Codebusters C

[imaditi]

Do you guys have any suggestions on solving xenocrypts and patristrocrats?

[amberluo]

Do you guys have any suggestions on solving xenocrypts and patristrocrats?

For xenocrypts, keep in mind that "que" is the most common three letter word in the Spanish language by a lot, so if you see a three letter word where the first letter is low frequency and the last is high, it's most likely "que". Two letter words are quite helpful as well - "que" is usually preceded by "lo", and if you see a two letter word followed by another word that ends in the same letter, it's usually "la ______a". Also, in xenocrypts, the word pattern abcb is quite common, and this almost always tells you that b is either "a" or "o". With this in mind, some words that satisfy abcb are "para", "todo", "cada", "como" - these are the ones I thought off the top of my head, so they're probably the most common. One letter words are "y", "a", "o". Oh, and the most common two letter word is "de". Don't forget "una", "los", "las", "del", "des" as common three letter words.

For patristos, if they give you K1, focus on the words with no frequencies to fill in the K1 - these usually come in blocks like wxyz or pq or jk, but it's not super reliable. However, for patristos, that's sometimes all you've got. Look for repeated patterns. If there's a three letter pattern that comes up a lot, it might be "the". Don't rely on words like "that" or "never" in patristos, because they're usually incorrect. Also, don't be afraid to guess letters based on frequency, but don't overdo it, either. If you have no idea what to do, guessing a letter may help, but guessing too many will lead you on a wild goose chase and waste your time.

[bernard]

Scioly.org Codebusters event this weekend! There may be prizes!