ‘BS HQGLV PGM’: RBX SP TQK XYGDRY KOSYAZNR YQBBGBN DRYF UZAR
3. MQCIMPWWQZ HBEH ‘KAMPDBNAK’ PH QSAZ-ZABMNPQI BH 1 PI 10 GCHAH MBIMAWWAK NUPH XAAO
4. RIO HZEGPRF LZWP FM WMGF OIKKZREFMR YVW UGZLIG WXMGFPEI YN 2036
5. KNDDRFYJCF PXL KCNL LNJ JC KCBLNF IL ADCXBRHN BNJXBFL JC KIJNB
(There is no mistake in 5.)
January 2023
1. STXXCPBKKC INYOTLY DTIV
2. BUTUMJYEE GF SWWAUJJ MB CSATPSDUMG MUHG RUUY
3. GMJJEBPIWB JESXHXN IW VHJFM SWWQK ‘KW DKMXK OHB LWFM HSWDI LWXM MHKEJN’
4. NMIUKL TJKOOD HDKGM PR KYYWTD TKLPID AHRT TDYYU KLG HRLKIGR
5. HIMPZ BWWBHJ MDVHJL BHHPLL WV OPBO XPVXDP’L QGDPL
As an extra question – what foodstuff is the Hat world famous for?
December 2022
1. MOWCPS VONBPQSOX IPXXSCMAPS’K ZEI KRCNK OMJ UBE VOM VERMN OMQ BEXQ O NRMP
2. TJ OLKOTXR RWEEAUK QAU WSUGBTO
3. ZBDDQ ZKYCQ UI FDKKUIVBXI QJXQDJBA QJURDZ
4. DFPSWU HLWSXHJ DSVCFXT QWHE UYWIX HL PXULIX HLFYWJH VHHYVUHWLB
5. HIJMQCIH XI CXQCXQ SDTTQLQ IZO DJI SOUQZ HQSJZRIO HBRTTH
NOVEMBER 2022
1. WYTGR GTXTMZRY’M NRYPDARM EYROIM LSQX TX OXZOYPZTPO: YXUOH ‘ASSITXC TXZS TZ’
2. BEWA OPZVTXD DPUMD OUWOXVW CUV FEORELD UC WXTDUW CTUUID
3. EAOPI HRYXM NROL XSYZN ERATRJTXC RXCAOXL OXL HYOXPR OYR EROZOEAR
4. O FDAATF TM ATZ HSY XRQ POXOLO-XU OCYRRGRXZ
5. DVQWJDVX KVGQC: ‘IM UVAM QHGDMN QUM KVRM JD WD-ZWRUQWDR’ CMVU, GWRUQ…
October 2022
1. ZSEBSJ ZUD ASSJQLP JFCQLP UWFES QL TOSSLZJXGL
2. STLUN SROU QWFMNAOIB BRMBCSCHR XCARB OS UOT-O-AOVW
3. KSMX-EKD PD-QKSQ BPBLPN MJNSPV IKSSKLP GYJSGXZZYN: ‘GKSSKLXU GJNPU KZZ VXUPKUPU’
4. QTD XSBV GILXGU-FLKIG QLRFV LD KLTDG CEQCMLD, HXFTMV XFASXO
5. HXFFEAN ZJBB RFGKBK UXZXEZXE YWK ZWAABF
SEPTEMBER 2022
1. ‘OVMS F QVZFZXSW UHJVS’: TFZZSGPSWZ ZXWFGQSQ VG KBFGGSO XYGGSO
2. AXEUGHBG ZLBQI KXJWXLI WX ‘JXSQ TUYQ UH RGLGKUIQ’ WX AQTR AXIRUWGT
3. SDGM SFKRSDAAFH’J TULU UDTWRFJDJ TG XFHGM-GLHVV ‘VCNFBVHDRW’
4. JADMCAEZ PI CMD YZDDAEE ZF ZKK YKZOHF CZOA ZDVAIEPIZ
5. DCN EDCP ESDCFW JVXWOCK D ‘FRQIDURF EVXCGA GDWUIR’
august 2022
1. PTWQI FVQ VFEIQX FI REVIS LVFED IPEW YQFUQI TXQIF
2. HF UVEZU EV RBEHXK EU TRUSMVEJU LHPKB UVBKUU E
3. PRU ARUD CSEE PSXPBUXE QX PHPCBFRH ACRX
4. FWQIB VBUXE PCRQN PUKPQRC FQX SMBU ESKIW RVUQPR
5. XWGZHAYHFZDX CYQJRS BJSBZH QNXDX CHNA SHNQZHE XWGGIJZHX
MARCH 2022
1. IYDSDS DYBBZ IA HFFB JAKERPX YEAPX
2. AXEH/ZEH OJZSJZ – AZWSJIK RZ AZYCOFT?
3. HF THE BF DVJH VB BLT DWPD
4. NILGIW IJ DIOIYMIDBC CBLO OI JPIIT-MAO LIYOM LCZ
5. XVBTG OMVKBTGK, EJYYTGK VHE DFMJQT BLT HTX FQQWDJTGK
JANUARY 2022
1. BGCOK LDFTBN MCGJB XLJL ‘BG FGBRIC OKCITOIBIN’
2. DUNJDTNHBHKNWP LXKDW JDBCF NV XDPLXV PH WQYHHB
3. UCXPFKCPD WQCVJCB TCF AD PNUUNVK UHNVP MHX GHYVWHV
4. KJHHOHLC SJCEIXTFC OH PZEZ KFTZSN
5. DRDXVJDV VDO VS JCRNW QLU QCUPCNV