Re: Alan Turing Cryptography Competition

On Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:58:09 +0000, Mike Terry wrote:

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...  :/

Yes, a similar experience here. It's a good effort and I'm enjoying the
Alan Turing Cryptography Competition and Mathsbombe

The National Cipher Challenge< from the University of Southampton, is on a
different level, and you may enjoy that more. However, I still sense, with
the NCC, that there is some sort of meltdown going on with the
competitors, as the problems continue to get harder and harder, and the
competitors get more and more frustrated.

Setting clear and concise puzzles is certainly not easy. Even basic
communication, over the Internet, is fraught with difficulties and
challenges. It is good that Manchester University are giving it a go.

I should make more effort myself...
--
David Entwistle