I got an email from a publicity assistant at Penguin Books about 10 days ago, asking me if I'd like a review copy of "a very exciting cryptic puzzle book due to be published next week". Obviously I though it would be a crossword book so I thought "sure, why not?" and gave her my address. What thumped onto the mat a few days later was over an inch thick, but the only cryptic crossword in it was a facsimile of a Daily Telegraph puzzle from January 1942, which was used to recruit potential codebreakers to Bletchley Park.
For this is the GCHQ Puzzle Book, with all the puzzles set by real cryptographers who work there. It starts off with 15 pages of "starter puzzles" before going on to the more challenging ones, but also has reprinted their much-publicised Christmas Card competition from last year, as well as a new one in the same style with a closing date of 28th February 2017.
One aspect of the book that I like is that it doesn't just have the answers in the back - there are also generic hints on tactics for solving different types of puzzle, and some clues for the starter puzzles. There are also some coloured sections with picture puzzles etc, and a "Puzzle Hunt" where you have to figure out how each puzzle works before solving it, with a final metapuzzle at the end which can only be solved if you have the answers to the previous ones. At GCHQ each year they form teams and compete against the clock.
Here are a few of the "easy" ones from the starter section:
If 3=T, 4=S, 5=P, 6=H, 7=H ... what is 8?
What is the next letter in the sequence: M, V, E, M, J, S, U ?
Which of the following words is the odd one out:
CHAT, COMMENT, ELF, MANGER, PAIN, POUR
I've been dipping into it at random over the last few days, and reckon it would make a great Christmas present for any puzzle buff. Half price on Amazon at the moment.
For this is the GCHQ Puzzle Book, with all the puzzles set by real cryptographers who work there. It starts off with 15 pages of "starter puzzles" before going on to the more challenging ones, but also has reprinted their much-publicised Christmas Card competition from last year, as well as a new one in the same style with a closing date of 28th February 2017.
One aspect of the book that I like is that it doesn't just have the answers in the back - there are also generic hints on tactics for solving different types of puzzle, and some clues for the starter puzzles. There are also some coloured sections with picture puzzles etc, and a "Puzzle Hunt" where you have to figure out how each puzzle works before solving it, with a final metapuzzle at the end which can only be solved if you have the answers to the previous ones. At GCHQ each year they form teams and compete against the clock.
Here are a few of the "easy" ones from the starter section:
If 3=T, 4=S, 5=P, 6=H, 7=H ... what is 8?
What is the next letter in the sequence: M, V, E, M, J, S, U ?
Which of the following words is the odd one out:
CHAT, COMMENT, ELF, MANGER, PAIN, POUR
I've been dipping into it at random over the last few days, and reckon it would make a great Christmas present for any puzzle buff. Half price on Amazon at the moment.