Latin dancing, Indian butter and US soldiers are some of the clues to this year’s secret Christmas challenge organized by the National Intelligence Agency.
GCHQ’s annual brainteaser comes in the form of a Christmas card, sent by director Ann Keith Butler.
This year’s puzzle challenges the public to decode the names of UK landmarks, testing skills including code-breaking, maths and lateral thinking.
GCHQ said that cheating requires ingenuity and persistence in difficult tasks.
The 2024 card also includes additional layers for those who want to challenge themselves further, with additional elements hidden within the code.
GCHQ’s chief puzzler, known only as “Colin”, described this year’s tests as “terrifyingly enjoyable”.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, he said that a third of secondary schools across the country had already downloaded them.
The first – and easiest – challenge consists of five pictures, representing a place name. Quizzers are asked to understand the location.
One of the more difficult puzzles asks to calculate how far the puzzle setters were from writing the numbers 1 to 20.
Ms Keast-Butler, director of GCHQ, said: “The challenge is designed to mix minds to solve, so is best tackled in groups of classmates, families or friends.
“Whether you have an analytical mind, a creative mind or prefer engineering, there is something for everyone.”
Meanwhile, “Colin”, who couldn’t be seen on camera, told the BBC that the challenge was made “partly for fun” – but also because of the variety of ways to solve it. requires thinking, it “mimics” the work done at GCHQ. Defense of the nation.”
“We need a mix of minds and a mix of perspectives to solve real-world puzzles, and because of that we encourage diverse thinking and that embraces neurodiversity,” he said.
Asked if he would recommend a career at GCHQ for schoolchildren who think they can solve puzzles relatively easily, the agency’s chief puzzler said that such “intelligence” That is exactly what the department is after.
He added that, with secondary schools downloading the tests, “a huge number of school children will see it and hopefully be motivated”.
The full challenge can be viewed below or on. GCHQ website.