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Cryptograms
Crack the letter code to reveal a famous saying
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On a keyboard: type a letter to fill it in, arrow keys to move, Tab to jump to the next empty square, Backspace to clear.
How to play, in one minute
A cryptogram is a quotation written in code. Every letter has been swapped for a different letter, the same way all the way through, and your job is to work out the swap. When you have it, the quote reads in plain English.
- Pick a square and type a letter. Tap a square, then tap a letter on the keys below the puzzle (or type it on a keyboard). The letter fills in under every copy of that code letter at once.
- One letter, one code. No letter stands for itself, and each real letter can stand for only one code letter. If you type a letter you've already used, the game says where, and you can press it again to move it.
- Check shows any wrong letters in red. Each Check that finds a wrong letter counts as one mistake, so use it when you're stuck rather than after every letter.
- Hint fills in one correct letter everywhere: the code letter you picked, or the most common one you haven't got. You get 6 per puzzle.
- Win by filling in every letter correctly. The game then shows who said it and where it comes from.
New to these? Our guide to solving cryptograms walks through a whole puzzle letter by letter, with the letter counts and short words that crack most codes.
The three levels
| Level | Quote length | Letters filled in to start | Quotes in the pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 40 to 75 characters | 3 (2 for quotes with few different letters) | 271 |
| Medium | 50 to 110 characters | 1 | 377 |
| Hard | 75 to 140 characters | 0 | 227 |
Longer quotes are easier to crack in one way: there's more text to count letters in. Hard puzzles make up for that by starting with no letters at all. The daily cryptogram draws from all 495 quotes and starts with one letter.
Where the quotes come from
All 495 quotes are old enough to be in the public domain, and each one was checked word for word against a published text before it went in. That's 197 verses from the King James Bible, 108 sayings from Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, 73 lines of Shakespeare, 48 traditional proverbs, 14 lines from Aesop's fables in old public-domain translations, 13 lines from Abraham Lincoln's speeches and 4 from the Declaration of Independence, plus George Washington, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Old texts keep their old spelling, so expect the odd "thou" and "hath".
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. No account, no download and no limit on puzzles. The site may show ads in the future to pay for itself; they'll never sit on top of the puzzle.
What is a cryptogram?
A short text written in a simple substitution code: each letter of the alphabet is replaced by another letter, and the replacement stays the same all the way through. Spaces and punctuation are left alone, which is what makes the puzzle fair.
Can a letter stand for itself?
Not here. In every puzzle on this site, no letter is its own code, so if you see a code letter Q, the answer is never Q. The game stops you if you try.
What does Check count as?
Check marks every wrong letter in red. If it finds at least one, that Check counts as one mistake, whatever the number of red letters. A Check that finds nothing wrong is free. Mistakes only show in your result at the end; there's no limit and the puzzle never ends early.
Will I lose my puzzle if I close the page?
No. Each level keeps its own puzzle, saved in this browser after every letter, along with your time. Clearing your browser data or switching devices starts fresh.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. Click a square, then type letters. Arrow keys move around, Tab jumps to the next empty square, Backspace clears, and Ctrl+Z undoes.
Can I print cryptograms?
Yes. Print prints the puzzle you're on. For full large-print sheets with an answer key on its own page, use printable cryptograms.
Will I see the same quote twice?
Not for a long while. Free play remembers the last 200 quotes you were given in this browser and skips them. The daily puzzle goes through all 495 quotes before any repeats.
More to play
- Daily cryptogramOne new quote every day, the same for everyone. Keep your streak going.
- Printable cryptogramsLarge-print sheets for pencil and paper, with an answer key.
- How to solve cryptogramsLetter counts, short words, apostrophes and a worked example.
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