Secret Codes #10
You have come to the LAST code in the series! For this devious substitution cipher, a plaintext message is converted into a series of regular and boldface letters. It doesn't matter what the ciphertext is, only the pattern of regular and bold letters in that ciphertext.
As an example, let's say the plaintext that we want to encipher is "PIZZA."
Randomly choose a phrase that will have 5 times as many letters as the plaintext. Let's use the famous Jaws quote "You're gonna need a bigger boat." But it could be any string of words.
Break the phrase into blocks of 5 letters: YOURE GONNA NEEDA BIGGE RBOAT
The first letter in the plaintext "PIZZA" is "P". The pattern for "P" in the chart below is regular, bold, bold, bold, bold. The asterisk stands for regular typeface. So the letters in the first block of ciphertext are written with that same pattern. The next letter in the plaintext is "I" which corresponds to the pattern regular, bold, regular, regular, regular. The completed ciphertext is:
YOURE | GONNA | NEEDA | BIGGE | RBOAT |
P | I | Z | Z | A |
Remember, each block of 5 letters in the ciphertext refers to a single letter in the plaintext.
Once the text is cleaned up with proper spacing and punctuation, it looks slightly less suspicious:
You're gonna need a bigger boat.
A=***** G=**BB* M=*BB** S=B***B Y=BB***
B=****B H=**BBB N=*BB*B T=B**BB Z=BB**B
C=***B* I=*B*** O=*BBB* U=B*B**
D=***BB J=*B**B P=*BBBB V=B*B*B
E=**B** K=*B*B* Q=B**** W=B*BB*
F=**B*B L=*B*BB R=B**B* X=B*BBB
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Badge Series
Winter Game's Secret Codes and Ciphers
Winter Game's Solve
Game
SummerGame2021
Difficulty
⭐️ Standard
1 of out 4 difficulty
Badge Points
200
Comments
I don't think the bolding…
I don't think the bolding matches the intended plaintext.
Thank you! I used an…
Thank you! I used an alternate version of the key. It should be fixed now.
Yeah. A couple of the…
Yeah. A couple of the letters are off by 1
I fixed the cipher key so…
I fixed the cipher key so that the 4th block of letters should decipher correctly now. I don't see any other mistakes, but feel free to post if there is another problem. Sorry for the mixup!
I tried this cipher several…
I tried this cipher several times and I keep getting a six letter word that doesn't work
After you decipher the…
After you decipher the message, which is a partial phrase, you will need to complete the phrase. The one word that completes the phrase is the game code. It is 5 letters long. The badge image is a clue.
I think in Kansas the n and…
I think in Kansas the n and both s's should be bold and the K and both a's should be regular.
Hi, I doublechecked and the…
Hi, I doublechecked and the bold letters are correct. I've written the message out in blocks of 5 letters to make it easier for everyone.
Nope, you were right. I…
Nope, you were right. I apologize for the mistake!
Thanks for making and…
Thanks for making and sharing so many cool codes!
Thank you so much for…
Thank you so much for playing Winter Game and enjoying the codes! And thanks again for pointing out the mistake. It's even harder to decipher the message if it's not correct. :)
S, T, U, V and W are missing.
S, T, U, V and W are missing.
Hi, do you mean those…
Hi, do you mean those letters are missing in the key above? They should be visible and I checked with other people and they can see them. Of those that you can't see, you only need "S" which is B***B. I hope that helps.
I found the S but the…
I found the S but the letters don't make any sense when I deciphered. I feel like I am being spoon fed but I am missing something. I double checked each letter with the pattern and I get letters but they don't form anything. What do I do?
Once you decipher the…
Once you decipher the message, it spells EGGSAND, or "Eggs and". Finish the phrase, using the badge image as a clue, and that single 5-letter word is the game code. Sorry this has been so problematic!
My mind did not see the bold…
My mind did not see the bold i in the third letter. Thank you. I just had to finish the code.
This was a fun and tricky…
This was a fun and tricky one! I wouldn't have gotten it without reading the comments though, because the instructions don't mention what you have to do after deciphering the message.