# GCHQ Christmas Challenge **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [December 14, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507 "2022-12-14T13:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/1 "2022-12-14T13:11:12Z")
Every year GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence and security organisation, sets some challenges within a Christmas card. These are supposed to be for kids (for goodness sake), but they present a pleasingly solvable challenge for adults. I thought it would be nice to share. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fj7r--tXoAAcNvv?format=jpg&name=large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fj7r--tXoAAcNvv?format=jpg&name=large) Front of the card: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fj7r_K4XkAUgVb4?format=jpg&name=large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fj7r_K4XkAUgVb4?format=jpg&name=large) I’ve only tried the first one so far and the answer is SEAWEED See how you get on with this and the others. Website with the published quiz is here BTW: [NCSC](https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/xmaschallenge2022?redirectOrigin=GCHQChristmasChallenge) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/2 "2022-12-14T15:10:05Z")
Well, #2, languages, is Polish for dog, _pies_ . That’s very cute! (I’ll leave others to other folks) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/3 "2022-12-14T16:51:21Z")
I concur with the previous posters, in addition I believe the answer to the third “Coding” puzzle is carpentry. Minor hint for the final puzzle: I think calling it “Mathematics” is misleading, I would say it’s a word puzzle. Thanks for posting this! I’ve got a book of their ‘adult’ puzzles and simply don’t have the time/intelligence to get some of them. These are just right for a momentary diversion. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/4 "2022-12-14T17:27:41Z")
Not overly hard, presumably because they’re aimed at kids, although I haven’t attempted the codebreaking one yet. If you type the first three answers into w3w you end up in Alaska, but they don’t specify how all the words fit together. ETA: Welp, the codebreaking one didn’t take long either. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/5 "2022-12-14T17:51:55Z")
And solved, once I bothered to read the instructions. The answer of course is: BE SURE TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/6 "2022-12-14T22:12:14Z")
I’m stuck on the Engineering one: Unless I’m mistaken, the third gear ends up midway between the E and the F And I can see two different defensible answers to the Analysis one: The word “two” is an even number, but the word “it’s” appears an even number of times. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/7 "2022-12-14T23:17:52Z")
For the analysis one, the answer is Director, because it has an even number of letters, while all the other words have an odd number. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/8 "2022-12-14T23:28:48Z")
OK, that’s a sufficiently statistically-unlikely fact that that’s probably the answer. I’ll buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/9 "2022-12-15T00:05:35Z")
It is the answer. Although I was joking about the secret message above, I’ve done the what3words bit properly and it all works, although the actual message is even less interesting than the fake one I mentioned above. > [@Chronos](#): > > I’m stuck on the Engineering one: Don’t overthink it. Just count around each wheel 20 letters in the appropriate direction for the cog. I got stuck because I didn’t initially see the “belts” between the second and third cogs, and the fourth and fifth cogs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/10 "2022-12-15T02:34:53Z")
And I got stuck because I did see the belts, and assumed that they were equal-radius (hence, 2.5 full rotations of one gear would be 2.5 full rotations of the next). ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/11 "2023-12-15T16:16:58Z")
Here’s this year’s challenge… [![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/2585/production/_132050690_quiz_long-nc.png) ](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/2585/production/_132050690_quiz_long-nc.png) This is supposed to be for kids… 😧 Click on the image to enlargen… The first one is easy: TIME ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/12 "2023-12-15T17:08:09Z")
Well, 2 and 4 are DAY and TREE if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/13 "2023-12-15T17:18:33Z")
#3 PENNY PITCH SIRIUS - BLACK DECLAN JASMINE STICKY - RICE SCARBOROUGH BEVERLEY PUDSEY - TOWNS IN YORKSHIRE BLACK RICE YORKSHIRE - PUDDING ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/14 "2023-12-15T17:21:14Z")
I solved the cryptogram on 7, but I’m missing something, er, obvious. First solve the code/Identity a 4-letter word/Look everywhere/Maybe it’s obvious. The whole thing is a card, maybe that’s it? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/15 "2023-12-15T17:22:48Z")
My guess: the first letters of each line spell FILM. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/16 "2023-12-15T17:23:23Z")
Oh, that works. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/17 "2023-12-15T17:29:31Z")
#5 is STOCKING. But I confess I got that off just the first and last sequences. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/18 "2023-12-15T17:29:58Z")
Me too! The middle two have me stumped. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/19 "2023-12-15T17:36:18Z")
Okay, the third sequence: WvU,t,SrQ,p,OnM,l,KjI . I’m giving up on the second one! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507/20 "2023-12-15T17:43:08Z")
Got it. It’s CO MP LE TE backwards. Teamwork! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gchq-christmas-challenge/976507.md?page=2)