Re: Alan Turing Cryptography Competition

On 20/02/2025 19:20, David Entwistle wrote:

On Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:49:46 +0000, Mike Terry wrote:
 

Well, I haven't decrypted anything yet.
Then again I've not made a really serious effort - I saw that it looked
like one of those "permuted block" cyphers where you write the text into
a block in one order and extract it in a different order.  I tried a
couple of obvious possibilities then got discouraged when they didn't
work out. There are literally hundreds of possibilities I could try, but
don't really have the time right now...

 Yes, it's all just for fun. The clue provided may help a bit with the
particular permutation.
 "M: Groan. This one will get you in a spin. If you get mixed up. Take a
deep breath and count to three"...
 

LOL I got the web page to accept my answer finally.  Deciphering the question didn't take too long, although even now I don't exactly understand how the permutation pattern is generated. (..but the deciphered text is clear at least.)
And then the problems start - the question wording combined with the web page instructions are REALLY unclear.  It must have taken me about 30 attempts at different interpretations (plus I realised I had overlooked something in my first attempted answer).  Frankly, for a web-site like this the challenge is supposed to be in the encryption/decryption, right?  Not in spending half an hour working out by trial/error what format text string the answer page is coded to accept...  :/
Mike.