Cracking Codes and Cryptograms For Dummies®

Chapter 2. Simplifying Codes and Cryptograms

In This Chapter

• Finding out how to solve the puzzles in this book

• Investigating letter frequency analysis

People have been hiding their messages from prying eyes for millennia. Their methods became more complex as time went on, and encryption is still a vital part of modern life. You can read more about the history of codes and ciphers in Chapter 1.

Ingenious people have devised many ciphers over the years, and no doubt there are more ciphers to come! In this book we include several different types of ciphers and several variations on these types. We hope you enjoy this selection!

The ciphers in this book are

• Cryptograms with Letter Substitutions (Chapter 4)

• Cryptograms with Number Substitutions (Chapter 5)

• Cryptograms with Symbol Substitutions (Chapter 6)

• Caesar / Shift Ciphers (Chapter 7)

• Masonic Ciphers (Chapter 8)

• Rail Fence Ciphers (Chapter 9)

• Keyboard Ciphers (Chapter 10)

• Assorted Ciphers (Chapter 11)

• Anagrams and Other Cryptic Riddles (Chapter 12)

• Double Level Puzzles (Chapter 13)

We also include a very handy collection of hints in Chapter 14. If you're really stuck, look there before giving in to the allure of the answers (Chapter 15).

This book is a bit unusual, too, because in Chapter 3 we present you with three conspiracy stories, set in different times in American history. These stories have been heavily censored by the government — your task is to decipher the puzzles in the book in order to gain access to these secret files. All the puzzles ...