Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing (Dover Brain Games & Puzzles)

My husband had a copy of this book when he was in elementary school, and after 20 years of reading in the car, at home, and sharing it with our young children, it was time for it to retire. Then my 9yo started Bear Cub Scouts and for part of the STEM/NOVA awards, he needed to learn about codes and ciphers. I instantly looked this book up and bought a copy. My son and my husband work on this together. It's so fun to see him learning about codes, and being able to easily write secret messages to his dad. It's a great book for boys who like puzzles (or secret messages - so pretty much all boys!)

A good and brief primer on cryptography (non-tech). Interesting read and the author's writing style left me wanting more. Would be useful for part of a math class with some hands on exercises or for someone desiring an exploration of a variety of (do-able) cryptography styles. Equally enjoyable for math and non-math types.

recommend for motivated children 11-15; It would have been nice to have some algorithms for decoding and a discussion of their efficiency

Our grandson, who is 6.5, made a point to tell me how much he enjoys this code book. He does read and do math above grade-level, so I think the book is better enjoyed by children who are a bit older, but the fact that he commented on the book let me know that it was a good choice.

This book is fun if you like codes. I used simple codes with my friends as a child, but there are lots more codes I never heard of in this book. I recommend it.

This is a charming little book. The references to typewriters and rotary phones only add to the charm. The codes and ciphers are perfect for children.

Not what i was expecting. It was more wording and not so many games. Returned it.

It is a gift to my 8-year-old son. I read together with him and it is very interesting and he likes it. It is a bit challenge for him though.

Good info for beginners

Love it

I bought this for my young grandson. It will set his imagination on fire. I can't wait to see his face when he gets it. Great book for kids to discover code making and code breaking and what kid doesn't like codes.

Fabulous book... learned a lot of thing... Thank you 🙏🏼

Brilliant. Excellent introductory summary into codes and ciphers, and some interesting history about their different uses over time. Great for explaining the different types of codes and ciphers and how you can write them yourself. Would highly recommend and is a very cheap alternative to the more detailed, high-level options.