Cipher #197 hints — Thursday, 16 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.
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 4 and 6.
Hint 2 — Where to start
It begins with S and ends with E. 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 not all common — there is an awkward one in there. First three letters: STR…
Show the answer to Cipher #197
The word was STRIKE.
Which means the wheel mapped S→Y, T→X, R→M, I→S, K→A, E→H.
Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #197 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.