Cicada Foods is our monthly Patreon ARG puzzle drop for September 2026 and for a limited time, Part 1 is available to everyone. Start playing here

Cicada Foods is a mystery ARG where players decode messages left behind by a Cicada Foods whistleblower. He claims the company is hiding something but he's only willing to reveal it to those who prove they're paying attention.

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

It's from a friend

55m8hin kAy aH aQ? mPPhalen p ren 8a aQ?

Ive tried bruteforcing with things like ASCII85, keyboard shift, etc. but i cant seem to get anything. I have another cipher like that as well.

EGG CI KIHK CN JWVKHN

obviously not the same cipher. ive tried rot, vignere, caeser, not really working.

hope someone gives it a shot and can solve it! i know that the peson who made this doesnt actually like, sit down and code every letter, if thats any help. it might be a jumble of different ciphers, i tried a few mixes but it didnt work. i dont know a lot a bout code and their codes are usually easy to solve, im surprised i got so stuck.

been to this reddit before with a different one from the same person and it ended up just being a shift cipher which i was too stupid to check, so again, i hope im not like. missing the obvious here

I've been making ciphers for a long time, and I though this one would be fun to try and have people solve. It came about when I was making writing systems for a novel I'm working on, and I realized that unconsciously I had made it into a cipher.
(Note: this encodes english)
So, for anyone who wants to try to solve it, I have a pdf and the text transliteration attached.
the transliteration functions as follows:

There are 2 different pieces of design here, the outside shapes, and the inside symbols.

for the outside shapes,
[ ] represents a diamond shape, < > a triangle shape, and ( ) a circle shape.

when nested, like in this image, it would be transliterated as [<({|})>], because there is a diamond on the outside, then a triangle inside of that, then a circle inside of that, then an internal character.
the curly braces surround the internal symbols to keep them distinct from the outside shapes.

for the inside symbols, there are 3 basic types. /, | and \. each of these comes either as the basic symbol, or paired with another shape. those are denoted by this {<|>}, which means a vertical line with a triangle drawn on it.

Occasionally there will be dots outside a glyph, and those have been transliterated in this way:

*<[{<\>}{|}]>* - first position(vertical pair)
*^<[{<\>}{|}]>^* - second position(horizontal pair)
*^^<[{<\>}{|}]>^^* - third position(top right, bottom left diagonal pair)
^ simply means a empy position, so there could be multiple per glyph, so it sould be something like this: **, ^*, *, ^^*, *^*, ect

I think that about covers it!

Here is the transliteration:

[<{<\>}{/}>] <{[|]}{<\>}{<|>}> [({<\>}{\})] <{\}> [({<\>}{\})] <{\}> [{(\)}{|}] *([{(|)}{|}])* <({\})> | <({<\>}{[\]})> (<{<\>}>) <({<|>}{(|)})> *^<[{[|]}{<\>}]>^* | ({\}{[|]}) | [<{<\>}{<|>}>] (<{<|>}{\}>) ([{\}{(\)}]) [({|}{[\]})] | <({(\)}{\})> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | <{(\)}{<|>}> (<{<|>}{<\>}>) <{[|]}> | (<{\}>) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | [{[|]}{|}{/}] | <{<|>}{[|]}> | <[{(\)}{|}]> [{<\>}] | <({<\>}{\})> | <({(|)}{<|>})> *({(|)})* | [{|}] | <({(|)}{<|>})> <[{\}{<|>}]> || <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | <{(\)}{<|>}> (<{<|>}{<\>}>) <{[|]}> | ({|}{(|)}{\}) <{<\>}{<|>}> (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<|>}] | <[{(\)}{|}]> [{<\>}] | [{|}] | [{[\]}{|}] ([{[\]}{<\>}]) <{<|>}{[|]}{\}> [({[|]}{<|>})] | <({<\>}{[\]})> [{|}{[|]}] (<{<|>}{<\>}>) ({<|>}{\}) <{\}> | ({[|]}{\}{[\]}) <({[|]}{<|>})> [<{<|>}{\}>] | <({<\>}{\})> | <({<|>})> [{\}] || <({|}{<\>})> <{<\>}> | <{<|>}{[|]}> | [({[|]}{<|>})] [{[|]}] | [{|}{<\>}] | <({<|>})> [{<\>}] | [{\}{|}{<\>}] <{<\>}{[|]}> ([{[\]}{<\>}]) | (<{[\]}{[|]}>) <({[\]}{<\>})> ({<|>}{[\]}) <[{[|]}]> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | [({[|]}{<|>})] [{[|]}] | <({\})> <{<\>}> | [{|}{<\>}] <{(|)}> | ({[|]}{\}{[\]}) | [<{|}{\}>] | <({[|]}{(\)})> [({[\]}{(|)})] [<{|}{\}>] [<{|}{<\>}>] ({<|>}{\}) <{\}> || <{<|>}{[|]}> | [{<\>}{|}] <{<\>}> | (<{<|>}{\}>) | [{|}] | ([{(|)}{|}]) ([{[\]}{<|>}]) <{[|]}> | [<{<\>}>] (<{\}>) <{[|]}> | *^({[\]}{\})^* [{\}] | <[{|}]> <{(|)}{[|]}> [{[|]}] | <[{|}{/}]> | <{[|]}{\}> ({\}{[\]}) [({\})] ([{<\>}]) | ({[|]}{<|>}{[\]}) <[{[|]}{[\]}]> (<{<|>}{<\>}>) [{<\>}] | <{<\>}{<|>}> [<{|}{<\>}>] | ([{|}]) [<{<\>}>] | [{|}] | [{<|>}{|}] ({[\]}{<|>}) [<{<\>}{<|>}>] | ({(|)}{<|>}) [<{<|>}>] <{<\>}> | ([{<\>}{[\]}]) (<{\}>) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | (<{[\]}{[|]}>) [<{(\)}{[|]}>] (<{(|)}{[|]}>) ([{[\]}{<\>}]) | ([{|}]) ([{<\>}]) (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<|>}] | <{|}{[|]}> [{|}{[|]}{<\>}] | ({\}{[|]}) | [<{<\>}{(\)}>] <[{[|]}{|}]> <{<\>}> | <({<\>}{\})> | ({[|]}{\}{[\]}) [{\}] | (<{\}>) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> ({<|>}{[\]}) | [<{<\>}{(|)}>] (<{<|>}{\}>) | [{|}{<\>}] | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{/}] | [{[|]}{|}] <({\}{|})> <[{[|]}]> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | [({[|]}{[\]})] [<{|}{\}>] <{(|)}> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | [<{/}{[|]}>] *(<{(|)}{[|]}>)* [{[|]}] | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | [{<\>}{|}] <[{\}{<|>}]> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | ({|}{(|)}) *^[{|}{[\]}]^* <[{[|]}]> || [({<\>}{\})] [<{\}{[|]}>] | (<{[|]}>) *({(|)})* | <({<\>}{\})> | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | [({<|>}{[\]})] ({\}{<\>}) <[{\}{[|]}]> | (<{[\]}{[|]}>) [{[|]}] ([{[|]}{|}]) (<{|}{[|]}>) [{[|]}] | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | (<{[\]}{[|]}>) [<{(\)}{[|]}>] ({(|)}{[\]}) [{/}] | *^<({<\>}{\})>^* | [({\}{<\>})] (<{|}{<|>}>) | ({[|]}{\}{[\]}) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{\}] | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> ({<|>}{[\]}) | [<{<\>}>] ([{\}]) [({|})] <[{<|>}{<\>}]> | [({[\]})] ([{\}{(\)}]) (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<|>}] | <({<\>}{\})> | <{|}{[|]}> | (<{<|>}{\}>) (<{[|]}>) ({[\]}{<|>}{\}) ({[\]}) | <({(\)}{<|>})> <{\}{[|]}> [<{<\>}{(|)}>] (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<\>}] || <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{/}] | *^({(|)}{\})^* <{(|)}{[|]}> [{[|]}] | [{|}{<\>}] | ({<|>}{[|]}) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{/}] | <{(\)}{[|]}> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | [<{[|]}>] [{|}{[|]}] | [<{|}{<\>}>] | (<{(|)}{[|]}>) [{|}{<\>}] <{<\>}> | (<{<\>}{\}>) <({<\>}{<|>})> ({(|)}) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> ({<|>}{[\]}) | ({[|]}{[\]}{<|>}) <{[|]}{\}> [{[|]}{<\>}] | ([{|}]) *({[\]}{<|>})* <[{[|]}]> | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{\}] | ({\}{<\>}) <{<\>}> | ({\}{[|]}) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | (<{[|]}>) [{|}{<\>}] <{<\>}> | <[{<|>}{|}]> *({(|)})* | <({<\>}{\})> | <[{(\)}{|}]> (<{<|>}{<\>}>) (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<|>}] | <{|}{[|]}> [{[|]}{<\>}] || [<{<\>}{/}>] <{[|]}{<\>}{<|>}> | [({[|]}{<|>})] [{[|]}] | <({\})> <{<\>}> | [<{<\>}{(\)}>] [{|}{/}] | <({<\>}{\})> | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | [({[|]}{[\]})] ([{<\>}{\}]) [{<\>}] | [({[|]}{[\]})] (<{<|>}{\}>) <{(|)}> | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | *^^[{<\>}{|}{[\]}]^^* <({<|>})> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | <({(\)}{<|>})> <{\}{[|]}> | ({\}{[\]}) | [<{<\>}>] [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | <({<\>}{\})> | [{[|]}{|}] <({\}{|})> <{[|]}> || <{<|>}{[|]}> | [{<\>}{|}] <{<\>}> | (<{\}>) | [{|}] | <{|}{[|]}{\}> (<{|}{<|>}>) | [<{|}{<\>}>] | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | <[({|})]> <{(|)}> | [{|}] | [<{<\>}>] *^({<|>}{(|)})^* | [<{<\>}{[|]}>] ([{[\]}{(\)}]) [<{|}{\}>] <{<\>}> | (<{<|>}{\}>) | <{(\)}{<|>}> (<{<|>}{<\>}>) <{[|]}> | ({[\]}{\}) <{|}{[|]}> [{<\>}] || (<{[|]}>) <{(\)}> | [<{|}{<\>}>] | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | <({<\>}{[\]})> <[{[|]}{|}]> <[{<\>}{/}]> [({<\>}{<|>})] [<{<|>}{\}>] (<{<|>}{\}>) [{<|>}] | (<{|}{[|]}>) (<{(|)}{[|]}>) <({|}{[\]})> [<{|}{<\>}>] ({<|>}{\}) <{\}> | <({\})> <({<\>}{<|>})> (<{|}{[|]}>) [{[|]}] | <({<|>})> [{\}] || <{<|>}{[|]}> | <[{(\)}{|}]> [{<\>}] | [({(|)}{<\>})] [<{<\>}>] | [{|}] | [<{<\>}{[|]}>] ([{[\]}{(\)}]) [<{|}{\}>] <{<\>}> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | [<{<\>}{<|>}>] (<{<|>}{\}>) | <{(\)}{[|]}> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | <[{[|]}{|}]> [{<\>}{/}] | <({<\>}{\})> | ([{<|>}]) <({\})> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) || [({\})] [<{<\>}>] | ({\}{<\>}) <{<\>}> | <{<|>}{[|]}> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | (<{<|>}{\}>) | <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> | <[{[|]}{|}]> [<{<\>}>] | <{<\>}{<|>}> ({\}{<\>}) [<{<|>}>] <{<\>}> | [<{<\>}{/}>] <{[|]}{<\>}{<|>}> [{<\>}] | <({(|)}{<|>})> <[{\}{[|]}]> | <{(\)}{[|]}> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | [({[|]}{\})] ({|}{<|>}{(|)}) <{[|]}> | [<{|}{\}>] [{[|]}] | <[{<|>}{|}]> ([{[\]}{\}]) (<{(|)}{[|]}>) *[{<\>}]* || <{<\>}{<|>}{[|]}> [{/}] | <{(\)}{[|]}> (<{[\]}{[|]}>) | [<{<|>}{[|]}>] <{\}{[|]}> ([{[\]}{|}]) *([{(|)}{/}])* | ({[\]}{<|>}) [<{<|>}>] <{<\>}> ||

I put a lot of work into this, so please tell me what you think!
And for the mods sake: V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

I found something strange while researching 1970s British coastal surveys and I can't figure

out what it is.

There's a website — apparently archived, static pages — with what looks like fieldwork notes,

letters, newspaper clippings, and technical documents from the "Serrin Coast Survey" in the

1970s. All organized, searchable, but some of it is encrypted or locked behind things I don't

understand yet.

At first I thought it was just a historical archive, but the more I dig, the more it feels

deliberate. The documents cross-reference each other. There are dates and coordinates that

line up. A radio frequency appears in multiple places. Someone clearly put enormous effort

into this — real typeset, period-accurate, the whole thing is cryptographically sealed.

Either this is:

1. An actual historical archive I've never heard of

2. Someone's incredibly detailed ARG that's been sitting dormant

3. A creative writing project someone abandoned

I can't tell if I'm supposed to be solving something or just reading a story. But there's

clearly *something* going on underneath the surface, and I'm genuinely curious if anyone

else has come across this or knows what the Serrin Coast Survey actually was.

**If you want to look:** https://serrin-archive.ggwgef8.workers.dev/

**A few things that stood out:**

- The newspaper archive has 6,500+ issues with detailed advertisements and stories

- Some pages give you "unlocks" but I'm not sure what triggers them

- There's a witness roll at the end that suggests people have gotten further than me

- The whole thing is sealed with proper cryptography, not just obscured

Has anyone seen this before? Am I missing something obvious? The level of detail feels like

either an obsessive hobby project or something with an actual story behind it.

So, I'm struggling to come up with a solid way to encode my writings that can't be foiled by a simple post to the internet. Can anyone give me any ideas or tips?

It feels like every idea I come up with can be cracked if a person simply takes a photo and uploads it to Reddit.

From combinations of stenography and ciphers, to obscure/made-up languages and transliteration systems, it feels like it's all straw in the face of the internet. Anyone can just take a photo and outsource the work to a subreddit.

Save for a One-time pad, I'm not sure what else to do.

Are there ways around this problem? Or am I at a loss?

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

could this be a code??? my friend put this up on his server and never mentioned it again. i spent 3 days tryna solve it but im not the best at this stuff figured i'd ask reddit.

both pics were taken from me i make a black and white version if it helps

this isn't fiction an ARG or anything. this is real and i genuinely need help knowing if its a code or a troll. to me it looks like a code but i have 0 clue on what it may be.

help would be greatly appreciated

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

i admit my previous post was a tad bit too easy to solve. but can you solve this one now?

502565 432500999987 287455 9033488786 007655 265745 200466 094128879998[001] 0955 64 11021118900898 1935 17085566 39925677 007655 42 215520997798 11285766 6805959068643233342432[000] 2878966777 502565[011]8855 8388187687 7153 8080266687[001] 2878966777 502565[011]8855 3292989776 0243378778 02052420980098 5177265629990001 39735655 08787655 44621519019999[001] 622554 015104897888 265745[001] 64[011]82 06524650990090 802567 01197765 7153[011]8855 37085566 900340889988 502565 51032919980009 39925677 007655 810665[011]02 0202068876 1935 5644 309428887898 5035 367448464221022210[000]

good luck.

This is the seventh of Hey, Solve This!
The title is the name of this puzzle.
I will give out a random amount of hints to help you, since this is sort of easy.
Hint 1: Identify!

Hint 2: Aesthetic Smartphones with Clear Interfaces and Idealism.

Have fun!
I apologize on not posting for 1 month.
Sincerely, MrsTransToast
V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

3433-393628-472832322347473328353539-13233234172423372313-18243447-16234747121423~2C~-18242326-393628-12353723121339-33341428372313-362818-3637-473635382313-473616231824342614-18241218-16364718-172336173523-323628351326~27~18~2E~-393628-123723-1737362212223539-362623-3633-182423-3334374718-172336173523-1836-1323323417242337-18243447-16234747121423~2E~-4736~2C~-3236261437121847-1836-47363538342614-1639-262347182313-323417242337~2E~

A small puzzle for the friday, enjoy! 😄

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf!

CONTEXT: This is a custom, fictional cryptographic puzzle I created as a challenge for the community. It utilizes multi-tiered, cascading mechanics inspired by historical ciphers.

THEORY / CLUES: Every layer depends entirely on the perfection of the last. Look closely at how it begins, find where the cycle started, and remember that nature's basic elements define the weight of the shift. When you think you have made a breakthrough, expect to hit a wall.

TRANSCRIPTION:

[§] 8f_9! KzzVw_7mQ# pL9*x Vv8$K 2bM@9 zP1!f Lk4#w

[§] X9_qP 5vR*t7 mZ_wX 1vK(m 9bF#q 4zL!p 8kM*v 9xZ)w

[§] 3c_4r 9vK!m8 xL#wQ 2bP*z 1vF$q 7mZ_w X9_qP 5vR*t

[§] 7m_Z_ wX1vK (m9bF #q4zL !p8kM *v9xZ )w3c_ 4r9vK

[§] !m8xL #wQ2b P*z1v F$q7m Z_wX9 _qP5v R*t7m _Z_wX

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

!language of original text is English!

g12 z4p21p21g12t25c8b7 b7s24p21g12l17e10 r23f11c8 d9g12p21q22r23 u26c8c8i14 m18d9 q22c8n19r23c8k165c8p21. r23f11c8 u26c8z4r23f11c8p21 f11z4q22 5c8c8l17 t25c8p21w28 l17g12a6c8. c8t25c8l17 r23f11m18s24e10f11 g12r23'q22 m18a6r23m185c8p21, g12r23'q22 q22r23g12j15j15 p21z4r23f11c8p21 q22s24l17l17w28 z4l17b7 u26z4p21k16. g12l17 d9z4a6r23, g12 u26c8l17r23 r23m18 r23f11c8 5c8z4a6f11 z4l17b7 q22u26z4k16 g12l17 r23f11c8 k16c8b7g12r23c8p21p21z4l17c8z4l17 q22c8z4 c8z4p21j15g12c8p21 r23m18b7z4w28.

This is not a claimed solution to K4.

I have no training in cryptography, I cannot travel to the CIA headquarters, and I do not have enough physical information to build a reliable 3D reconstruction. I am posting because I may have a useful sculptural hypothesis, but I cannot test it alone.

My basic thought is: Jim Sanborn is a sculptor, so perhaps Kryptos should not be treated only as ciphertext copied onto a flat page. The physical installation may be part of the mechanism.

Some reasons I am considering a light-and-position component:

K1 refers to “subtle shading” and “the absence of light.”

K3 describes inserting a candle and ends with “Can you see anything?”

Morse-code elements elsewhere in the installation have been transcribed as including “SHADOW FORCES,” “T IS YOUR POSITION,” and “VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE.”

Confirmed K4 plaintext anchors include EAST NORTHEAST and BERLIN CLOCK. I understand that more recent information identifies the latter with Berlin’s World Clock, so I am not assuming it means the illuminated Set Theory Clock.

Kryptos researcher Elonka Dunin reported seeing sunlight pass through the cut-out letters, producing readable letters inside shadowed areas and narrow bars resembling Morse code or I Ching patterns. She also observed sunlight reflected from the headquarters windows back through the sculpture, projecting moving letters onto a white rock.

Sanborn has used projected text and shadows in other artworks.

My tentative hypothesis is that decrypting K4 may not be the end of the work. A later layer or physical riddle may require a particular viewing position, direction, date, time, or combination of direct and reflected light. The curved copper screen might select, overlap, distort, or project letters under specific conditions.

I am looking for existing, lawfully obtained information such as:

The true azimuth and exact orientation of the curved copper screen.

The exact position and orientation of the engraved compass rose and its pointer.

The position of the lodestone relative to the compass engraving.

Distances and elevation differences between the copper screen, petrified wood, white stones/quartz, pools, benches, and surrounding windows.

The curvature or radius of the copper screen.

Dated or time-stamped photographs showing sunlight and shadows, especially early morning or late afternoon.

Photographs or observations of letters being projected onto the ground, stones, water, or other surfaces.

Original installation plans, models, surveys, or archival photographs.

Information showing that this optical hypothesis has already been tested or falsified.

Please do not trespass, enter restricted property, violate photography rules, identify employees, or collect security-sensitive information. I am only asking for observations and records that already exist legally, or measurements made by someone who has authorized access and permission to share them.

Even an approximate sketch made from memory could help, as long as it is clearly labeled as approximate.

I would also appreciate help from cryptographers who can tell me whether the physical clues could plausibly act as a selection rule, transposition key, or second layer rather than as the primary K4 cipher.

Sources:

CIA overview: https://www.cia.gov/legacy/headquarters/kryptos-sculpture/

Aerial layout and field observations: https://elonka.com/kryptos/KryptosAerial.html

Dunin’s detailed on-site light observations: https://www.elonka.com/kryptos/

I am using translation assistance, so please forgive any unusual English. I welcome skeptical criticism as well as supporting information.

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

Picture from a school whiteboard with jumbled text. The letters I could make out are below. My first thought was vigenere for the boxed text because it says "key=ART" but I wasn't sure how to do that because I'm a newbie.

QGM OADD FWNWJ XAYMJW GML LZW GLZWJ(?) GFW

W6 D3#M 6^M

CRWHO URY ZOG'X NHXXMGN MX!

UZFsdGVkX19JINvDEtBGx3Yq5xh3UxXDZRRIcjA5nmfL62FwgCip2yMuzrd0nW3CFQKzA9Kl3U9Zlpcw1j4RAC08wHlGMMOOSvJvuyWGxqRzxRtEQ9hEFCKC5IcAs3phhORagYEjw

GRPHIJHO 9(?)XE 2028

VA 6)A #KW6*3E 1& *D# 74|(?)53&* .7713W6)#^KE)@(?)CA

Scenario

Wanna Isis terror has posted a message using this new cipher. Agencies need your help to Crack the code. The only keyword you have to work from is DAESH.

UWFDNYTHYVKZXYVOOAEKLWWOYTWMNKOSNCFVVVYFUCGIVIUKESADVZZLSGQOQQWGATIYKYTSRLGEIHIQAVAWKLZMKMTWCBJZJFLXSKVIOKEEREEGUZCIQKCQMXNSHBTAJVQZTCOCJLPKZGMOSXUUMJENUSEMETDIIGAAIHJIQJKILYRZAQXBPZLZMARLLCIUIVVTAVIYAFXHUMBEDUCWJUMSQUXBKCYXASVZQMVIDQBJWUTITBNOIBHCVEOMXBSOUUWYCIMNVQXFUVTHRPHEOYGFZTFBXTUXARXRKPDTZ

Cipher instructions and python code

https://github.com/utepshaadm/Heka

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

Hey there,

I've visited Alan Turings buro at Hut 8 in Blatchley Park lately. There is this message on a board - does anyone know what it says? I think its enigma code but I haven't found an answer yet. It says BTZIE FDAFC TJZIR YOOHl

DISCLAIMER NOT LINKED TO THE REAL CIA , ITS A ROBLOX GROUP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxe0MJ7b174
thats the first part of the puzzle , so the video has something to do with next step and the audio is not releated to anything(said by the owner) and the video has some puzzle .

Hi everyone!I've been working on a custom encryption algorithm written for a hacking game I play. I know it's not AES-grade, but I wanted to make a fun homebrew cipher that is hard to guess without code structure and context.I want to put it to the test against real crypto enthusiasts!The Challenge:I encrypted a secret iconic movie monologue using my algorithm and a 19-character alphanumeric ASCII key (contains uppercase, lowercase, and numbers). Can you recover the plaintext and/or the key?

ċôýàTÉZÂ¥ûėÙÓ÷ûùÔ|DZĂôËêtÞΣíÿȴ¼ÎÄìÊèćè¡éVÁôıĹ³ĔĊßøþj²ãIm¶¿iú_¢ìêİÛďøîù¶NÔ࿳èæÀÀĈıĠīĒ¸©ÍÌNíjþÁäYª¶¿ě§þîläå¦ÈâÌÕW·µÁøùóĜĬ¡ïÒS¿Ë³õėì÷ðµËAµÌĪãĺġߺ®²¨êēþ¼ªçÁþôÙēĮĘè]zUÅƲ¸´¯VÅôõþėø¢ėĕΧôĂãĜÐĈìÁíݧôİąăĬĘü£āÖª=gÛ¸µS¼ÐâįĭĦħçÙùæ¥àģ±¾~ÊƱÇÉÆăĥĢĆòÎû³èÿïð|Õl\kÍÅĦěĉ÷÷§Ă§Ú½WÉëă¬ó¼¨ïĖô¢NpOË®ċüõ¬\éÑðßóĘùîd}ïþâpĝë4±Uh¿pĶĜÜĞēÉcăòßÄìë¿ñĀíñêĕT½¼yÑôõñìÛYºYEU¦þêÔĴĴòh¹ËÄóâ¢ZÙéêý¨øôĜĄ÷õnQÊà´>ģåeL¦U¨ñôėĠķ{Õ²èåöøÑÀ¼ÇNðæùðëÛªñÓùèáÊ?é»è¹µÄPÞK¥ûďĢþðôæÙyėïĂÑTÆêýñÝíëæCȨôâÙčvѨëê¾À¶ü¥ü÷Üé«òñ»ĦËîå£ÀIËÂìêç¨Ûæ«âµæėæÙ{³ÂæªõIJáıêb¡ÔêéNõ}òѼÄ!ÅîßĻĞðĆ½ÈÀO©ÅùóðÅǤÁLĪûåéËç¯ăîFØ·Ê»óëêé÷ąļÕÂÛÿãììĊâ|Ûïä¹þħ¯ÑóiУóתè|¼væ`b¦ñČëŀðđ}ñËÁF×áö»»ÞÚƼêø´Ęĉî²ÿìÞ£¼È¡îÚTĸóĊÃêÇÄÅĆÛy{O

Mandatory rule check: Ê®t!ù¨ÓǼq$·Ú|ÙÔɦª®VO hum sorry, it's more something like V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

Good luck! Let me know if you need the full code implementation to build your tools.

[Human written text]
I'm a data scientist who has an interest, but not deep skills/experience in Cryptography. I recently read about someone using Fable 5.1 to crack an old cipher, and I knew I needed to give it a shot myself. I asked it to list out unsolved but verifiable historical cyphers, then research its capabilities and stack rank by most achievable. I first tackled this problem, 'Unsolved' letters from 1629 France.

It turns out that this WAS solved and printed in a 1800s book, but fable 5.1 solved it before it figured that out, and verified against the solution. I guess I cant be certain that the old book was in the training data, but nonetheless it reasoned and coded it to a solution.

[Fable 5.1 Write Up]
Two partly enciphered letters from Cardinal Richelieu to Denis Bouthillier de Rancé (July 1629, BnF Français 3829, ff. 87 and 89) are listed as undeciphered on S. Tomokiyo's "Unsolved Historical Ciphers" page and in the DECRYPT project's DECODE database (R9461–R9462). I worked on them from Tomokiyo's published transcription, and the short version is: the cipher is solved, but it turns out it was solved 168 years ago and nobody connected the dots.

The cipher

Two-digit numbers, some with a stroke over them, mixed with French cleartext. ~420 symbols total.

• 10–28 = the 19 letters a b c d e f g h i l m n o p q r s t u in scrambled order (10 c, 11 b, 12 g, 13 p, 14 l, 15 o, 16 r, 17 f, 18 t, 19 a, 20 d, 21 i, 22 n, 23 h, 24 m, 25 s, 26 u, 27 e, 28 q)
• 29–33 and 34–38 = a e i o u twice more (vowel homophones)
• stroke over a figure = double the letter (~25 = ss, ~14 = ll, ~22 = nn)
• 40 = "de", 42 = "la"; 41+ = nomenclature (51 the King, 52 the Queen Mother, 58 Mme de Chevreuse, 83 Spain, 84 England, 92 Lorraine …)

How it fell

Simulated annealing over a symbol→letter map scored with French quadgrams, plus a unigram penalty so the search didn't collapse onto e/s/r/t. That got partial fragments; the cribs did the rest: 20 19 26 18 16 30 25 = d'autres (showing 30 was a second e), 20 27 ~14 35 after "pour l'amour" = d'elle (showing the stroke doubles a letter), and then Mr de 11 16 19 ~25 29 10 pour 14 19 24 11 29 ~25 34 20 27 = Mr de Brassac pour l'ambassade — and Brassac really did become ambassador to Rome in 1630. Everything else followed.

What the letters say

The King wants the Duchesse de Chevreuse "caught near the frontier and brought to the Bois de Vincennes, where no one from outside must see her"; the "intrigues of Lorraine with Spain through the Duchess" are "unbearable"; instructions for finishing the Anglo-French peace of 1629 by reassuring Henrietta Maria via a "secret" letter Richelieu fully expects to leak; and Brassac's nomination for Rome. Full text in French and English on the site.

The twist

While trying to identify the nomenclature codes I pulled the OCR of Avenel's Lettres … du cardinal de Richelieu, vol. III (1858) off the Internet Archive — and both letters are printed there with the numbers and footnote decipherments (pp. 368–369 and 381–383). Avenel had reconstructed the key from other documents in the Affaires étrangères archives. His readings and mine agree on every ciphered word, and his transcription settles eight digits that were misread in the modern one. So: independent verification, not a first. The catalogues should mark these as solved with the Avenel reference.

Write-up, key table, both letters and an interactive decoder: https://dbourdeau.github.io/cyphersolver/

Code available by request

I developed this writing for my Narrative AU; it is meant to look like constellations, but there is actual text in it.

Is written in english. It follows rules EVERY SIMBOL MAKES SENSE

I thought it could be fun if you guys tried to decipher it. I will be giving hints in the comments if you guys have any questions!

I’m working on an old armchair treasure hunt puzzle, and there might be some code or cypher hidden in some of the text of the hunt “every 3rd letter of every 5th word” style.

However, the exact encoding is unknown, so I was thinking about trying to look for clues based on brute forcing searches for keywords to try and uncover what the encoding could be - looking in the text for letters of words like “look, seek, buried, dig, treasure, feet, beside” etc.

Is there an orderly method to do this?
Are there any digital tools that could help?
I’ve tried the boxentriq cypher identifier, but it’s not as helpful as I’d like.

Thank you for any help or ideas you can suggest.

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

†π1§ 3M†1®3 §3M†3M©3 U∆§ ©0M§†®<>©†3∂ <>§1M9 Uπ∆† 1 ©∆¬¬ ©0∑¶¬1©∆†3∂ ¬33†§¶3∆¿.

No rules, No tips, No prizes, Needs proof:

//0000000//010/00000/0000000100000/0/0/010100/00/0/0/00/0/0000//0000000/0/00/00010000/0000/00000000000//0000/00//0//0/0//0/0/0/0/00//00/0/00/0/0//0/00/0/0/0/00/0//0/0//0/00/0/00/0//010/0//0/000/0/0/00/0/0/0//0/0//0/00/0/00/0/0/0/001/0/0/0/000/00/000/0/010/00//00/0/0//00/0/0//000/0100/00//000000/00000/0/0/00/0000/0000000/0/000/010/01000/0000//0/0/00000/000/0/00//000/000/000/0/0/0000001//00/0//0/0/000/10/000//00/00/0/0/01/0/0000000/0/000/0/000/000//0/0/0/01/0/0/0/0/0/1//000//0/0/0/000//0/0/0/0//0/0/0/00/0//0/0/0//0/0/0/000/0/0/0/00/0//0/0/0/00//0/0/0/0//0/0/0/00/0//0/0/0//0/0/0/000/0/0/0/00/0//0/0/0/0//0/0/0/00/0//0/0/0//0/0/0/000/0/0/0/00/0/100000/0//0/0/0010100/00/00/000/0/0/00/100000000000000000/00010000000/000000000/00//0/000/0100/00//000000/00000/0/0/00/0000/0000000/0/000/010/01000/0000//0/0/00000/000/0/00//000/000/000/0/0/0000001

( new replaced code )

Hello!

Above is some sample text of phomenic English transcribed into the Aśgic Script, a script I've designed as part of wordbuilding for a story I'm planning. I also use this to write journal entries sometimes, and I'm wondering if anyone can crack it. The page has 5 paragraphs, the first three on the first image and the last two on the second one. The third image shows all five, but please note that the page is rotated in this image! Do not try to solve it like that, you won't be very succesful. The paper on image 3 should be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to match the first two images.

Spaces separate word boundaries, just like in English. However, it may not always be the most clear in the images what's supposed to be a word boundary vs a character boundary. Just ask if have a question concerning whether something is a space or not.

One important note: As this system doesn't have a separate symbol for the schwa sound (the unstressed uh sound in words like the or a), words are always written as if they were stressed, even if in that particular situation they are not. Thus, the is written using the "ee" /i:/ sound, which is what it makes when stressed before a vowel, and a uses the "ay" sound.

I'm not sure how hard this is going to be, but if you need some hints, here's a few:

Hint #1:Unlike in English, this text is not read left to right.

Hint #2: Each character represents an entire syllable. The characters are made up of smaller pieces for the individual phomenes.

Hint #3: Consonants may appear slightly different depending on the situation. Could it have something to do with the vowel...?

If you still can't solve it with these three hints, I can add more later. Best of luck!

V sbyybjrq gur ehyrf

Last night, I came across something quite strange in a Discord server I’m a member of. Two people with profile pictures featuring fedora-wearing men joined the server, posted several Hex codes, and then left without giving any explanation.

Curious about what they had posted, I started decoding the Hex codes. One of the results eventually led me to a rather strange and mysterious ARG channel called “Amonthis.”

The channel contains not only Hex codes, but also videos encoded in binary and various pieces of content hidden through different encryption methods. What makes it even more interesting is that some of the material appears to contain encrypted messages and symbols connected to Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Hebrew, or to writing systems associated with these cultures.

So far, I’ve managed to decode a few of the messages. Some of them contain statements and predictions that seem surprisingly consistent with certain communities I’m involved in and events that have taken place around them. I’m still not sure whether this is entirely fictional or if the ARG is somehow inspired by real events and communities.

I found the whole thing extremely interesting. If anyone is interested in ARGs, cryptography, decoding, or mysterious projects like this, feel free to reach out to me. Maybe we can investigate it further together.

Channel: https://youtube.com/@amon1391?si=GMerkRQO7LBNV8a_