Cryptogram Rules: How to Play (With a Printable Example)

A cryptogram is a short sentence written in a secret code. Your job is to find the code and read the sentence. This page explains the rules in plain words, then solves one example from the first letter to the last.

What a cryptogram is

In a cryptogram every letter of the sentence is replaced by another letter. The same letter is always replaced by the same code, so once you know that L means A, every L in the puzzle is an A. Spaces and punctuation stay where they are, which is what lets you see where the words start and end.

The rules

1. Each code letter stands for one real letter, and each real letter has one code letter.
2. The same code is used everywhere in the puzzle. If you decide that Q is G in one word, it is G in every word.
3. In LogikLand cryptograms, no letter is coded by itself: A is never written A.
4. Word breaks and punctuation are not coded. Apostrophes and commas stay in place.
5. Some levels give you a few letters for free. They are already written above their code.

A worked example

Here is an easy cryptogram made by the LogikLand generator, with its solution next to it. Each code letter is written under a line, and you write the real letter on the line above it.

Solving it step by step

1. The first word is a single code letter, L. In English a one-letter word is almost always A (or I). The puzzle already gives us A, so L = A. Every other L in the puzzle is now an A.
2. The second word is QTTY. It has a double letter in the middle, and the puzzle gives us O = T, so the double letter is a double O. A four-letter word shaped like ?OO? is likely GOOD, so Q = G and Y = D.
3. The fourth word is VN, followed by the one-letter word L (A). The puzzle gives us N = S, so VN ends in S. A two-letter word ending in S that comes before an A is IS, so V = I.
4. The short word LKY starts with the code of A (L) and ends with the code of D (Y). The pattern is A ? D. The common three-letter English word with that shape is AND, so the middle letter is N and K = N. You now have the letters A, G, O, D, I, S and N.
5. With I and the given E (code R) in place, the last word of the first line, SWVRD, reads ? ? I E ?. The word is QUIET, so S = Q, W = U and D = T. The rest follows one word at a time.

Where to start

Most solvers begin with the same clues. These counts come from LogikLand's own English phrase list (2,040 phrases):

Look first for a one-letter word, then for a three-letter word that appears several times, which is often THE. For more methods see how to solve a cryptogram.

Easy to expert

The Cryptogram book assistant makes four levels. They differ by the help you get and by the kind of code. The free tool works differently: you choose the code (letters or numbers 1 to 26) and give 0 to 5 hint letters yourself.

The free cryptogram maker makes one cryptogram at a time from a message you type, with a PDF that has the solution on page 2. To make a full book, create a free account and use the Cryptogram assistant. When the easy ones feel too simple, read advanced cryptogram techniques.

Questions