Home

Get a PDF of the 2024 edition here

2008 Edition of the
Online Guide to the Engima


Preface to the Guide
History of the NPL
Membership Information
Sharing the Puzzles
      Sharing the fun
      Combining Talents
Composing
Editorial Verses
Flats
      Acrostical Enigma
      Alternade
      Ambigram
      Anagram
      Antigram
      Apt. . .
      Backswitch
      Baltimore Deletion
      Baltimore Transdeletion
      Beheadment
      Bigram. . .
      Brookline Letter-Change
      Change of Heart
      Changeover
      Charade
      Combination Padlock
      Consonantcy
      Curtailment
      Deletion
      Diastichal Enigma
      Double-Cross
      Dropout
      Enigma
      Enigmatic Rebus
      False derivative
      FWNFR
      Group flat
      Head-to-Tail Shift
      Heart Transplant
      Heteronym
      Homoantonym
      Homoconcominym
      Homonym
      Homosynonym
      Interlock
      Letter Bank
      Letter Change
      Letter Shift
      Linkade
      Literatim
      Metathesis
      Mutation
      Mynoreteh
      Order Takeout
      Overloaded. . .
      Padlock
      Palindrome
      Phonetic. . .
      Phrase Shift
      Picture. . .
      Progressive. . .
      Rebade
      Rebus
      Redro takeout
      Repeated-Letter Change
      Repeated-Letter Deletion
      Reversal
      Reversed. . .
      Riddle
      Sound Change
      Sound Shift
      Spoonergram
      Subade
      Suber
      Switchback
      Telestichal Enigma
      Terminal Deletion
      Transaddition
      Transade
      Trans-Cross
      Transdeletion
      Transpogram
      Transposal
      Trigram. . .
      Welded. . .
      Word Deletion
      Word Substitution
      Solving the Rebus
      Browse the Flat Pages
Introduction to Forms
      From A to O
      From P to Z
      Form Modifiers
Cryptograms
      Constructing Medium Crypts
      Solving Cryptograms
      Other Solving Approaches
Extras
      Solving Cryptics
      Composing Cryptics
      Observations
Reference Books
Constitution
      Bylaws
Glossary
Supplements
      Non-Guide Flats
      Non-Guide Forms
      Non-Guide Extras
      Where to Find It
      Form Notation
      Italian Picture Puzzles
      Abbreviated Guide to Flats
      Mobile Guide to Flats
      Submissions
Errata


© Copyright 2013 by
the National Puzzlers' League
 Solving Cryptograms 
By Ajax

When working on an easy crypt, look for common words such as the, and, in, and of. Try to identify words with repeated letters, such as ABCADB (probably people, though it could be proper or a few other, less common words as well), or EFGGEH (almost certainly little), or a long word ending in -IJKK (-ness). Some solvers keep lists of the common "pattern words" they encounter; books of pattern and nonpattern word lists are also available for the dedicated solver.

Letter frequency is a useful clue in easy crypts but less so in harder ones, where the message has probably been deliberately designed to avoid the usual frequencies. The most frequent letters in English are E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, L, and U in that order (some studies have given slightly different results). These frequencies are only tendencies, not laws of nature; even in easy crypts, don't expect to find this exact frequency. For harder crypts, the best approach is often to determine which letters stand for consonants and which stand for vowels. Experienced crypt-solvers feel that once they have that information, the rest is relatively easy. Many systems for identifying consonants and vowels have been developed over the years, some of them involving considerable calculation. The method given here is not the most powerful, but it's relatively easy to use and a good one for beginners.

 Spotting Vowels and Consonants
  1. Make a record of how many times each letter in the crypt is used, how many times the letter starts words, and how many times it ends words.
  2. Assume that any letter used only once or twice in the crypt is a consonant. Put an identifying mark around letters used once and another mark around letters used twice.
  3. If the number of times a letter occurs at the start and end of words is half or more than half the total number of times the letter occurs, assume it is a consonant. Underline such letters.
  4. If a letter occurs between consonants identified in steps 2 and 3, assume it's a vowel. Put an X under assumed vowels.
  5. Two letters that reverse with each other (for example, when the combinations -JY- and -YJ- both appear in the crypt) are usually one vowel and one consonant. Other factors such as relative frequency can often indicate which is which.
  6. Marking vowels and consonants as suggested leads to the spotting of other vowels and consonants. For example, if a letter occurs next to vowels and starts or ends some words, it's likely to be a consonant. Judge based on all the occurrences of a letter, not just one or two. Keep trying combinations of vowels and consonants until one arrangement seems to fit throughout.
 Identifying Letters

Now try to identify some letters in the cryptogram, and from these, go on to whole words. This usually takes trial and error, but here are some tips:

  1. When two consonants start a word, the second is often H, L, or R. You can distinguish H from the other two because it very rarely appears after a vowel and very often before one; L and R appear freely both before and after vowels.
  2. A consonant that often follows a vowel but seldom precedes one is often N.
  3. A vowel frequently found in third-to-last position is often I, as in -ing, -ion, -ive, and other endings.
  4. Consonants that end several words may be D, S, or T.
  5. Three consonants together at the end of a word may be -ght or -tch. Four consonants may be -ghts.
  6. Look for words that may represent the prepositions above, after, amid(st), among(st), behind, beyond, from, over, upon, into, or with. It's very difficult to construct a message that avoids all prepositions.
  7. Look for prefixes like ex-, over-, un-, or up-.
  8. Look for suffixes like -ed, -er, -man or -men, or -ful.
  9. A low-frequency letter at the end of words may be Y.
  10. The lowest-frequency letter among the assumed vowels may be Y, as in sylph, nymph, lymph, hymn, myth, lynx, or pachyderm.
  11. When you make a guess at one word, try out those letters in other words of the crypt. Once you have two words right, the rest of the crypt usually comes easily. Remember, keep guessing! What one mind can devise, another mind can decode.