Easy Cryptograms for Beginners
6–10 words · 60 puzzles
Short, everyday sentences with two letters already filled in.
🔐 Crack the code
Free Cryptogram Puzzles
Decode secret messages in a free cryptogram puzzle. Every letter has been swapped for another, and your job is to swap them back. Play on screen with hints, a timer and a letter-frequency table, or print a sheet with a box under every letter. 180 puzzles in three levels, plus a new daily cryptogram.
Every cryptogram is generated in code with a random substitution cipher in which no letter stands for itself. Texts are our riddles plus original sayings, jokes, tongue twisters and facts, and public-domain proverbs.
Choose a difficulty
Medium Cryptograms
11–20 words · 60 puzzles
Longer text, punctuation left in, and one letter revealed.
Hard Cryptograms
21–60 words · 60 puzzles
Long passages, no letters revealed and almost no punctuation.
How to solve a cryptogram
- Count how often each code letter appears. The most common is often E, T or A.
- Find one-letter words. In English they can only be A or I.
- Study short words: THE, AND, YOU, ARE, OF, TO, IN, IT, IS.
- Use apostrophes and double letters (LL, EE, SS, OO, TT) as anchors.
- Fill in a guess and the same letter fills everywhere. Spot a clash and back up.
The full how to solve a cryptogram guide has word patterns, common endings and a worked example.
Play on screen or print
- Type a letter and every matching box fills at once.
- Arrow keys and an on-screen keyboard work on desktop and phones.
- Conflicts, a letter tracker and a frequency table help you spot mistakes.
- Hints: reveal a letter, check the puzzle, or reveal the answer.
- Print one, two or four per page, with an optional frequency table. See printable cryptograms.
Love riddles? 98 of our cryptograms are riddles in disguise. See the riddle cryptograms.
Good to know
Free cryptogram questions
A cryptogram is a short message in which every letter has been swapped for a different letter. The same letter is always swapped the same way, so once you work out that, say, Q stands for E, every Q in the puzzle is an E. Your job is to find the whole code and read the message.
Never. In our cryptograms no letter ever stands for itself, so if you see a Q you know it is not a Q. That small rule is a surprisingly useful clue.
Yes. Every puzzle is free to print for home, classroom and personal use. Open a puzzle, choose the Print sheet tab, pick one, two or four puzzles per page and press Print. Answer pages are separate and hidden until you want them.
Press “Generate new cryptogram” on any level. Each click builds a fresh random cipher, and the link it gives you rebuilds exactly the same puzzle if you want to share it. There are also numbered puzzles with permanent pages, and a new daily cryptogram every day.
Many are riddles from our own collection, with the riddle's answer as a bonus “what am I?” once you crack the code. The rest are original sayings, jokes, tongue twisters and facts, plus classic public-domain proverbs. We never use famous quotes, song lyrics or book passages.
Start with easy ones and learn the habits: count letters, look for one-letter words (A or I), study short words like THE and AND, and watch apostrophes and double letters. Our step-by-step guide covers all of it.
Fancy a different kind of puzzle?
Try a medium riddle
Cracking a code and solving a riddle use the same skill: noticing what must be true. Here are a few medium riddles with answers.