This applet is designed to ease the process of breaking our substitution cipher problems.
They are still hard, mind you.

Here's what you do:
    1) Copy the encrypted version into the top box
    2) Click on "Guess Code." Now the computer will set the lines between the letters based on letter frequency analysis. Usually it gets the letter "e" correct. Don't count on anything else.
    3) Press "Decrypt." Now the computer has run the encrypted text through the decryption scheme using it's guess. This won't look good. However, I can assure you that "e" is correct in the decrypted version below.

So, how to proceed?

    4) Take a wild guess at a word. For instance, it's a good bet that a three letter word ending with "e" is "the."
    5) Drag the letters on top of each other to change the cipher until your wild guesses turn into real words. Before you know it, you'll be done and will have earned a place in our hall of fame!

You're probably wondering if a computer can do all the work and spit back at you the completely decoded version. The answer is yes. However, that's no fun! If you really want to find yourself a program to do the work for you, go ahead. We'll give credit for your resourcefulness.

This takes some practice, but it can be a lot of fun. Feel free to try with the help of friends. If you get it, we'll gladly put both your names up.