GeekDad Cryptography with the kids
July 2, 2008 at 1:39 pm futhermet 1 comment
Rainy day challenge to the kids: solve the code, keep the treasure
R SZEV SRWWVM GSV GIVZHFIV RM GSV TFRGZI XZHV YVSRMW GSV XLFXS RM GSV UZNROB ILLN
I explained the basics of frequency analysis and let em go.
Not only did they solve the clue within a half hour (and claim their prize), they presented me with their own encoded clues for a treasure hunt of their own design! Wow, that was harder than I expected, expecially since the messages were almost too short for any sort of meaningful frequency analysis.
See how well you can do.
The first one was a stumper – and it contained an error which added to the fun:
3:2,3.3.1,3:5,4.4.5.4,3:4,3.2.5,2.1.4,3.1,3:
3.3,5:4,5.2,3.3:4,5.4,3.1.4,4.2,3:
And this one was pretty tricky too:
Today you stumble upon a secret code that could lead to treasure
To whoever finds this,
26,21,24,- 25,18,6,6,- 3,18,7,2-20,16- 14,10- 10,4,16- 23,10,14,17,16- 9,21,15,19,18,7,17-21,24,10
Good luck
Other codes with kids online:
http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2007/05/gshiw_jsv_omhw_.html
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1.
futhermet | July 8, 2008 at 12:48 pm
SPOILER ALERT:
Code one:
Clue: “ATBASH” cipher; A=z; B=y
R SZEV SRWWVM GSV GIVZHFIV RM GSV TFRGZI XZHV YVSRMW GSV XLFXS RM GSV UZNROB ILLN = i have hidden the treasure in the guitar case behind the couch in the family room
Code two: clue, : is a delimiter; numbers refer to vowels and consonants a few letters away from vowels. So 1=a and 1,1=b
3:2,3.3.1,3:5,4.4.5.4,3:4,3.2.5,2.1.4,3.1,3:3.3,5:4,5.2,3.3:4,5.4,3.1.4,4.2,3: = i hid your reward in thi trash (see the error? thi should be the)
Code three: clue – is a delimiter; numbers are matched to letters in a strange pattern:
13 a b 26
12 c d 25
11 e f 24
10 g h 23
9 i j 22
8 k l 21
7 m n 20
6 o p 19
5 q r 18
4 s t 17
3 u v 16
2 w x 15
1 y z 14
So 26,21,24,- 25,18,6,6,- 3,18,7,2-20,16- 14,10- 10,4,16- 23,10,14,17,16- 9,21,15,19,18,7,17-21,24,10 = you will find me at the stage rocking out.
I solved the last two through frequency analysis. It took me a while. What a novice.