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Can you crack GCHQ's code-breaker challenge?

We asked the British intelligence agency GCHQ to set our listeners a code-cracking challenge. Here’s what the Puzzle Masters came up with…

You need to approach any puzzle in the right mindset – in other words, you need to think like a Government Communications HQ puzzle setter. So, for example, when looking at a bunch of seemingly random words, could they be converted into numbers or another language? Also look for common links and patterns.

Here’s a note from GCHQ Puzzle Master Daniel:

“It’s definitely a tricky one. We’ve rated it as a four out of six on our . So don’t expect to crack it straight away. It will take plenty of brain power. Even better, I’d recommend putting the kettle on and getting a bunch of your friends, family or work colleagues together to bring some collective thought to the problem. Good luck!”

CLUE: The key to unlocking the puzzle is identifying Samuel, Louis and Ludwik. There are links between them!

for a pdf download of the puzzle for you to print off.

So do you think you've cracked the code correctly? Find the answer by .

In the meantime, you can join the social media conversation on the GCHQ code-breaker challenge using hashtag #GCHQpuzzlebook.

Further listening and reading on GCHQ and code-breaking