The Ciphertexts

This page links you to the ten ciphertexts that constituted the Cipher Challenge.

The competition is over and the £10,000 has now been won. Indeed, the solutions are available on-line via a paper written by the winners. However, you might still
want to take up the challenge.

Stages 1 and 2 are relatively easy.

Stages 3 and 4 are harder - 3 is possibly harder than 4,
so I would encourage you to skip 3 if you get stuck.

Stage 5 proved to be notoriously difficult.

Stages 6, 7 and 8 are tough, but were cracked by amateurs.

Stage 9 requires some computer power.

Stage 10 requires lots of computer power and even more brain power.

Good luck.

By the way, I cannot take any responsibility if the ciphertexts on this site are not 100% identical to those published in The Code Book. Proofing ciphertexts is an enormously time consuming occupation, and I have not checked every single character. On the other hand, I have no reason to believe that the ciphertexts are not accurate.

Please note that I can no longer enter into any correspondence regarding the Cipher Challenge. It played a major role in my life for over a year, but now I have moved on to other things and do not have the time nor the memory to return it.