Cryptograms to Keep You Sharp

by Olivia Carlton

Exercise your brain while you uncover some pithy food for thought. Cryptograms are substitution codes--every letter in the code has been replaced by some other letter; you try to find which letters stand for which others. Every cryptogram has a different substitution system. Some Start with the shortest words. Break down long words into prefixes or suffixes. Look for word containing an apostrophe. A chart gives you hints for three letters in each puzzle. The more you solve, the better you get. It’s like

UKG JBPA UBBJ VITY AB PFAHCG HY WKP LBTPAW FYJ UHWK AIRK
WHY DOES WOOD BURN SO EASILY IN THE FOREST AND WITH SUCH
JHLLHRICWG HY BIT LHTPMCFRP?
DIFFICULTY IN OUR FIREPLACE?

Get smarter and wiser at the same time!

Genres: Puzzles

96 pages, Spiral-bound

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seven years, I’ve finally completed this book. Most of the puzzles were challenging, with only a very few so difficult that I needed to use the clue system (which was kind of cool).

[Betty · Rating 1 out of 5]

The editor seems to have just throw a bunch of random quotes together without connecting them with a theme or purpose. No author attributions exist, so you never find out who said what. The cryptogram puzzles are a waste of time and money. I've worked through about a dozen cryptogram books and this one is truly awful and ranks at the bottom. I did the first 30 puzzles then threw it in the trash. There are so many other, better, books out there, so save your money for one of those. In general, the content is completely mundane and lacking in value. The only good thing about this book is the spiral binding.