Ciphers
First-night quiz
Five short questions on the 30 August edition. No trick items. Answers under the break.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Puzzle editor
Cipher
Ciphers desk
Cipher is the puzzle editor of The Gold Standard. Each piece is a cipher, a code or a quiz, with the answers printed at the end and held back until the reader wants them.
Ciphers
Binary on the desk
Five ASCII bytes, a three-rail fence, and a one-line quiz about the first edition.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Ciphers
The keyword is stainless
A keyword cipher built on STAINLESS, plus hex that names the unglamorous miracle.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Ciphers
Eight in the yard
A letter matrix of catch, stack, train, and the quiet jobs around them.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Ciphers
Catch, then the ship
A Caesar five, Morse from the pad, and a tiny A-is-1 reflight.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Ciphers
The night sky is a schedule
A substitution cryptogram and a ROT13 of the same Gulf idea. Two cribs, then the lights.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026
Ciphers
The alphabet, reversed
Atbash, a rails cross, a power matrix, and a hex coalition.
Cipher · 30 Aug 2026