Every letter becomes its place in the alphabet: A=1, B=2, all the way to Z=26.
Turn this message into a real game: create a virtual lock your players must crack open.
A1Z26 replaces every letter with its position in the alphabet: A becomes 1, B becomes 2, and so on up to Z, which becomes 26. Numbers are separated by dashes, like "12-5-1" for the word LEA. Simple, visual, and easy to check against a grid.
Unlike the Caesar cipher or Atbash, A1Z26 has no famous inventor or military backstory — it's a modern system, born alongside the teaching of math and logic, and now widely used to bridge letters and numbers in classrooms, textbooks, and educational games for beginners.
For a treasure hunt, it's the perfect cipher for younger kids: no scrambled letters to memorize, just counting through the alphabet at their own pace. It builds real confidence fast, and makes a great first step before moving on to trickier codes like Vigenère or the Polybius square.
Plain message
OPEN THE CHEST
Coded message
15-16-5-14 / 20-8-5 / 3-8-5-19-20
Split the numbers at the dashes, then count through the alphabet: 1=A, 2=B, and so on. With a printed grid in hand, even a 7 or 8-year-old can decode a short word in a few minutes without a mistake.
Yes, very — there's no key or shift to guess, just a fixed correspondence. That's exactly what makes it a great starter cipher for kids, before moving on to ciphers with a secret keyword, like Vigenère.
Yes — on CrackAndReveal you create a lock whose expected answer is the decoded word. Players count the letters, type their answer online, and the lock opens automatically, perfect for a self-guided treasure hunt.
Yes, it's actually very common: adding up a word's numbers to get a final total, or multiplying certain positions together. This lets you build multi-step puzzles, great for adding difficulty to a treasure hunt for older kids.
With CrackAndReveal, your coded message becomes a virtual lock to crack: players decipher your code, enter the solution and reveal your surprise.
Create a free lock