Codebusters B/C

[tigerjade003]

2022 Question Marathon Thread for Codebusters B/C.

Question Marathons Explained

[awesomeaidan123]

Relatively simple atbash cipher to start the marathon:

"Rm gsv vmw, rg'h mlg gsv bvzih rm blfi oruv gszg xlfmg. Rg'h gsv oruv rm blfi bvzih." -Zyizszn Ormxlom

[aakoala]

Relatively simple atbash cipher to start the marathon:

"Rm gsv vmw, rg'h mlg gsv bvzih rm blfi oruv gszg xlfmg. Rg'h gsv oruv rm blfi bvzih." -Zyizszn Ormxlom

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -Abraham Lincoln

This is (hopefully) my first year doing Codebusters, so I'm not really familiar with how to solve things. That being said, here's another atbash cipher to continue the marathon!

"Gsv jfrxpvhg dzb gl wlfyov blfi nlmvb rh gl ulow rg levi zmw kfg rg yzxp rm blfi klxpvg. -Droo Iltvih"

[awesomeaidan123]

"The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket. -Will Rogers"

This is also technically my first year doing Codebustsers so I love learning more:

Solve this Caesar Cipher with a shift of 3:
"Uron rb fqjc qjyynwb fqnw hxd'an kdbh vjtrwp xcqna yujwb." -Sxqw Unwwxw

[moonwax]

Solve this Caesar Cipher with a shift of 3:
"Uron rb fqjc qjyynwb fqnw hxd'an kdbh vjtrwp xcqna yujwb." -Sxqw Unwwxw

Click to Show Answer

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

-John Lennon

Solve this quote by Terry Pratchett encrypted using the Caesar cipher: "Pbzvat onpx gb jurer lbh fgnegrq vf abg gur fnzr nf arire yrnivat."

[aakoala]

Solve this Caesar Cipher with a shift of 3:
"Uron rb fqjc qjyynwb fqnw hxd'an kdbh vjtrwp xcqna yujwb." -Sxqw Unwwxw

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." -John Lennon

Solve this quote by Terry Pratchett encrypted using the Caesar cipher: "Pbzvat onpx gb jurer lbh fgnegrq vf abg gur fnzr nf arire yrnivat."

"Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."

I have no idea if you're supposed to put the shift number, but it was really great practice for learning word frequencies. ("gb" could translate to "id," "up," or "to," but "to" made the most sense so I started from there.

To continue with the Caesar cipher, solve this quote by Maya Angelou that was encrypted using the Caesar cipher.

"Tjp xvi'o pnz pk xmzvodqdot. Ocz hjmz tjp gjnz, ocz hjmz tjp cvqz."

[moonwax]

"Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."

I have no idea if you're supposed to put the shift number, but it was really great practice for learning word frequencies. ("gb" could translate to "id," "up," or "to," but "to" made the most sense so I started from there.

To continue with the Caesar cipher, solve this quote by Maya Angelou that was encrypted using the Caesar cipher.

"Tjp xvi'o pnz pk xmzvodqdot. Ocz hjmz tjp gjnz, ocz hjmz tjp cvqz."

In competitions, I don't believe Caesar ciphers generally include the shift number, but it's been a hot minute since I've taken an official test. Nice job working that out though!

Click to Show Answer

"You can't use up creativity. The more you lose, the more you have."

Another Caesar cipher: solve this quote by Oscar Wilde: "Wsqi geywi lettmriww aliviziv xlic ks; sxlivw aliriziv xlic ks."

[aakoala]

"Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."

I have no idea if you're supposed to put the shift number, but it was really great practice for learning word frequencies. ("gb" could translate to "id," "up," or "to," but "to" made the most sense so I started from there.

To continue with the Caesar cipher, solve this quote by Maya Angelou that was encrypted using the Caesar cipher.

"Tjp xvi'o pnz pk xmzvodqdot. Ocz hjmz tjp gjnz, ocz hjmz tjp cvqz."

In competitions, I don't believe Caesar ciphers generally include the shift number, but it's been a hot minute since I've taken an official test. Nice job working that out though!

"You can't use up creativity. The more you lose, the more you have."

Another Caesar cipher: solve this quote by Oscar Wilde: "Wsqi geywi lettmriww aliviziv xlic ks; sxlivw aliriziv xlic ks."

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

Again, another great practice for learning word occurrences! I originally started with "ks" decrypting to "we," but the first word made no sense. Then, it tried "ks" decrypting to "go," which fell in place very nicely. I also really liked the "wherever whenever" because they are so close to being the same word.

Solve this quote by Dr. Seuss encrypting using the affine cipher, given that (a,b)=(11,5). The quote is grouped by 5s; please let me know if this is against the rules.

Gdgex ndkwm jdrhf jarvg qxdsx oxkvd sqrgg ddsxo xkvds jdrhf jqxge xndkw m.

[sriver]

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

Again, another great practice for learning word occurrences! I originally started with "ks" decrypting to "we," but the first word made no sense. Then, it tried "ks" decrypting to "go," which fell in place very nicely. I also really liked the "wherever whenever" because they are so close to being the same word.

Solve this quote by Dr. Seuss encrypting using the affine cipher, given that (a,b)=(11,5). The quote is grouped by 5s; please let me know if this is against the rules.

Gdgex ndkwm jdrhf jarvg qxdsx oxkvd sqrgg ddsxo xkvds jdrhf jqxge xndkw m.

Click to Show Answer

To the world you may just be one person, but to one person, you may be the world. 

Although the quote was grouped in 5s, the two sections that match up + the last 5 characters and the 2nd group were convenient enough that it offset the added difficulty. The quote is great example of Suess's signature Chiasmus, making it pretty fun to crack.

I don't think the groupings of 5 are against the rules, although it's uncommon for affine. Historically, many tests group Vignere's into 5s although it's not explicitly stated on the rulesheet, so I'm sure it's fine for affine's as well. I'm no expert though.

Solve this quote which is from a notorious letter published by Benjamen Franklin. It's encrypted by the Rail Fence cipher, using 4 rails for encryption
(Sorry about my humor in advance, also don't include the spaces when decoding)
tlrprflrettdrt hlwbeoleeeobytahersauoiagaw aaeldeehfrrirsitfoonrtshehid tlptocenffectn

[moonwax]

Solve this quote which is from a notorious letter published by Benjamen Franklin. It's encrypted by the Rail Fence cipher, using 4 rails for encryption
(Sorry about my humor in advance, also don't include the spaces when decoding)
tlrprflrettdrt hlwbeoleeeobytahersauoiagaw aaeldeehfrrirsitfoonrtshehid tlptocenffectn

Oh, this was fun. I've never done a Rail Fence before, so this was definitely a bit of a challenge, especially in figuring out where each row started and ended, but it was great. I love the quote! I always appreciate a bit of puerile humor, haha

Click to Show Answer

That all well bred people therefore forcibly restrain the efforts of nature to discharge that wind.

Here's another Affine cipher, lifted from a book by Martha Wells, with a = 15 and b = 3: "Zfrqp erbdqn hdq sl tburmntgl. Cel cythx tn xllutqp celb dyfrqw mfqp lqfrpe cf slhfbl fmw erbdqn."