Cipher · Practice · Hints

Cipher #193 hints — Sunday, 12 July 2026

Stuck on today's wheel? Here are three nudges that get harder, then the answer at the very bottom. Nothing above the last section spoils the word.

Standard band — A midweek puzzle: ordinary letters, no tricks.

The ciphertext

This is what the board shows you before any guess. Repeated symbols mean repeated letters.

X·J·G·W·O·L·
Hint 1 — The shape of it

Today's word has 6 different letters across six positions, all of them different. The vowels sit at positions 3 and 4.

Hint 2 — Where to start

It begins with S and ends with D. If you can place either of those, the wheel hands you that mapping and the ciphertext starts reading back at you.

Hint 3 — Narrowing it down

The word contains more than one vowel and its letters are all fairly ordinary. First three letters: SHI…

Show the answer to Cipher #193

The word was SHIELD.

XSJHGIWEOLLD

Which means the wheel mapped S→X, H→J, I→G, E→W, L→O, D→L.

Play today's Cipher →

Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #193 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.