{"id":343,"date":"2022-02-24T11:48:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T11:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/?p=343"},"modified":"2022-08-17T20:11:01","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T20:11:01","slug":"how-to-make-your-own-book-cipher-treasure-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/how-to-make-your-own-book-cipher-treasure-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Cipher Treasure Hunt Activity to Do with Your Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s early morning and I\u2019m researching anything and everything there is to know about secret codes and ciphers. More specifically, this morning I\u2019m going down the rabbit hole learning about book ciphers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever since I learned about book codes (a cousin to the Ottendorf cipher) from the movie National Treasure, I knew somehow I needed to incorporate this into a game with my kids. The idea that there are secret numbers on the back of the Declaration of Independence flooded my brain with possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But which direction do I go? I can go secret spy thriller where we discover a dropped code book while we\u2019re out for a walk (I\u2019m so going to do this at some point so stay tuned), or maybe even go the route of American history and \u201cfind\u201d an old copy of Lincoln\u2019s Gettysburg Address in the attic (which you can check out in my Ottendorf Cipher Treasure Hunt here).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today, we\u2019re going a different route. Today, we\u2019re going to the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The library has always held a certain mystique to me. Other than all the cool new things they now offer (There\u2019s a maker space at ours, and they do themed escape rooms. You seriously need to check out what your library is doing.), there is something special about the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make a Book Cipher Treasure Hunt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To make a book cipher treasure hunt, you simply plant clues in selected books. Each clue will be encoded using a book cipher, and the key to each cipher will the book in which the clue was found. The clue will be the title of the next book which will contain another encoded message and the new book will become the new key. The final book will contain the prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is a bit of planning that needs to happen ahead of time, it\u2019s all quite simple. Even better, you can use my clues, my suggested books, and the tips below to make the preparation go much quicker and smoother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Book Cipher?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before going too deep into how to go about creating this treasure hunt, let\u2019s first take a look at what a book cipher is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A book cipher (also known as a book code and Arnold cipher) is a type of substitution cipher in which words of the original message are replaced by a set of three numbers that point to a specific location where you can find that word in a book. The first number represents the page, the second number represents the line on that page, and the third number represents the word on that line. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The final coded message will have either a vertical or horizontal list of three numbers. Check out my article on Book Ciphers<\/a> to get a much more complete explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a couple tips when making your code:<\/p>\n\n\n\n