It’s that time of year once again: festivities, merriment, twinkling lights, goodwill to all humankind, and the annual Christmas Challenge of the UK’s national intelligence agency.
This year, seven puzzles have been designed by a team of puzzling experts who work at GCHQ, the UK security agency that’s tasked with signals intelligence.
The challenges require codebreaking, math, lateral thinking, and a bit of ingenuity to reveal the name of a famous UK landmark. There are also three additional hidden elements in the pictures for those seeking an extra challenge.
“Puzzles have always been at the heart of GCHQ, and the skills needed to solve them are just as relevant in 2024 as they were over 100 years ago,” Anne Keast-Butler, Director of GCHQ, said in a statement.
“This year’s Challenge features seven puzzles, plus several hidden elements for those who want an extra test. The puzzles are aimed at teenagers and young people, but everyone is encouraged to give them a try – they might surprise you,” said Keast-Butler.
Can you crack it?
Image credit: GCHQ
GCHQ’s Chief Puzzler, a mysterious enigma known only as Colin, also released a quote, which apparently also contains a secret message:
“We are delighted to be launching the 2024 Christmas Challenge aimed at young people, and we hope you find this year’s set of puzzles as challengingly fun as ever.
“This year as usual we’re encouraging teams to work together to tackle the Challenge.
“You can see from the range of puzzles that some parts are trickier than others. However, you do not have to be a genius or top of the class to solve them – you just have to be able to work in a team and embrace the mix of minds and approaches teamwork brings. This is exactly how we work at GCHQ.
“We also hope to show young people through this Challenge that thinking differently is a gift.
“We’d love to see how you get on with the Challenge, so please let us know by tagging us – or asking a grown-up to tag us – in a post on Instagram, X or LinkedIn @GCHQ.
“Happy puzzle-solving!”
The full challenge, as well as some hints, can be viewed on GCHQ’s website. Here, you’ll also find PDFs that can be downloaded and, if you wish, printed off.
Source Link: Can You Crack The UK Spy Agency’s Christmas Code-Breaking Challenge?