Rules:

  • Do not leak the link nor the game being offered.
  • Do not share answers.

There are no hints provided on the puzzle. If it seems that no one can get it, hints will be provided via update to this post and nowhere else.

Which game is it, you say? Well, you'll have to solve the puzzle, won't you?
That's the fun of it!

Good luck! Ends Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 7 PM PDT.

http://itstoohard.com/puzzle/ctZewYmC

  • Update: Set inventory to private so the game won't be known!
  • Update 2: HINT: The first question utilizes a polyalphabetic cipher, whereas the second utilizes a monoalphabetic cipher.
  • Update 3: HINT 2: There are no spaces in the first question. All letters provided represent real letters.
  • Update 4: HINT 3, The Monumental Hint: Actual words, not gibberish.
  • Update 5: HINT 3A: Plaintext and key are made up of intelligible words, not random letters.
  • Update 6: HINT 4: Cipher used was coined before the seventeenth century.
  • Update 7: HINT 4A: To build upon the prior hint, this cipher was one of few notable polyalphabetic ciphers in use during that period.
  • Update 8: HINT 5: This cipher in history included some involvement by Kasiski.
  • Update 9: HINT 6: Key is NOT equal to or greater than the plaintext length. That would create a sort of one-time pad, which is perfect secrecy, granted the key is used no more than once and is also random.
  • Update 10: HINT 7: It uses the Vigenere cipher (Question #1).
  • Update 11: HINT 8: Key length is between 1-10 characters.
  • Update 12: HINT 8A: Key length is between 7-10 characters.
  • Update 13: HINT 9:, Mad Dash to the Finish: There are nine cipher alphabets used in Question #1.

Ended! Solutions were:

  • Question #1: Key/Answer: gladiator

    • Full codeword: gladiatorgladiatorgladiatorgladiatorgladiato
  • Question #2: Answer/plaintext: this one is far easier to solve than the other one

NOTE: There was an error (by me) in the converting of the seventh character of Question #1. This was unintentional and for this, I apologize. However, to look at the bright side, it did help to simulate (just a tiny bit) the difficulty one might have had when it was solved back when the cipher was prevalent in use as there was human error and intentional errors. Future puzzles will be checked ten times over as well as being checked by a third party who will either know nothing of Steam or will be disqualified from entry.

You may wish to view the giveaway's page directly as there are some comments on there that you may find interesting from the first couple solvers: http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/C6Bgh/fortix

12 years ago*

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I don't know what is polyalphabetic and monoalphabetic cipher.

12 years ago
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12 years ago
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2 was solved on the spot : I coded a little program to brute-force this particular cipher two years ago (it tests all the possible substitution and selects the most probable based on letter frequency).

Let's see if the first cypher is what I think it is.
EDIT: "This program has stopped working." Don't know why, but I really don't feel like going back to that old code. Let's try to do it by hand.

12 years ago
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I broke your program. I'm sorry.

12 years ago
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Lol, I doubt that. It's probably bugged in a way I forgot about. :)

EDIT: Started working on it again, I have a lead which you probably left intentionally.
EDIT2: Pretty certain about the key length. But one of the substitutions is evil because it defies my frequency analysis. ^^

12 years ago
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If you say that the first one is all real letters, does that mean it'll form a word or anything or just random codes.

12 years ago
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Does that also mean the key word (if there is one) is a real word?

12 years ago
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New update.

12 years ago
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we're supposed to guess what the key is?

12 years ago
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You are meant to decipher, which may require a key in order to do so. That, in turn, reveals the plaintext (that which was enciphered to provide the ciphertext, which is what you see as Question #1). From there, you will know what to do, as it is spelled out for you.

12 years ago
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yeah but how is the key related to the cipher text?

12 years ago
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The key is made up by three letters, right?

12 years ago
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That is for you, and you alone, to determine in your cryptanalysis.

12 years ago
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Solved.

12 years ago
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I hate you

12 years ago
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Holy shit. Good job.

12 years ago
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wow gj

12 years ago
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2q solve in 30seconds, 1q so confused

12 years ago
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I hate you a little :D
Now I MUST crack your code ...
mumble mumble ...
Second one was easy peasy ... Stuck on Vigenere's one ...

12 years ago
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And what if it's not a Vigenere? It could be a Beaufort for all you know. Or maybe not.

12 years ago
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hmmm ...

12 years ago
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-brain explodes-

12 years ago
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Huzzah for puny ciphertext that's a pain in the ass to analyse. I'm giving up on this one. OP, you gonna post the solution when the giveaway's closed?

Also, would it be too much to ask if it's a game I already have in my library?

12 years ago
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I will post the solution when it is closed, yes.

12 years ago
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don't give up! there are many tools in the web that can help you. and the third hint is really helpful

12 years ago
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These puzzles are addicting. I've been researching polyalphbetic ciphers for an hour instead of playing video games! I still haven't made any progress though. :\

12 years ago
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It is addicting! Mind-boggling, frustrating, and infuriating, but addicting and fun!

12 years ago
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I cannot find your key. Not sure how alamarjan did it without at the very least the key length, unless he happened to guess your keyword or phrase.

12 years ago
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There are two solvers now! I will post perhaps a few more hints before I feel that the hints have been spent.

12 years ago
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A hint about the key would be nice :D

12 years ago
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With polyalphabetic ciphers, it's not too hard, really -- especially if you take the third hint into account.

12 years ago
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finally solved it :)

12 years ago
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Confirmed solved! Good job! It's not easy, you should be proud.

12 years ago
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thanks! this made my day :))

12 years ago
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I give up. I dont have the time to get stuck like this. Got suck on finding the key for the first one. ;(

12 years ago
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Deleted

This comment was deleted 6 years ago.

12 years ago
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Another hint?

12 years ago
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I can't find the key ;_;

12 years ago
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Give us a range of the key? I keep getting gibberish until I think I can speak gibberish now. szh;hetg'OWHTGOIwh'hgnv

12 years ago
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i give up. After more than 20 hours on this cant find any solution and hints where no help. Hints where not precise enough as more hints came, it became harder and harder. But the second one was found in nearly the second try. How the hell how we supposed to find the key and the encryption method? To find one we need the other and to find the other we need the first one. INSOLVABLE. I tried everything i could find online but all i got was gibberish, EVEN with the new hints. If i try it again i hope you will give us more HINTS that will help us solve this.

12 years ago
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I believe it's possible if you already have experience with cryptanalysis. To me all of this is completely new and trying to solve it meant a lot of learning.
I gave up after manually brute-forcing my way through half the alphabet on a specific cipher. It could be many different ciphers rendering all of it in vain, so I figured sinking another 8 hours into it would probably be a bad idea. Don't throw good time after bad, right?

12 years ago
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You can't really say "insolvable" since there are already three entrants in the giveaway. There are tools (not AUTOMATED tools, mind you) that can help you solve the cypher. It just takes patience.

12 years ago
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http://www.secretcodebreaker.com/polyprog.html

I'm using this one, but I haven't found the goddamn key yet.

12 years ago
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same..

12 years ago
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no this is not insolvable. even without tools you can still solve it with pen and paper (if you've experienced with cryptanalysis before). start with a smaller idea :)

12 years ago
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damn YOU

12 years ago
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Check the hints again.

12 years ago
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Sometimes, as silly as it sounds, merely making educated guesses, gathering what characters you can, and moving down a myriad of pathways from there can be your best bet, especially with a sample too small for true frequency analysis.

12 years ago
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Found it finally!!!!

12 years ago
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I've dreamed about this thread today x.X

12 years ago
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Golden Sun!

12 years ago
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I think I got the first few letters.

12 years ago
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Keep going! You've got until 7 PM PDT!

12 years ago
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"Vigenere cipher can be unbreakable cipher (this has been proved in 1949 by Claude Elwood Shannon) while maintaining the three rules:
the key used to encrypt the message was greater than or equal encrypted messages
key must be generated in a completely random (there can be no way to play a key based on knowledge of pseudo-random number generators),
key can not be used to encrypt more than one message."

...

12 years ago
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keyword: can

which is debunked by the third hint: key is not completely random, but composed of actual word(s)

12 years ago
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Hints updated. Key is not random and is not equal to or greater than the plaintext's length.

12 years ago
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I am so confused :(

12 years ago
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So the key is NOT random? either way, I'm just as lost as everyone!!!

12 years ago
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No, it is not random. It is an intelligible word in the English language.

12 years ago
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I got number 2 but after about an hour and a half of work giving up on number 1, it was brutal

12 years ago
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In 10 minutes I got the second, the first one is damn hard.

12 years ago
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Closed 12 years ago by totalanonymity.