Secret Code Activities for Kids
Fun, age-appropriate code-breaking exercises that introduce children to basic cryptography concepts. Perfect for classroom activities, rainy day fun, or birthday party games.
Secret Code Adventures
Difficulty: Beginner (Ages 6-12) | Time: 20 Minutes
Instructions: Become a secret agent! Use the code systems described in each question to encode or decode the secret messages. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
Alphabet Position Reference (A=1 to Z=26)
Use the Pigpen cipher grid to draw the symbol for the letter A
Hint: A is in the first position of the first grid
Write your first name using A=1, B=2, C=3 code
Hint: Find each letter position in the alphabet
Decode this backwards message: TERCES REPUS
Hint: Try reading the letters from right to left
Decode: 19-16-25 (A=1 code)
Hint: S=19, P=16, Y=25
Write HIDE using the Skip-a-Letter cipher (A=C, B=D, C=E...)
Hint: Move each letter forward by 2 positions
Mirror decode: bOOK (read in a mirror)
Hint: Some letters look the same in a mirror!
Decode the emoji message: sun-1 star-20 star-1 star-18 (numbers = letter positions)
Hint: Convert each number to its alphabet letter
Create a secret code name for yourself using the Reverse Alphabet (A=Z, B=Y, C=X...)
Hint: Z becomes A, Y becomes B, and so on
Crack the code: KHOOR ZRUOG (Caesar shift of 3, shift back)
Hint: Move each letter 3 positions back in the alphabet
Decode: 3-15-4-5 3-18-1-3-11-5-18 (A=1 code)
Hint: Convert each number to its matching letter