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Hicks' Enigma Download

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Welcome to the Crypto Challenge

Click Here for our new Contest

New! Get your own personal encryption application, Hicks' Enigma.

NEWER!! Crypto Challenge 4.0 

I have been a cryptogram addict for years (okay, I don't have a life). I enjoyed the challenge of solving them, but I was always frustrated by the limitations imposed by using pencil and paper:

• Realizing I made a mistake and having to erase
• Not finding every instance of a letter, and upon finding one I missed, realizing that I was on the wrong track
• Difficulty in keeping track of which letters are in play
• Counting the frequency of each letter
• The fact that some types of paper, especially newsprint, don't take erasures well

About twenty years ago, I created a program for substituting letters in a cryptogram on a Digital VAX; not something that would lend itself to the mass market. It would be like using a metal stamper as a cookie cutter. 

With the advent of the PC, Windows, Visual Basic and the Internet, a cryptogram application became feasible. To see what it looks like, click left.

This is not the first such application. There are others on the Web, some quite good, but each was missing something, so I decided to come up with my own. I have spent over a year creating it and refining it. I am still working to perfect it and will continue to do so.

It comes with 30 cryptograms:

• 6 Quotes

• 6 Humorous Sayings (Jokes, one-liners, etc., some of which may be slightly risqué)

• 6 Verses of Scripture 

• 6 Historical Dates

• 6 Poems

4.0 has a word lookup table that will enable you to to find words (up to ten letters long) by entering the letters that you have figured out in their proper positions and showing you the possibilities. You can also use wild cards. Click the picture to take a closer look.

Download the Application - If you are new to this, there are explicit instructions on how to download the application and set it up on your computer, with illustrations included. If you have already downloaded the Crypto Challenge, check in from time-to-time for enhancements or upgrades

Note: this is a Windows application. If enough of you come back and buy cryptograms, I can buy a Mac and make a version for that platform.

If you like it, you can order new cryptograms for a nominal charge.

Ordering new cryptograms

This web site is not state of the art. Feel free to submit it to http://webpagesthatsuck.com/ (just spell the name right).  As time goes by, however, and I gain more expertise at this, I am confident that the quality will improve.

Also, I have a page with links to some other sites, some having to do with cryptograms, some not. Links

Regards,

Ray Hicks

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