Cryptogram Solving Tool

Here is a cryptogram solving tool that will run in your browser.

A cryptogram is an encoded message. The code used is called a simple substitution cipher. This means that the message is encoded by replacing each letter in the message with a different letter of the alphabet. Every time a particular letter occurs in the message, it is replaced with the same code letter. It works like this: 

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB, ITS FLEECE WAS WHITE AS SNOW.
XTNB LTZ T SCAASQ STXV, CAI DSQQWQ GTI GLCAQ TI IPRG.

Word spacing and punctuation are not changed.

Some people like to solve cryptograms much like some people like to do crossword puzzles. The cryptogram is solved by looking for frequently used letters and clues provided by letter patterns and word spacing.

There are a number of sites on the internet that provide cryptograms, some with thier own solving tools of various qualities. You may copy a cryptogram from one of those sites and enter it here to use this solver.

Sorry, but I don't have cryptograms on this site.


 

OK, so where do I find cryptograms?

Cryptogram Corner has a daily cryptogram and a 5-year archive. It has its own solving tool, which I think is kind of klunky. Copy them over here, delete the asterisks, and have at it. Or

Between Waters has a few years of archived daily cryptograms. It also has its own solving tool, but you will have better success copying them into this one. Or

Best Cryptograms posts 10 new cryptograms every day. It has its own solving tool, or you can import them into here.










Funny Cryptograms posts 10 new cryptograms every day. It has its own solving tool, or you can import them into here.










Bible Cryptograms posts 10 new cryptogram quotations from the King James Bible every day. It has its own solving tool, or you can import them into here.










The small print:

In March 2004, I posted one of the first cryptogram solving tools on the internet. It was based on a cryptogram solving tool I had written way back in the 8 bit days before the internet in MBASIC on a friend’s Kaypro 10. That baby had an unheard of 10 MB hard drive!

The web page also included 113 cryptograms that could be selected and solved, along with links to a couple of other sites where cryptograms could be copied and pasted into the solving tool.

I enjoy the hobby from time to time, but I am not committed to it. I did very little to maintain the site over the years. One of the sites I linked to disappeared, and I removed the link. In March 2018, I was informed that the other site had moved (probably a lot earlier than that. It was on Geocities, which closed in October, 2009.) This gave me a reason to take a fresh look at the site. I was appalled at how bad the code was, so I decided to do a re-write, this time without the 113 cryptograms, but with the ability to import cryptograms from a couple of sources. In June 2018, I added the ability to import cryptograms from additional sources.

I would love to post more links to sites that provide cryptograms, but most of them now have their own solving tools, of varying quality, and this makes it unnecessary and also difficult to copy the cryptograms from those sites into this tool.

Another possibility would be to find a quote of the day site that I could scrape for quotes to turn into cryptograms. However, the ideal cryptogram has between 110 and 200 letters. Fewer than that, and the cryptogram has too little information to be solvable. More than that, and the cryptogram has so much information that it is no longer a challenge to solve. There is no guarantee that quotes posted on someone’s quote of the day site will fit those parameters.

If you know of a source of cryptograms looking for a solving tool, let me know, and I will provide a link.

This cryptogram solving tool is provided by Scott Bryce