At the end of The Code Book, I included The Cipher Challenge, ten separate messages encrypted using a series of different codes and ciphers, some ancient, some modern. Each of the ten messages contained a code word, and the first person to crack all ten stages and send in all ten code words would win a prize of £10,000. More details of The Cipher Challenge are available on this site

This web page tracks the progress of The Cipher Challenge. By checking the leader board, competitors could see who was the first person to crack each stage and gauge the strength of their rivals.

Because all ten stages had not been solved by 1 October 2000, then whoever was at the top of the leader board won a prize of £1,000. This went to Jim Gillogly and John Palagyi.

The main £10,000 prize went to a team of Swedes who appeared from nowehere, hence they were dubbed the stealth Swedes. Their story is told elsewhere on this site, so you can read in detail how they cracked each stage.

Stage 1

Solved by Carolyn Hawkes from Edinburgh on 1 September 1999

Stage 2

Solved by Alec McEachran from Staffordshire on 2 September 1999

Stage 3

Solved by Roger Gunn from Ealing Common on 7 September 1999

Stage 4

Solved simultaneously by Souraya Dyer from London and Roger Gunn from Ealing Common on 8 September 1999

Stage 5

Solved by Andrew Plater from Cambridge, England on 7 December 1999

Stage 6

Solved by Andrew Plater from Cambridge, England on 15 December 1999

Stage 7

Solved by Andrew Plater from Cambridge, England on 14 January 2000

Stage 8

Solved by Andrew Plater from Cambridge, England on 14 January 2000

Stage 9

Solved by J. Gillogly & J. Palagyi from America on 20 September 2000

Stage 10

Solved by the winners! Fredrik Almgren et al, from Sweden on 7 October 2000