Re: Cryptomania
 

Link, you don't need to hide each sentence; we're a rather private thread here :lol:

... So i need to convert the hex numbers to decimal?
Let's say 'convert the hex digits to decimal'...
... although, because of the 'G', it's not pure hex, but you've got the hang of it.

Re: Cryptomania
 

:P

so then c3 would be 123? Can't. theres not enough letters.
So i have to convert the DIGITS to hex?

Re: Cryptomania
 

... c3 would be 123?
Pretty close. Strictly speaking, my 'c3' is a 12 and a 3.
Hence my '83' is an 8 and a 3. ;)

Re: Cryptomania
 

separate the two. Convert the letters indivually!

Wait. position number and letter? can't be i did that

hold on.. i get it:P

VIVE L AMOUR MET A GIRL IM GONNA MARRY HER BROTHER

Re: Cryptomania
 

:smlove2:
Vive l'amour! Met a girl. I'm gonna marry her brother.

Your turn, link :jossun:

Re: Cryptomania
 

WHEW

lucky i had one ready :P

Attachment 78886

Warning: It might be evil ;)
bedtime for me

Re: Cryptomania
 

I've missed two cryptograms :sobbing: (I'll think about them and come back with questions, I tried to begin with Hel's one but didn't know what to do... and I still don't know how to solve it, even after having read all the posts... :rolleyes:)

About the new one (hi, linkinpark!) those resemble greek letters, but...
I'll be back (crying, for sure :tongue:)

Re: Cryptomania
 

Hi bruja! Bolaf's crypto wasn't that hard (well, once you got the hang of it)
Hel's I have no idea on (so that's why I didn't comment before :tongue:)

Not greek

Re: Cryptomania
 

Mary, Queen of Scots led me here
As edgcfndixsucfse doesn't seem to be an English (or Scottish) word, I guess we'll have to do something else.... :rolleyes:

A cry for help:

Re: Cryptomania
 

Mary queen of scots :nod:
The string of letters are right. First step done :)

Regarding Hel's, you'd have to ask Bolaf

Re: Cryptomania
 

Did you also leave a hint about what to do with those letters or do we have to try "usual" encryption methods?

....I already tried my favourite technique Attachment 78925

Re: Cryptomania
 

I guess I should have left a clue. (considering there's a few more steps)

I'll hint:

Ask Snow White before you decrypt

Re: Cryptomania
 

Ask snow white????? :lol: ok, I'll do it.

[edit] OT: funnily enough, just typing "snow white" in google showed that... I have that very book! Pity I never watched that series... I could have felt more clever than Sherlock himself :tongue:

*back to find Snow White*

Re: Cryptomania
 

Interesting find :) but nope. keep it simple.

Re: Cryptomania
 

Simple... simple.... Well, simplicity is my second name:Attachment 78927

The only simple thing that comes to mind is using a mirror... but I already tried mirroring the sentence to bruteforce it....

Re: Cryptomania
 

mirror :) and which cipher would that be?

What you get is Step 2

Re: Cryptomania
 

C'mon, spit out the hints for step 3, 4, etc... :talker:

Re: Cryptomania
 

:tongue: well was waiting for bruja for step two
but since she has the right idea ;) i guess i'll spill

Step 3: decrypt using what you see (and a key)
That's all

Re: Cryptomania
 

Did you leave a hint about the key in the picture? queen of hearts, alice in wonderland, mary queen of scots... babington plot?

Re: Cryptomania
 

Had to redo the code. (Same Answer)

Attachment 78955

Re: Cryptomania
 

As of link's puzzle: wrote me a little script yesterday to process different variations of Mary's cryptotext (pure, mirrored [aka reverse, rot13, atbash], etc...) by using a handful of common ciphers and a variety of keys. I saved the list of (around 100) results for later analysis but soon deleted the script itself because I couldn't spot meaningful solutions in the list at that time.
Today, when I had a final look at those results, I found a slightly crippled string which could be interpreted as ALICE IS INNOCENT. Alas, since my code is already deleted, I couldn't even say which cryptotext/cipher/key-combination led to said result. So this is my state of affairs so far. :thinking:

Re: Cryptomania
 

I did the same, tried those "mirrorings" (reverse, rot13 and atbash... didnt' try "etc" because I don't know other ways of mirroring a message :tongue:) and applied variations of the keys I suggested above, using different common keyed encryption methods... but as I still stick to pencil and paper the number of possible combinations overwhelmed me. And I'm likely to have missed applying one of the keys to one of the methods to one of the mirrorings....
...and my best result was: catontartambuyo :lol:

...the new message has 16 letters, the previous one had only 15
...the character belongs to kingdom hearts, that makes me think the keys related to hearts were on the right track... but I'm not sure I want to repeat the process unless I learn how to write a script (and this is not going to happen soon :rolleyes:)

[edit] And thanks a lot, Bolaf! I'm going to try and solve Hel's message following your instructions. Then I'll come back asking for help to solve your postcard.

Re: Cryptomania
 

You're both right :) Alice is innocent!

Bruja identified the keyword, and the cipher is obvious ;)

The previous version had mirror (atbash) then vigenere keyed (but i thought it was too difficult, so i simplified it and removed atbash)

Re: Cryptomania
 

Re: Cryptomania
 

well, i assumed hex (but i get rubbish)
Unless its a mixture between hex and other stuff :confused:

and the dots in between?
theres 8 pairs of 2 in 4 lines making 64 (base 64?)

Converting hex to base 64 gives
Kc5Bh5b2Ka4a6MateXor0905423b00470d42/Badass=

Badass i don't think is a coincidence
I also see Mate Xor and XOR is a cipher. Could Mate be the key?

so if i see this right
Kc5Bh5b2Ka4a6
Mate
Xor0905423b00470d42
/Badass=

almost like a equation

Re: Cryptomania
 

- No keys involved
- The slash "/" is just a slash (to separate the badass from the rest)

Re: Cryptomania
 

is XOR involved? And is the word "Mate" important?

Re: Cryptomania
 

- "Mate" is what you have to do first.
- "Xor" is what you have to do thereafter.

Re: Cryptomania
 

Mate as in chess positions/notations?

Kc5
Bh5 b2 <- thats not possible (unless theres 2 of them)
Ka4 a6 <- again not possible movements
Mate

And it can't be Mate with these pieces (unless the positions arent following the rules)

Re: Cryptomania
 

... chess position ...
:nod:

Re: Cryptomania
 

Am i looking for a checkmate with the positions of the pieces? It's not possible with those notations.

Re: Cryptomania
 

... not possible with those notations ...
I wouldn't post unsolvable tasks :no:
Maybe it's not possible with your interpretation of the notation... ;)

Ok, the position (5 pieces) is defined by "Kc5 Bh5 b2 Ka4 a6".
Now you move: white, black, and white mates.

Re: Cryptomania
 

oh boy, seems impossible. Only 1 black piece and 4 white pieces?

If im reading the notation right, Black king c5, White bishop h5. white pawn b2, white king a4 and white pawn a6. (must have something wrong)

Re: Cryptomania
 

Each colour's list begins with its king :rolleyes:
And white (as usual) begins...

Today I'm generous, so here's my diagram:

Re: Cryptomania
 

goes to show you that i don't play chess :tongue: i used to

white king c5, bishop h5. pawn b2,
black king a4, pawn a6

got it

BLACK King a5 pawn a4
white king c5 bishop d1 pawn b4

Re: Cryptomania
 

... i don't play chess ...
Nevermind. It's a rather easy mate.

Re: Cryptomania
 

once you get which one was in which spot, then yea

Attachment 78996

Following the order of the code, the new code would be:
Kc5Bd1b4Ka5a6

Ugh......

Re: Cryptomania
 

Don't overthink. We're not talking reverse play. :no:

This is the position, and we (white) start moving...

[EDIT]
Just saw you were making some right moves. :nod:
Only the order wasn't correct.

Re: Cryptomania
 

isnt it right? Bd5 Ka5 b4 mate. The bishop moves to block off, forcing the king to go to the only spot, and the pawn mates the king.

BTW didn't look at the spoiler :tongue: figured it out myself ; (i hope) i tried hex on the positions

Re: Cryptomania
 

I guess "Bd5 Ka5 b4" was just a typo, because your diagram is correct...

So our mate is: Bd1 Ka5 b4 :nod:

Re: Cryptomania
 

ahh yes typo.

Ok recap:

29 ce 41 87 96 f6 29 ae
1a e8 c6 ad 79 7a 2b d3
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
dd 39 e3 6d db d3 4e 3b
d1 de 36 fc 16 9d 6a cb

dots equal to 64. Going from hex to 64 is
Kc5Bh5b2Ka4a6MateXor0905423b00470d42/Badass=

#1 Kc5Bh5b2Ka4a6Mate Mate refers to chess. solving it makes
Bd1 Ka5 b4

#2 Xor0905423b00470d42 Xor is a cipher. Theres also XOR Base64

#3 /Badass