Codebreakers are sometimes described as coded crosswords. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a number from 1 to 26. All you have to do is crack the code.
The key to doing so is understanding the rules of the English language – what letters often appear together (eg, Q and U), how words begin and end (eg, words starting with ‘ck’, ‘dt’ and ‘fg’ do not exist), and common repetition of vowels and consonants (‘ss’, ‘tt’, ‘rr’, ‘oo’, ‘ee’ etc).
Codebreakers frequently contain more obscure words, there are no proper nouns, and every letter of the alphabet should appear at least once.
In the example below, the puzzle contains the starter word ‘WIT’. This allows you to fill in the grid with the letters ‘W’, ‘I’ and ’T’. You can then use these letter combinations to determine other words. For instance, there are only a handful of five-letter words which begin with a T and end with a W. Use logical deduction to pick the right one and continue solving the puzzle in this way.
Now that you know, test your Codebreaker skills with our interactive game.
