The GCHQ Puzzle Book

by GCHQ, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (Preface), Robert Hannigan (Foreword)

If 3=T, 4=S, 5=P, 6=H, 7=H ... what is 8?

What is the next letter in the sequence: M, V, E, M, J, S, U, ?

Which of the following words is the odd one out: CHAT, COMMENT, ELF, MANGER, PAIN, POUR?

GCHQ is a top-secret intelligence and security agency which recruits some of the very brightest minds. Over the years, their codebreakers have helped keep our country safe, from the Bletchley Park breakthroughs of WWII to the modern-day threat of cyberattack. So it comes as no surprise that, even in their time off, the staff at GCHQ love a good puzzle. Whether they're recruiting new staff or challenging each other to the toughest Christmas quizzes and treasure hunts imaginable, puzzles are at the heart of what GCHQ does. Now they're opening up their archives of decades' worth of codes, puzzles and challenges for everyone to try.

In this book you will find:
- Tips on how to get into the mindset of a codebreaker
- Puzzles ranging in difficulty from easy to brain-bending
- A competition section where we search for Britain's smartest puzzler

Good luck!

Genres: Nonfiction, Puzzles, Reference, Mathematics, Games, Science, Education

368 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2019

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preface, by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
Foreword, by Robert Hannigan, Director GCHQ

Introduction:
Solving Puzzles for Fun at GCHQ
Introduction to the Puzzles

--Section 1: Starter Puzzles
--Section 2: The Puzzles
--Kristmas Kwiz Challenge

--Hints
--Explanation of Puzzle Types
--Clues to the Starter Puzzles
--Answers

Appendix
Picture Credits
Credits

[Pep · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's great! When I claim to have read it, I mean that I have read all the questions, and the hints and suggestions, and peeked at a few of the answers (not many) where I did not feel I understood the question even! These are not puzzles to think about in TV ad breaks! Unless inspiration strikes (and maybe you know the Periodic Table by heart, just for starters) you will need to sit down at a computer and work EXTREMELY hard to find solutions.

Having said that, having looked at some sample answers, there seems to be the odd "3-2-1" solution (if you remember Dusty Bin and the epitome of game show hosts, Ted Rogers) where you feel cheated. For example, one question gives you two sentences and says that the setter's daughter made a mistake in one - which turns out to be that she couldn't discriminate between two native dwellings in her picture book for four year olds. Sherlock would have had a hard time with that one . . .

I bought the book because, despite my family's concerns for my mental health (mainly because I resurrect VERY old jokes and still enjoy appalling puns) I managed to knock off the five part Oxford entrance question correctly in less than a minute, and decrypted the GCHQ/BBC Radio 4 Minority Report series codecracker taster [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/artic...] in less than an hour, and I thought some thinking practice might offset the effects of the Wine Club subscription I bought myself as a Christmas present.

I would recommend that you don't get this book unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time and effort trying to crack immensely difficult puzzles, and certainly not if you are a pub-quizzer looking for something more. It makes "Only Connect" look like "Ask The Family".

[Tim Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of very tricky word puzzles. Be warned: you will need to know a lot about English culture. If you don't know your Monty Python, your Winnie the Pooh, your football clubs, your London Underground, etc., you will find many of these insoluble. You must have read the right books, seen the right films, watched the right sports, and sung the right carols. Know your Alpha Bravo Charlie and your Morse Code. You should have done French and German at high school. And most of all, you need to be a cruciverbalist.

[No, I do not know the founding members of One Direction. I don't believe Alan Turing did, either.]

[Jake Stogden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the puzzles are really reaching to the point that the idea that their solution is the most sensible is just false. I enjoy a hard puzzle but with enough free range you could draw connections between literally anything.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the kind of book that you read in one sitting but delve into occasionally and try to solve a few puzzles, at-least that's how I'm reading it. I'm rating this book, however I'm only part way through it (I suspect I'll dip into it over the next few months whilst reading another book).

Solving the individual puzzles seems impossible at first, but once you get the hang of it it becomes much simpler! How effective learning the style of puzzles will be towards the harder questions at the end remains to be seen, but if you can solve at-least 25% of the puzzles, I still think you'll find it entertaining!

Certainly you have to be interested in puzzle books to even give this a go, if you are, then I'm sure you'll be hooked like me!

[Bidisha Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of the puzzles are extremely difficult. But in starter puzzles and also in the section 2 I have solved some questions independently. This excites me. I think I am going to be totally absorbed in the book for next several months.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can say with confidence that I was unable to enter the minds of those who set these fiendishly smart – a judiciously restrained adjective - puzzles in spite of their occasional assistance and a useful appendix. Well, GCHQ doubtless needs minds like these for post-Bletchley Park decryption and ante-Global World War III etc, but I won’t be joining them anytime soon. Or ever.

Tasters follow, which I hope I have transcribed accurately.

Christmas Songs
RTATTEFTFEBYSTASFN
WTWLYRDWDOWNHESSYRMACGSACS

Sums
(Monkey + Dragon + Rabbit) – (Dog + Rat) = ?
(OF x EA – FR x SL) / (CR + AL +SH + OZ) = ?

Language
Explain the following: falkun, homem de Guerra, kock, lavoro, moed, mosca, raccordement, schäfer, stobhach, tre, zevk

What’s the film?
HAND, LONE, TWO, WHOLE; LADY, LIFE, SUCH, WORKMAN; BAND, DIG, ORB, PULP; EARS, GUNS, MUGS, SNAPS.

Lists
The following list is in order, Explain why.
OM, JT, UM, VT, SA, IS, BE, TB, OI, MG

If you can solve those, congratulations, and buy the book. If you’re fascinated by them, consider buying it. Otherwise, you have been warned.

Answers available only in the book.

Not sure I actually liked it.... The star-rating system fails me with a volume like this. But I will say one thing for it - it's a bumper volume, and from that point of view well worth the money.

[Karl Holton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will very quickly get your brain going.

Some of them are very tough, even at the start ... but they are fun and you should stick with it.

But don't beat yourself up when you get stumped. No one is going to get every one of these.

[Paul Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

some very difficult questions, most answers are very obscure, but I suppose that's what makes a good codebreaker

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cut above your average puzzle book.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but the puzzles were far to tricky for me - great for puzzle fans though!

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ongoing to push your thinking skills. Not one you just start to read and do and finish quickly... often fun to do with family sit down time. #thinkingoutsidethebox

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It turns out I am not destined for a life as a code breaker for MI5. The disappointment is real y'all.

[David Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardest IQ test puzzles ever. Superb.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

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