A codeword looks hard at first. There are no clues, just a grid full of numbers. But the puzzle gives you more to work with than it seems, and once the first few letters are in, the rest usually follows quite quickly. This is the method most regular solvers use, in roughly the order they use it.
How a codeword works
Each square in the grid has a number from 1 to 26, and each number stands for one letter. Every square with the same number has the same letter, and no two numbers share a letter. Your job is to work out which letter goes with which number.
The puzzle starts you off with two or three letters already filled in. Most published codewords use all 26 letters somewhere in the grid, and many say so in the instructions. That becomes useful near the end, when you are down to the last few.
In the UK this puzzle is usually called a codeword. In Australia and New Zealand it is more often a Code Cracker, and you will also see Codebreaker or cipher crossword. The rules are the same whatever it is called.
Step 1: Fill in the letters you are given
Write each given letter into every square that has its number, not just the square where it is printed. Then add it to the key, the row of numbers from 1 to 26 that sits under most grids. It sounds obvious, but a missed square at this stage can cost you a lot of time later on.
Use a pencil if you are solving on paper. Good solvers still put a wrong letter in now and then, and rubbing one out is a lot easier than starting again.
Step 2: Count the numbers
Some letters turn up far more often than others. In the 86,000 words this site searches, E makes up 11.5% of all the letters, followed by S, I, A, R, N and T. If one number appears much more than the rest, it is a good candidate for E, unless E was one of the letters you were given.
Don't write a letter in on the count alone, though. Treat it as a hunch and test it against the words it would make.
Step 3: Look for patterns
The way numbers repeat often tells you more than the numbers themselves.
- Double letters. The same number twice in a row is a double letter. In our word list the most common doubles are SS, LL, OO, EE and TT.
- Word endings. If the same three numbers end several long words, they are very likely to be ING. ERS, ESS, ION and TED are also common endings.
- Q and U. Q is nearly always followed by U. Of the 1,326 words in our list that contain a Q, 1,320 have a U straight after it. Find one and you usually have the other.
- Short words. A three letter word has far fewer possibilities than a long one, so it is a good place to test a guess.
Step 4: Work across the crossings
Every letter you place sits in two words, one across and one down. So each new letter is also a new clue in the word that crosses it. Experienced solvers keep moving to whichever word has just become easiest, rather than trying to finish one corner before starting another.
Here is how much a crossing word narrows things down. Say you know that 9 is E, and you have this word:
On its own, 58 words fit it, including BETTER, LETTER and SETTER. Now add a word that shares three of its numbers:
Only 13 of the 58 can sit alongside a real word there. SETTER still works, with ROES, RUES or RYES across it, but BETTER and LETTER don't. You have gone from 58 options to 13 without placing a single new letter.
Step 5: Keep track of the letters left
Cross each letter off the alphabet as you place it. Towards the end, the letters you haven't used are often all you need. If two numbers are left and the unused letters are J and X, there are only two ways to fill them in, and one of them will usually look wrong.
The rare letters, J, Q, X and Z, are often the last to go in. They are easier than they look, because so few words can hold them.
When you get stuck
Everyone gets to a point where nothing seems to move. A few things worth trying:
- Check your key. It is easy to give the same letter to two different numbers without noticing.
- Find the word with the most letters already in it, even if it is a long one.
- Say the word to yourself with the gaps in it. Sometimes you hear the answer before you see it.
- Put it down for a while. It is surprising how often the answer is obvious when you come back to it.
If you would like a hand, the codeword solver on this site does the checking for you. Type in the numbers of a word, add the letters you know to the key, and it lists every word that follows the codeword rules. You can also enter two or more crossing words at once, as in the example above, and it shows only the answers that agree with each other.
Frequently asked questions
Does every codeword use all 26 letters?
Most do, and many say so in the instructions. If yours does, the letters you have not placed yet are a useful check near the end.
Is a codeword the same as a Code Cracker?
Yes. Codeword is the usual name in the UK and Code Cracker is the usual name in Australia and New Zealand. Codebreaker and cipher crossword are the same puzzle too.
Which letter should I look for first?
E, unless it was one of the letters you were given. It is the most common letter in English words. After that, look for double letters and for Q, which is nearly always followed by U.
Is it cheating to use a codeword solver?
It is your puzzle, so it is up to you. Plenty of people only use a solver to check a guess, or to get going again after they have been stuck for a while.