A cryptogram is a phrase or quote that has been encrypted by simple letter substitution. The phrase 'This is a cryptogram' might turn into the encrypted phrase:'FKDR DR U BAZOFMIAUC'

In this cryptogram you can see that throughout the phrase the letter 'T' has been replaced by the letter 'F', the letter 'A' has been substituted with 'U', and so on.

One important rule - a letter can never be substituted with itself.

You solve the cryptogram with a trial and error process, guessing the letters that have been replaced. After you work on cryptograms for a while you learn to see patterns of common words - practice makes perfect!

Here are a few tips to get you going:

The only (well...by far the most common) single letter words are 'A' and 'I'. Look for common letter combinations, like 'QU', 'TH' & 'SH'. The words 'THE & ARE are the most common three letter words. Watch for the pattern XCBX. This is usually the word 'THAT'. All words have at least one vowel (except 'WHY & 'RHYTHM').

Have fun and good luck!

CRYPTOGRAM OF DECEMBER 2001 TSU IS O NCSU QSL FPU ATOF CRUFXRAARV, OM QSL IS CSA VRBXQ? And here is your hint: C=N

CRYPTOGRAM FOR JANUARY 2002 KI IKQ AOY QSQT NIDJWORKQH IB O JOTONALMQ KIM IJQKRKX And here is your hint: T=R

CRYPTOGRAM FOR FEBRUARY 2002 JXHTH PY QV RMJMTH PQ BQN ZVO. JXH RMJMTH IPHY PQ JXH SBQ CXV XVIAY JXH ZVO. And here is your hint: R=F

CRYPTOGRAM FOR MARCH 2002 IOWXOI HZ GFMZ CAKC CIKPFQZ KC CAF ZVFFU XR ZXOGU. And here is your hint: U=D

CRYPTOGRAM FOR APRIL 2002 QMTP DX RQDAO RZY BUHHDUKP DX OPEDADYPQI UA PIP-MVPAPH And here is your hint: T=V

CRYPTOGRAM FOR MAY 2002 D GPI BM CMYQWXDIU WXPW MWXQH AQMARQ GPIW. D GPI HQPB YJ XPIBEHDWDIU. And here is your hint: E=W

CRYPTOGRAM FOR JUNE 2002 VNLT INL CGDTW GLQW INL CGDTW, SLI KXI KY INL VQF. And here is your hint: X=U

CRYPTOGRAM FOR JULY 2002 TCNXAJNXT JA JT RXAAXO AC OXNVJI HMJXA VIU RX APCMDPA V SCCF, APVI AC TEXVQ VIU OXNCZX VFF UCMRA. And here is your hint: U=D

CRYPTOGRAM FOR AUGUST 2002 IW RWT OJYB BW GWDAZB JNN RWTD WBLZD OWDDMZF? OZJD BMALB FLWZF. And here is your hint: A=G

CRYPTOGRAM FOR SEPTEMBER 2002 XAB WVLLBQBCRB PBXNBBC TBCVFI SCW IXFZVWVXD VI XASX TBCVFI ASI VXI JVKVXI. And here is your hint: A=H

CRYPTOGRAM FOR OCTOBER 2002 MD AK JFXKM DBKQ GIUM TDJ HD PDM IUBK NX MD GUXMK GIUM TDJ HD IUBK. And here is your hint: M=T

CRYPTOGRAM FOR NOVEMBER 2002 HGR UAWCL IAV WZ HGJWVYZ PV KVI PAQ CHIG WZ PVV RVYGS PV LV WP. And here is your hint: G=N

CRYPTOGRAM FOR DECEMBER 2002 AET STHA GDN AET RCHA STGBAKIBZ AEKDFH KD AET VCPZN MGDDCA ST HTTD CP TXTD ACBMETN. AETU RBHA ST ITZA VKAEKD AET ETGPA. And here is your hint: S=B