The GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) is the intelligence agency for the United Kingdom. Each year they offer a "Christmas Challenge" to the public, with guides for teachers who might want to use the materials in classes. A BBC article explains this year's challenge. The GCHQ 2023 Christmas Challenge, and a GCHQ page of brain teasers.
Have at it, and feel free to post partial answers and hints in the Comments. I have not found the annual RSS quiz yet, and I'm eagerly awaiting the KWC quiz (anticipated to be published in the Guardian this week).
(The cryptogram at #7 is trivially easy) (and #1 is easy). I'll leave the others to you. Or view/browse the video in Bob the Scientist's comment.
You're going to need the front of the card (not shown here) to finish the final challenge!
ReplyDeleteAN intelligence agency for the UK; One of many. The *signals* intelligence agency for the UK.
ReplyDeleteAh. My knowledge of such is limited to the Smiley novels and the Slow Horses streaming series. :-)
Delete"The cryptogram at #7 is trivially easy"
ReplyDeleteSez you. One of the points made by the GCHQ director is that folks have different puzzle toolkits . . . and that GCHQ are trying to recruit from a more diverse range of backgrounds in case The Enemy isn't fluent in Hittite or great at solving The Times Crossword. Also here's a Brit !!spoiler alert!! solving the puzzles in real time, no pencil, in about 30 minutes (https://youtu.be/kBdbD0L-et8?si=rvcVOT3dG105KUIA) via Metafilter.
I'm impressed that he didn't need to write down any notes while doing the solving. But I wonder if perhaps he had pondered the puzzle before creating the video...
DeleteNo way to know for sure, but that would be very off-brand for him.
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