Level 5 · Mysteries & Monsters
Mission 404
The Explorer’s Cipher: A Secret Code Diary
Badge: Code Keeper
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Invent a cipher, write a coded diary in a book and quill, stump the family.
Your case notes are too dangerous for plain words. Invent a code, write the diary, dare anyone to crack it.
- New skill Writing and signing a book and quill
- Level 5 · Mysteries & Monsters
- Difficulty Intermediate
- Mode Survival
- Time 40–60 min
- Ages 13+
What you’ll build
Invent your own secret alphabet by shifting every letter along, then craft a book and quill to keep a case diary. Write the title in plain words and everything else in code, sign the book to seal it and hide it at HQ. Give a family member your key as a riddle and time how long they take to crack it.
Finish line: Your coded case diary is signed, hidden and cracked, and you've decoded a secret reply.
Bonus challenge: Scramble the whole alphabet instead of shifting it. That's about 400 million million million million possible keys. Can anyone crack it now?
You’ll need
- Sugar cane for paper
- Leather
- An ink sac
- A feather
- A chest
- A family member to crack the code
You choose
- My cipher's codename
- My secret shift number (1–25)
- Who gets my first coded message
Stuck?
- A book and quill needs a book, an ink sac (from squid) and a feather (from chickens).
- Once a book is signed it can never be edited, so check your coded pages carefully before you sign.
- Code going wrong near the end of the alphabet? Letters loop back round, so with shift 3, X becomes A.
For grown-ups
Get this mission
This mission is in Mission Pack 40 (Level 5: Mysteries & Monsters). Its printables arrive in the store soon. We release about one level a month.
Print one mission at a time. You never need to print everything.
Played on Minecraft Bedrock on iPad. Buttons can differ on other devices and versions.