Cipher #202 hints — Tuesday, 21 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.
Gentle band — Monday and Tuesday are the kindest puzzles of the week.
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 4 different letters across six positions, so one letter appears twice — look at the ciphertext and you can see exactly where. The vowels sit at positions 1 and 4 and 5.
Hint 2 — Where to start
It begins with I 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: IND…
Show the answer to Cipher #202
The word was INDEED.
Which means the wheel mapped I→T, N→W, D→P, E→V.
Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #202 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.