Pigpen cipher

How does the pigpen cipher work?

Draw two noughts-and-crosses grids and two X shapes. Letters A to I go in the cells of the first grid, J to R in the second, which has a dot in every cell. S, T, U and V take the four arms of the first X, W, X, Y and Z those of the second, with a dot.

Each letter is then written as the lines around its cell, plus the dot if there is one. A becomes a corner, E a closed square, S a V.

A bit of history

The cipher is recorded among Freemasons as early as the 18th century, who used it to keep their writings away from prying eyes. Its English name refers to the letters sitting in their pens, like pigs. Several variants exist, with the letters laid out differently.

Using it in an escape game

It is one of the escape game favourites: it looks mysterious, draws easily on a wall, a map or a scroll, and yields to a bit of logic once the grid is found.

Good practice: hide the reference grid in the scenery instead of handing it out. If you use a variant, check that your grid and your message match.

Frequently asked questions

Which variant does this tool use?

The most common one: A to I in a grid, J to R in a grid with dots, S to V in an X (S top, T left, U right, V bottom), W to Z in an X with dots.

How do I decode a pigpen message?

For each symbol, note the shape of the cell and whether it has a dot, then find the letter in the table. With the symbol keyboard, just click the shapes in order.

Does the cipher have digits?

No, it only encodes the 26 letters. Digits are spelled out or left as they are.

Turn your message into a puzzle

On In-Evasion you build a free online escape game: every puzzle has its code, each code found opens the next one, and your players solve it all together on a shared board.

Other tools

• Caesar cipher
• Vigenère cipher
• Morse code
• Letters to numbers