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A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encryption text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. Substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by a different letter, number, or symbol are frequently used. To solve the puzzle, one must recover the original lettering. Though once used in more serious applications, they are now mainly printed for entertainment in newspapers and magazines.
Other types of are sometimes used to create cryptograms. An example is the book cipher, where a book or article is used to encrypt a message.
The first use of the cryptogram for entertainment purposes occurred during the Middle Ages by monks who had spare time for intellectual games. A manuscript found at Bamberg states that Irish visitors to the court of Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad (died 844), king of Gwynedd in Wales, were given a cryptogram which could only be solved by transposing the letters from Latin into Greek.Kenney, J. F. (1929), The Sources for the Early History of Ireland (Ecclesiastical), Dublin, Four Courts Press, p. 556 (363). Around the thirteenth century, the English monk Roger Bacon wrote a book in which he listed seven cipher methods, and stated that "a man is crazy who writes a secret in any other way than one which will conceal it from the vulgar." In the 19th century Edgar Allan Poe helped to popularize cryptograms with many newspaper and magazine articles.
Well-known examples of cryptograms in contemporary culture are the syndicated newspaper puzzles Cryptoquip and Cryptoquote, from King Features. Celebrity Cipher, distributed by Andrew McMeel, is another cipher game in contemporary culture, challenging the player to decrypt quotes from famous personalities.
A cryptoquip is a specific type of cryptogram that usually comes with a clue or a pun. The solution often involves a humorous or witty phrase.
In a public challenge, writer J.M. Appel announced on September 28, 2014, that the table of contents page of his short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, doubled as a cryptogram, and he pledged an award for the first to solve it."A Challenge," Hoosier Topics, (Cloverdale, IN) Sept 29, 2014
A printed code key form (the alphabet with a blank under each letter to fill in the substituted letter) is usually not provided but can be drawn to use as a solving aid if needed. Skilled puzzle solvers should require neither a code key form nor starter clue letters.
The Zodiac Killer sent four cryptograms to police while he was still active. Despite much research, only two of these have been translated, which was of no help in identifying the serial killer.
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