Table of Contents
The issue
The treacherous Sheriff of Nottingham plans to rally his troops in his fortress, protected by a large moat with a single drawbridge. As the drawbridge begins to rise behind the sheriff’s troops, a lone figure appears in the field in front of the castle – the one and only Robin Hood!
The legendary archer’s only chance of saving the people of Sherwood Forest is to dash towards the fortress on his trusty steed, jump onto the bridge before it can close, and disrupt the rally before it can even begin. With incredible tactical acumen, Robin Hood surveys the field and begins to hatch a plan.
I consider it my sworn duty as a puzzle designer to see the National Treasure movies again each year. Who wouldn’t want to watch Benjamin Gates and his best friend Riley search the Declaration of Independence’s back for invisible ink? The answer to this week’s puzzle can be found in one of my favourite National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets sequences from 2007.
A remarkable code that is both challenging to crack without a computer and simple to crack by hand is the Playfair cypher. You may be familiar with the Cryptoquip from a newspaper’s comics section, where you must determine which letter has to be changed to an E. If you already know that one Q in the issue, for instance, equals E, then all of the other Qs do as well. The Playfair cypher is substantially more difficult to decipher since so many letters can be used to represent the letter E. A message can be easily decoded, though, if you are familiar with the system.
Let’s begin with a passphrase and an encrypted word. We’ll use DEATH as our passphrase, exactly like in Book of Secrets, but we’ll only encrypt the word TREASURE.
We will first require a 5×5 grid. The first letter of our passphrase will be filled in, followed by the remaining letters of the alphabet in order, all the way to the conclusion. Since there are only 25 spots available, we’ll group I and J.
Additionally, we must divide TREASURE into two-letter pairs:
RE TR E A
Find both letters in the grid by taking a pair. The two letters are either always in the same column, row, or neither.
Replace each letter with the letter immediately to the right if they are in the same row. For instance, DA would change into ET.
Richard Malena’s pseudonym
Replace each letter with the letter immediately below it if they are in the same column. For example, TS becomes GY.
Try decrypting this string instead: ML NG OV LO OI DY YL NR EX RQ AT QB
The Tip
Avoid using DEATH. You did discover the new password that was concealed in this post, after all.
It’s The Answer
Ready to hear the answer? See whether you’re correct and learn how to solve this puzzle, along with the full solutions to approximately 100 additional difficult riddles, by clicking here.
A 32-foot drawbridge is used. It has already been elevated 2 feet off the ground and seems to be climbing at a consistent 2 degrees per second rate. 200 feet separate Robin Hood from the drawbridge’s brink. He doesn’t think twice before urging his horse into a gallop so that he can attempt the jump before it’s too late.
Read more about how the authorities were able to put together the key to the IS “Beatles” claim to fame.
How therefore does this tale conclude? Will Robin Hood be able to reach the bridge? Or does he eventually dig himself out of the hole?
It’s a clue
You’ll need to make some assumptions to solve this challenge. Your initial realization should be that a drawbridge rests flat on the ground.
The terrain is uneven, so don’t worry!
The remedy
Ready to hear the answer? For the complete solutions to this puzzle as well as approximately 100 additional difficult riddles, as well as to find out whether you’re correct, click here.
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