Simple Crypt-Addition

Here are four different arithmetic crypt problems for you to figure out. Each letter represents a different digit, and each problem is independent from each other problem. These are simple enough that you should be able to figure them out in your head, which means that they should also be great for introducing young puzzlers to cryptographic math puzzles.

   Y
   Y
 + Y
  MY
  

   XXX
 +   B
  BAAA
  

  ON
  ON
  ON
+ ON
  GO
  

  MA
 + A
  AM


For more puzzles like this get Brainteasers and Mindbenders by Ben Hamilton.

Dropdown Puzzle

These puzzles are sometimes called droplines or quotefalls. Fill in the squares with the letters found in the column in the top part of the diagram. When correctly filled out you will see a quote.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

A Movie Quote Cryptogram

The following cryptogram is a quote from a popular movie. It's a very short quote, so it makes the cryptogram a bit more difficult to decypher. It is possible to crack the code as long as you work at it.

81 12 81 415. 50626 39 41 527.

The Red Herring

A 'Red Herring' is a plot device used in literature to distract the reader away from the main event of the story by focusing on a minor event or describing characters in ways that go against our sense of the way those character should be. In cryptography, a red herring is a second hidden message that is intended to be discovered more easily so that the real message remains hidden to anyone who might intercept the transmission and break the red herring code. Only the intended receiver would know the key to unlocking the real message.

The cryptogram below, with two hidden messages, is a prime example of a red herring. One message is fairly easy to decipher, especially if you were able to decode an earlier puzzle that appeared here: http://puzzlepage.blogspot.com/2008/01/find-hidden-message.html. The second message, the one that's the real message, is hidden using a different code that has been made to fit in the same grouping of numbers. This is an extremely difficult cryptogram to solve, so feel free to ask for hints in the comment section.


21941648698194164869819416486981
54961847952716486981947648697358
39114467658829115524463869851941
76487962174268859915413638294575
51947682873991174467835921746687
82992113426384971634855658399727
12432613829431624856389791172446
83953124636885997711344766849911
44758746436849618496184961849618
49361849618898184961849618496184
69819416486981941648698194164869
81961635248698194164869819416486
89915214466889912144668899114466
88279911446688995114466889911446
75879618496188921246648691144666
89921347658591134764869871924164
86921354456289291314419885991234
61839518465768533281559123134362
84931546687899361547678297124312
44951746678897194362778135951543
64856618399613949711429889811444
48896919466819961882828694114914
49981941698618994964219181649644


Good luck!

About Two Pounds - A Very Difficult Cryptogram

The following text has a message hidden in it.

Was; I not done, chopping, back some brush with my mitten; when I heard an angel say "You're; not going to see; much here."

"Why won't, I see much?" I, said. "I; want to see something now!"

"My; aren't we in a rush?"; she, replied.

"Shouldn't; I be? It's my way;", said I.

"Oh yes; it is. I forgot you were Mr, X" she said.

Do you think the angel flew away with, X?

Cryptic Simple Math

What is the answer to the question hidden in the code below?

17 17 04 31 31 14 04 00 04 14
17 17 10 04 04 17 28 04 28 17
17 17 10 04 04 16 04 04 04 17
21 31 17 04 04 14 04 31 04 02
21 17 31 04 04 01 04 04 04 04
10 17 17 04 04 17 04 04 04 00
10 17 17 04 31 14 31 00 31 04

2 x 2 = 3

Replace the letters in the crypt-arithmetic problem below with respective digits to make the equation true.

TWO

x TWO

THREE

Find the Hidden Message

There is a secret message hidden in the following array of numbers:

18526408428031762482422468044365750248

56348202842670462842246424262522528630

17928364505075849265296354889940124759

63409418743692236183670985232704962236

89264320091830485624510741061547354891

Can you discover the method that was used to create the numbers and decipher the code?

Oprowon Lumgalm

The writing you see below was discovered during an archeological dig that was sponsored by the university where Professor Egghead works. The scientists at the dig site were completely baffled by the strange writing--the letters looked similar enough to roman letters that they thought that the language must be related to the Indo-European group of languages but it was unknown to all who inspected it.

Professor Egghead asked if he might be allowed to inspect the artifact and completely deciphered the words in a matter of minutes. How quickly can you decode the text?