This flowchart is a starting place to determine what cipher or code you are looking for. This will NOT contain every possible cipher or variation but will be a good place to begin.
Does the ciphertext contain symbols?
Does the ciphertext contain both numbers and letters?
Does the ciphertext contain only numbers?
Does the ciphertext contain only letters?
Does the ciphertext contain only symbols?
Does the ciphertext contain symbols as well as numbers or letters ?
Is it repetitions of the following?
+, -, <,>, [, and ]OR OR
Yes No
Is it repetitions of periods and spaces? Or number pairs with digits ranging from 1 to 5, such as 11, 23, 55, etc?
Yes No
Is it repetitions of periods and dashes (possibly with a | or / between sets)?
Yes No
Is there anything in the description or hints that would suggest the text is a fiction or foreign language or alphabet?
Yes No
Try the
Code Tables directory or you can try
Code Tables Examples where you
can type in letters and see all matching code tables at once.
If you can't find the code here, try
Omniglot which has an extensive selection of languages and alphabets as well.
Try substituting letters for the symbols and running it through a Cryptogram solver.
Did it work?
Yes No
It could be a layered cipher. Take your results and start at the beginning again.
Are the letters just A, B, E, T or X? Or does it contain an upside-down 2 (
) or backwards 3 (
)?
Yes No
Does it have = or == at the end?
Yes No
Try this Rot47 decoder.
Did it work?
Yes No
Does it contain numbers with the following characters? - † , * ‡ . $ ( ) ; ? ¶ ] ¢ : [
Yes No
Does it have periods in odd places or does the letter "E" only appear at the end of the words?
Yes No
Is it composed of only dashes and ones?
Yes No
Does it have \, |, or / in the text?
Yes No
Is it composed of a number followed by \, |, or /?
Yes No
Try the
Vanity code method #4 . On a keypad \ is the left letter for the given number, | the central, and / the right.
It could be ASCII art. Take it into an editing program and play around with it.
Did it work?
Yes No
Try substituting other letters for the numbers, letters and symbols and running it through a Cryptogram solver.
Did it work?
Yes No
It could be a layered cipher. Take your results and start at the beginning again.
Are the letters just A, B, E, T or X?
Yes No
Does the cache page mention a keyword, a password, a passphrase, a key or anything like that?
Yes No
Find the keyword and run it through a
Vigenère Cipher .
Did it work?
Yes No Sort Of
Is it in two digit pairs with numbers plus only the letters A through F?
Yes No
Is it both upper and lower case letters as well as numbers?
Yes No
Try running it through different
number bases , at least Base 11 to Base 36.
Did it work?
Yes No
Try the custom Geocaching.com
Base 31 version. This version omits the letters I, L, O, S, and U.
Did it work?
Yes No
Is the ciphertext arranged in an evenly spaced grid?
Yes No
Is there anything in the description or hints that would suggest that a
Cardan Grille might be in use?
Yes No
Look for that Grille! Once you find it, try
Dcode.Fr 's online solver.
Is the number of characters in the ciphertext divisible by 4?
Yes No
It could be a cryptographic hash or a public key encryption. You'll need to determine which one.
Is the number of letters such that they could be arranged in an evenly spaced grid?
Yes No
Is the ciphertext short, as in 15 characters or less?
Yes No
Look back at the cache page for more hints. There are a lot of cipher types out there. Do a
search for all of the supported cipher solvers.
Are the letters just A, B, E, T or X?
Yes No
Does the cache page mention a keyword, a password, a passphrase, a key or anything like that?
Yes No
Woohoo! Now it's time to go log that cache!
) or backwards 3 ( 
)?