Pick a short phrase, write out a scrambled substitution key, swap every letter for its substitute, then test-solve it yourself before sharing — that's the whole method behind making a cryptogram puzzle from scratch, the same principle Quipher uses for its own daily puzzle.
Solving a cryptogram is fun. Making one is even more fun — and it's easier than you'd think. Whether you're building a puzzle for a classroom, a party game, or just want to stump a friend, here's exactly how to make your own cryptogram puzzle from scratch.
1. Pick your phrase
Choose a quote, sentence, or phrase to encode. A few tips for picking a good one:
Keep it under 60 characters — long phrases get tedious to solve
Avoid too many repeated words — variety makes the puzzle more solvable
Pick something meaningful — a favourite quote, an inside joke, or a fact makes the reveal more satisfying than a random sentence
2. Build a substitution key
A cryptogram works by swapping every letter of the alphabet for a different letter, number, or symbol — consistently, throughout the whole puzzle. The easiest way to build this is to write the alphabet out, then write a scrambled version underneath it:
A B C D E F G H I J ... 7 3 9 1 5 8 2 6 4 0 ...
Important rule: no letter can map to itself, and no two letters should share the same substitute — otherwise the puzzle becomes unsolvable or ambiguous.
3. Encode your phrase
Go letter by letter through your phrase and replace each one using your key. Keep spaces and punctuation as they are, or remove punctuation entirely for a harder puzzle — this is what Quipher does.
For example, take the phrase "BE KIND" and the key B→3, E→5, K→9, I→4, N→1, D→2:
BE KIND → 3 5 9 4 1 2
4. Test-solve it yourself
Before sharing your puzzle, try solving it cold — ideally a day later, once you've half-forgotten the key. If you can solve it in a reasonable time without frustration, it's probably well-calibrated. If it takes you more than a few minutes even knowing the answer, simplify it.
5. Add a hint (optional)
A category hint ("this quote is about science") or a couple of pre-filled letters can make a hard puzzle more approachable — especially for younger solvers or classroom use.
6. Common mistakes to avoid
Letting a letter map to itself — makes the puzzle inconsistently solvable
Choosing an obscure quote — solvers rely partly on "does this sound like a real sentence" as they go, so obscure phrasing removes a useful clue
Making it too long — length compounds difficulty fast; a 40–60 character phrase is usually the sweet spot
7. Want to skip the setup?
Building cryptograms by hand is a great party trick, but if you'd rather just solve a fresh one every day without doing the encoding yourself, play today's Quipher — a new hand-picked quote, encoded and ready to crack, every single day.
Frequently asked questions
Can any letter map to any number?
Almost — the only rules are that no letter can map to itself, and no two letters can share the same substitute, or the puzzle becomes ambiguous or unsolvable.
How long should a cryptogram phrase be?
Around 40–60 characters tends to be the sweet spot — long enough to be satisfying, short enough not to become tedious. It's the same rough limit Quipher uses for its own daily puzzle.
Should I keep the punctuation in a cryptogram?
It's up to you — keeping it gives solvers extra structural clues, while stripping it out (as Quipher does) makes the puzzle harder.
Prefer to skip the setup entirely? Play today's Quipher — a new hand-picked quote, ready to crack, every day.