Thirty six coded messages, each one a short sentence with every letter swapped for a different letter. A few letters come already filled in, and how many is not a guess: our solver reads every version of the code that makes real words, and gives you exactly enough to leave one answer standing. Crack them here or print the twelve sheets and hand them out with a pencil.
Every code letter stands for the same real letter all the way through a card. Type the decoded message and press Crack it. Capital letters, accents and punctuation do not matter.
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Easy cryptograms with letter hints
Six short messages with most of the alphabet already filled in, and every one of them is about how to solve a cryptogram. This is the sheet for somebody who has never met a substitution cipher: nothing here needs frequency analysis, only reading what is already on the page and finishing the words.
1Easy
Your first code. The letters have been swapped for other letters, and the message tells you what to do about it.
8 letters given H = E, Q = D, S = R, X = T, A = I, W = C, K = S, C = N
Eight of the twelve letters are already filled in for you, so this one is really a reading exercise: sound out what is there and the four gaps close themselves.
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Message: READ THE CODE AND WRITE THE WORDS
READ THE CODE AND WRITE THE WORDS. The three letter group that appears twice is THE, and once you have that the two four letter words on the top row are almost written for you.
2Easy
A short line about what hides inside all thirty six of the coded cards on this page. Six words.
8 letters given M = E, C = S, R = A, D = R, I = Z, E = U, W = P, Z = H
One word here has a doubled letter sitting in the middle of it, which is the rarest shape on this sheet and the fastest thing to spot before you start guessing.
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Message: EVERY PUZZLE HAS A SECRET MESSAGE
EVERY PUZZLE HAS A SECRET MESSAGE. The doubled tile in the second word is the ZZ, and the single letter word further along can only be A.
3Easy
The single best piece of advice for a beginner, and the message says it about itself. Look at the smallest group of tiles first.
7 letters given Z = T, N = H, X = R, D = S, L = I, R = W, W = D
Two of these five words end in exactly the same pair of tiles, and the longest word ends in them as well. Find that pair once and you have found it three times.
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Message: START WITH THE SHORTEST WORD
START WITH THE SHORTEST WORD. The repeated ending is ST, which appears in the first word and again at the end of the longest one.
4Easy
The whole kit you need for this page, and all of it fits in one hand. Six words.
5 letters given K = A, Y = E, G = I, D = L, H = D
Two of the six words are one tile each and they are the same tile, so that letter is settled before you do anything else. In English a one letter word is almost always the same vowel.
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Message: A PENCIL AND A LITTLE PATIENCE
A PENCIL AND A LITTLE PATIENCE. The two single tiles are both A, and the last word carries the only doubled T on the sheet.
5Easy
A message about people who read a lot. It claims they have an unfair advantage here, and it is right.
7 letters given L = E, F = O, O = D, S = R, I = G, Z = M, H = C
The same four tiles appear twice on this card in the same order, which is a gift: whatever that word is, you get it for free the second time you meet it.
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Message: GOOD READERS MAKE GOOD CODE BREAKERS
GOOD READERS MAKE GOOD CODE BREAKERS. The repeated word is GOOD, with its doubled O in the middle, and the last two words share the same six letter ending.
6Easy
The message you get to read at the end of the easy sheet. It is talking about you.
5 letters given I = C, B = E, N = R, R = O, G = U
Two of these words begin with the same three tiles and a third word ends with them. That three letter block is the spine of the whole card, so place it first.
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Message: YOU CRACKED YOUR FIRST SECRET CODE
YOU CRACKED YOUR FIRST SECRET CODE. YOU opens the card and hides inside YOUR, and the last word repeats the C and the O you have already placed.
Animal cryptograms
Six coded animal facts, and every one is true: the octopus really does have three hearts and blue blood. Fewer letters are given than on the easy sheet, so this is where you start using the shape of a word rather than the letters inside it.
7Easy
An animal fact about the largest land mammal and its famous memory. Five words.
4 letters given O = E, F = A, W = C, X = V
The first word is nine tiles long and three of them are the same letter. Count where those three sit and the animal names itself before you have decoded anything else.
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Message: ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET A FACE
ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET A FACE. The repeated letter in the long opening word is E, in positions one, three and six.
8Medium
A fact about the black and white birds of the far south. Hopeless in the air, unbeatable underwater.
4 letters given P = N, X = T, B = L, L = W
Eleven words and only four letters handed over, so work from the short ones: there are five words of two or three tiles here and English has very few of those.
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Message: A PENGUIN CANNOT FLY BUT IT SWIMS BETTER THAN ANY BIRD
A PENGUIN CANNOT FLY BUT IT SWIMS BETTER THAN ANY BIRD. The two letter words are IT and the article, and the three letter words are FLY, BUT and ANY.
9Medium
A fact about the night bird with the flat face, and the trick it does with its neck.
3 letters given M = A, C = N, Z = C
Only three letters are given here, the meanest ration in the animal section. The way in is the four tile word that ends in the same letter it starts with.
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Message: OWLS CAN TURN THEIR HEADS ALMOST AROUND
OWLS CAN TURN THEIR HEADS ALMOST AROUND. AROUND opens and closes on different letters, but TURN gives you the R and the N that unlock AROUND and ALMOST together.
10Medium
A fact about the slowest creature in the flower bed and the astonishing length of its nap.
7 letters given M = A, S = E, J = P, T = Y, G = C, Q = F, N = K
Look for the two words that end in the same three tiles. One of them is a plural and the other is not, which is exactly the sort of trap that makes this section worth printing.
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Message: A GARDEN SNAIL CAN SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS WITHOUT WAKING
A GARDEN SNAIL CAN SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS WITHOUT WAKING. GARDEN and THREE share the E and the R, and the doubled E in SLEEP is the giveaway tile.
11Hard
A fact about the eight armed animal of the rock pools. Its insides are stranger than its outside.
5 letters given X = E, F = O, E = N, I = V, M = B
Two words on this card end in the same doubled letter, and one of them is a colour. Place that pair and half the consonants fall into line with it.
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Message: OCTOPUSES HAVE THREE HEARTS AND BLUE BLOOD
OCTOPUSES HAVE THREE HEARTS AND BLUE BLOOD. BLUE and BLOOD share the BL opening, and the doubled O in the last word is the fastest tile on the card.
12Hard
A fact about the tallest animal alive and how little rest it takes, on its feet, in a night.
4 letters given V = E, C = F, A = W, M = L
The opening word is eight tiles with a doubled letter in the middle, and no other word on this card doubles anything. That is the only place to start.
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Message: GIRAFFES SLEEP STANDING UP FOR A FEW MINUTES
GIRAFFES SLEEP STANDING UP FOR A FEW MINUTES. The doubled tile in the first word is the FF, and SLEEP doubles its E straight afterwards.
Christmas cryptograms
Six December scenes in code, from the stockings going up to the snow nobody swept. Print these two sheets in the last week of term and they will do a whole classroom, and the answer keys are separate PDFs so nobody reads them over your shoulder.
13Easy
The first job on the evening of the twenty fourth of December, and where it happens.
4 letters given Z = E, U = H, A = Y, R = B
The three tile word appears twice on this card in exactly the same form, and in an English sentence of this shape it is almost always the same little word.
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Message: HANG THE STOCKINGS BY THE FIREPLACE
HANG THE STOCKINGS BY THE FIREPLACE. THE appears twice, which hands you the T, the H and the E for the two long words on either side of it.
14Easy
What the sky is doing outside while the house is quiet. Seven words.
6 letters given B = A, I = S, A = O, H = F, G = R, Z = K
Nine words and five of them are three tiles or fewer, so this one is solved from the small end. Two different single tiles appear, and in English only two letters do that job.
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Message: A SILENT NIGHT AND A SKY FULL OF STARS
A SILENT NIGHT AND A SKY FULL OF STARS. The single tiles are both A, and the doubled L in the middle of the seventh word is the other free letter.
15Medium
Who is up there, and what they are doing while nobody looks. Antlers are involved.
5 letters given W = E, T = R, J = T, Z = W, D = F
One word on this card has the same letter in its first, fourth and eighth positions, which is unusual enough to name the word on its own once you count the gaps.
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Message: THE REINDEER ARE WAITING ON THE ROOF
THE REINDEER ARE WAITING ON THE ROOF. REINDEER carries three E tiles, and the doubled O at the very end confirms them.
16Medium
The late night instruction every parent in the house already knows by heart.
6 letters given O = E, F = A, B = U, M = W, C = K, E = G
Two words here end in the same three tiles and neither of them is a plural. That shared ending is the cheapest three letters on the card, so take them first.
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Message: WRAP THE GIFTS BEFORE ANYONE WAKES UP
WRAP THE GIFTS BEFORE ANYONE WAKES UP. BEFORE and ANYONE both end in the same three letters, ONE and ORE sharing the O, N and E between them.
17Hard
What came out of the oven, where it is resting and why nobody is allowed to touch it yet.
2 letters given P = E, J = N
Only two letters are given, and the opening word is eleven tiles long with a doubled letter inside it. Long words are easier, not harder: there is only one word it can be.
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Message: GINGERBREAD COOLING ON THE KITCHEN TABLE
GINGERBREAD COOLING ON THE KITCHEN TABLE. The eleven letter opening is the whole puzzle, and COOLING doubles its O right after it.
18Hard
The weather report for the morning of the twenty fifth, plus a small complaint about the path.
4 letters given Q = L, Z = N, U = F, C = A
Three words on this card contain a doubled letter and two of those doubles are the same letter. Mark every doubled tile before you write anything and the sentence opens up.
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Message: SNOW FELL ALL NIGHT AND NOBODY SWEPT IT
SNOW FELL ALL NIGHT AND NOBODY SWEPT IT. FELL and ALL both double the L, which is the pair the whole card turns on.
Famous quote cryptograms
Six real quotations, each one attributed on the card, from Lao Tzu to Oscar Wilde. Quotations are the classic cryptogram material because a familiar phrase gives you a second way in: once three or four words fall, the rest of the line often arrives from memory.
19Medium
Lao Tzu, on beginnings. The most quoted sentence about travel ever written, and it is not really about travel.
4 letters given C = E, I = M, N = W, J = F
Three separate words on this card are a single tile and all three are the same tile. In a quotation of this length that letter is settled before you touch anything else.
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Message: A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP
A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP. The three single tiles are all A, and THOUSAND and SINGLE share four letters between them.
20Medium
Thomas Edison, on where his ideas came from. The two longest words in it differ by three letters.
one letter given W = N
Only one letter is handed over, and it is still the easiest card in this section: two of these words are eleven and twelve tiles long and differ by three letters at the front.
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Message: GENIUS IS ONE PERCENT INSPIRATION AND NINETY NINE PERCENT PERSPIRATION
GENIUS IS ONE PERCENT INSPIRATION AND NINETY NINE PERCENT PERSPIRATION. INSPIRATION and PERSPIRATION share nine letters in a row, so decoding one decodes the other.
21Medium
Mark Twain, on putting things off. Eight words, and the same seven letter word turns up twice.
3 letters given O = T, M = O, P = F
The same seven tile word appears twice on this card and it is not a small word. Whatever it costs you the first time, the second one is free.
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Message: THE SECRET OF GETTING AHEAD IS GETTING STARTED
THE SECRET OF GETTING AHEAD IS GETTING STARTED. GETTING appears twice with its doubled T, and STARTED reuses five of its letters.
22Hard
Benjamin Franklin, on bedtime. The longest quotation on the sheet, and the same word opens two of its clauses.
5 letters given X = A, F = S, G = M, K = B, Q = K
Fifteen words, and the first two of them come back again a little further along in exactly the same order. Decode the opening and you have decoded the middle for nothing.
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Message: EARLY TO BED AND EARLY TO RISE MAKES A MAN HEALTHY WEALTHY AND WISE
EARLY TO BED AND EARLY TO RISE MAKES A MAN HEALTHY WEALTHY AND WISE. EARLY TO repeats word for word, and HEALTHY and WEALTHY differ by a single tile.
23Hard
Franklin Roosevelt, in his first inaugural address of nineteen thirty three. One word in it appears twice in a row.
5 letters given Y = E, A = W, C = H, E = V, K = G
One four tile word appears twice in a row on this card, which almost never happens in English and is the whole reason this quotation is famous.
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Message: THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF
THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF. FEAR appears twice with only the word IS between the two, and ITSELF then repeats its letters.
24Hard
Oscar Wilde, on optimism, from Lady Windermere's Fan. It starts in the street and ends in the sky.
7 letters given C = E, B = W, N = F, V = M, W = L, Z = B, Y = K
The three tile word that opens the second half is the commonest word in English, and it turns up twice here. Count the tiles between the two and the rhythm of the line appears.
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Message: WE ARE ALL IN THE GUTTER BUT SOME OF US ARE LOOKING AT THE STARS
WE ARE ALL IN THE GUTTER BUT SOME OF US ARE LOOKING AT THE STARS. THE appears twice and ARE appears twice, which between them fill in five of the letters.
Number code cryptograms
A different cipher: here the tiles are numbers, and each number is simply a letter position in the alphabet. No letters are given away because none are needed, the key is printed on the card. These six are the fastest cryptograms on the page and the easiest to explain to a child.
25Easy
A meeting place, in numbers. The key is on the card: count the alphabet and every number becomes a letter.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
No letters are given here and none are needed, because the key on the card is the whole cipher. The lowest number you can see is worth the first letter of the alphabet.
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Message: MEET ME AT THE OLD OAK TREE
MEET ME AT THE OLD OAK TREE. The 20 that opens the fourth word is T, and the doubled 5 at the end is the double E.
26Easy
Where to look when the house is locked. A number code, and the answer is in the garden.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
Count in the alphabet and every tile turns into a letter with no guessing at all. The largest number on this card is worth the twenty fifth letter, which narrows the word it sits in to almost nothing.
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Message: THE KEY IS UNDER THE FLOWER POT
THE KEY IS UNDER THE FLOWER POT. The 25 in the second word is Y, which is what makes that three letter word findable on sight.
27Easy
A packing list for a night walk, written in numbers. Five words.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
Five words and the longest is ten tiles, which is the longest word in the number section. Decode that one first and the four short ones take about ten seconds.
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Message: BRING SNACKS AND A FLASHLIGHT
BRING SNACKS AND A FLASHLIGHT. The ten tile word is FLASHLIGHT, whose 12 and 8 repeat in the middle of it.
28Medium
The instruction that explains the very code it is written in. Six words, and the last one names the twenty six.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
This one describes the method it is written in. The three tile group appears twice and both times it decodes the same way, which is a good check that you are counting correctly.
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Message: COUNT THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET
COUNT THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. The repeated 20 8 5 is THE, and the last word starts back at 1.
29Medium
How big the English alphabet is, and what this line is hiding in it. Six words, and the first two are a number.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
The first two words of this one are a number written out in letters, which is a small joke worth spotting: you are counting letters to read a message about counting letters.
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Message: TWENTY SIX LETTERS AND ONE SECRET
TWENTY SIX LETTERS AND ONE SECRET. The opening 20 23 5 14 20 25 is TWENTY, and the count it names is the size of the key itself.
30Medium
A boast, in numbers, about the line you are reading. Prove it wrong.
Key A=1 M=13 N=14 Z=26
Six words, none longer than six tiles, and a key that gives everything away. This is the card to hand somebody who has never met a cipher before.
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Message: NOBODY ELSE CAN READ THIS LINE
NOBODY ELSE CAN READ THIS LINE. The 14 15 2 15 4 25 that opens it has the same number twice in the second and fourth places.
Hard cryptograms for adults
Six proverbs in code with the shortest ration of given letters in the set, one of them down to a single letter. These are the ones to hand an adult who says puzzles are for children, and the ones worth solving with a pencil rather than a keyboard.
31Hard
A proverb about settling for what is certain. Birds and a bush are involved, and so is arithmetic.
5 letters given A = S, L = I, D = R, E = B, Z = E
Two pairs of words repeat on this card, one of them a two tile word and one of them a three tile word, and both repeats sit in the second half. Mark them before you guess.
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Message: A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH
A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH. IN THE appears twice, and the four letter words at each end share their B.
32Hard
A proverb about criticising the neighbours from a position far too fragile to survive the reply.
3 letters given B = V, D = I, S = G
Three words on this card carry a doubled letter and two of those doubles are the same. The five tile word in the middle is the one that names the material.
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Message: PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES. GLASS doubles its S and PEOPLE repeats its E, and HOUSES and STONES share four letters.
33Hard
A proverb about celebrating too early. Poultry are involved, and so is the timing.
one letter given G = D
A single letter is given and it is a consonant, which makes this the leanest card in the set. The eight tile word in the middle carries a doubled letter and that is your second free tile.
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Message: DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED
DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED. CHICKENS repeats its C, and BEFORE and THEY share the E that finishes the line.
34Hard
A proverb about judging something by how it performs rather than how it looks. Dessert is involved.
7 letters given A = U, C = H, E = P, F = R, H = E, N = S, U = D
The three tile word appears three separate times on this card, more than anywhere else on the page. Count the gaps between them and the rhythm of the proverb is obvious.
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Message: THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING
THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING. THE appears three times, and PROOF doubles its O in the middle.
35Hard
A proverb about acting before the trouble starts. Two units of weight are involved.
5 letters given B = W, C = V, L = S, J = F, N = A
Two words here are five tiles and end in the same letter, and a third repeats the first three tiles of the longest word. That long word is a ten tile abstract noun.
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Message: AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE. PREVENTION is the ten letter word, and OUNCE and POUND share three letters in the same order.
36Hard
A proverb about what happens the moment the supervision leaves the room. Two animals are involved.
7 letters given A = C, D = S, F = I, G = H, H = N, R = M, U = P
The last two words of this one rhyme, which is not something the code can hide: they end in the same two tiles. Work backwards from there rather than forwards from the start.
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Message: WHEN THE CAT IS AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY
WHEN THE CAT IS AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY. AWAY and PLAY share their last two letters, and WILL doubles its L.
Done! You cracked all 36 codes.
Print the cryptograms
Twelve sheets, three cryptograms on each, two sheets per kind, sized for US Letter and A4. Each sheet has its own answer key as a separate PDF, so you can hand out the puzzles and keep the solutions. All free, no sign-up and no watermark.
A printable cryptogram is a short message with every letter swapped for another letter, always the same way. You work out the substitution from the letters you are given and from the shape of the words, then write the real message in the boxes underneath. Every puzzle here is proved to have exactly one reading.
How to solve a cryptogram
Start with the letters already written in, then look for the one and two letter words. In English a single letter word is almost always A or I.
Hunt for repeated words. A three letter group that turns up twice in the same line is usually THE, and it hands you three letters at once.
Mark every doubled tile. Doubled letters are mostly LL, SS, EE, OO and TT, which is a very short list to try.
Write in pencil and keep a running alphabet at the side. A substitution never changes inside one puzzle, so a letter you place in the first word is placed everywhere.
Cryptograms for kids and for adults
Both, and the six sections are ordered that way. The easy sheet and the number codes suit a child of eight who can already read, because a number code is arithmetic rather than deduction and the easy sheet fills most of the boxes in first. The animal and Christmas sheets sit in the middle. The quotations and the hard proverbs are aimed squarely at adults, and every card carries its own level so you can cut a sheet up and hand out the right rows.
More word puzzles on this site
A cryptogram hides which letter is which and shows you the shape of every word. A word scramble does the opposite: the letters are real, only the order is wrong. A word search hides whole words in a grid you drag across, the brain teasers ask you to do something to the letters instead of decoding them, the rebuses spell a phrase with the way the words are drawn, the crosswords play in the browser with clues and crossings, and the maker turns any list of your own words into a puzzle in about a minute.
Esme Rook
