CIPHERNAUT
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GraphicDifficulty: Medium

Pigpen cipher

Every letter is a piece of a grid or a cross, sometimes with a dot. Learn four shapes and you can write secret notes.

Try it

27 characters

Result · Pigpen cipher

x1 g5 g3 d9 g5 x2 / d4 g5 x1 x1 g1 g7 g5 / g6 d6 d9 / x2 g8 g5 / g3 d3 x3 g2

How it works

  1. 1Draw two tic-tac-toe grids (#) and two X crosses. Letters A-I go in the first grid, J-R in the second, S-V in the first cross and W-Z in the second.
  2. 2The second grid and the second cross have a dot in them - that dot tells J-R apart from A-I, and W-Z apart from S-V.
  3. 3A letter is drawn as just the lines around its cell. A is a corner at the bottom right, E is a full square.
  4. 4To decode, ask: grid or cross? Dot or no dot? Then find the cell the shape belongs to.
  5. 5Leave a gap between words. Accents are dropped and numbers or punctuation are skipped.

Example

HELLO WORLD

Did you know

Freemasons used this cipher in the 18th century for records and letters between lodges, which is why it is also called the Freemasons' cipher. According to the sources, Union prisoners held in Confederate prisons used it during the American Civil War. Many relatives exist with grids and crosses laid out differently, so always say which one you are using.

Try to decode

This message is encrypted with Pigpen cipher using the default settings:

Hint

Start on the left: M is the second grid with a dot, middle row, left cell.

Show solution

MEET AT THE WELL

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