Mystery Box Hint #1 - Cryptograms

Apparently, I do requests here on the blog. In response to this overwhelming demand (one person) for my knowledge, I could do an "Ask Dewberry" column, but I'm probably too opinionated to make that work. So, I'll just stick to this one request for some hints on how to tackle mystery boxes.

Now, I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stick to the generic, rather than the specific.

1. Go get a copy of Games Magazine. You'll be amazed at the sheer number of different kinds of puzzles. By working them (with the solutions in the back), you'll sharpen your puzzle solving skills. It might even give you some ideas.

2. Sometimes hiders will let you know what type of puzzle you're dealing with. Sometimes they won't. Trial and error is the only way to go in the latter situation.

3. A lot of mystery boxes use cryptograms, where one single variable subsitutes for each letter (called a simple substitution cypher). Everywhere you see this particular variable, it will represent the same letter (unlike more complicated cyphers & cryptography).

4. To solve this type of puzzle, look for patterns. For instance, a word like YULQL with YUL elsewhere in the puzzle probably translates to There and The. Singleton words usually stand for a, as a hider is unlikely to use I in the clues. I also will look for something that shares the pattern of common words in letterbox clues, like trail, tree, under, look, pine, box, etc.

5. You can make cryptograms out of anything...symbols, wingdings, numbers, pictures, etc. If you're looking at a sea of numbers and none of them are greater than 26 in the puzzle, chances are decent there is a 1-1 correspondance between each number and a letter a-z. Sometimes the encryption will follow a rule, such as every encrypted letter will be two higher in the alphabet than the actual letter it stands for, or the encryption can be much more random.

6. Once you get going, you'll be able to fill in some of your blanks through context. Working back and forth between letters you've solved and the context you're building will help you progress even more.

Cryptograms are probably the most common way of encrypting clues. They are also the easiest to solve, so starting here is a good idea.

Next time, I'll tackle a different type of encryption. Not sure what yet, though. Any requests?