It's today!

I suppose in some philosophical sense it always is today, but what I really mean is "It's today!!! The Cipher Challenge starts today!!!!!!". The first challenge will be published at 3.15 this afternoon BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DOWNLOAD IT THEN. Sorry to shout, but if you all try to get on the site at or just before that time, it will take you all forever to get in. The server should be able to cope, but there are a lot of you (well over 1,000 teams already) and a relatively narrow tube that the electrons have to fit through (or something).

We have set up the scoring system so you have plenty of time to get the challenge, solve it and post the solution to Challenge 1B and still get top points (time doesn't matter for Challenge A which is marked entirely on accuracy). You can always see the points schedule for a given challenge B by clicking on the link which says "Points Scheme", right next to the Challenge itself. For Challenge 1 it is as follows:

 

10 points before midnight tomorrow, then one point less each day until midnight Sunday 21st October when the points reach 0.

 

So even if you don't download the challenge until tomorrow teatime you will have a few hours left to get maximum points. In any case the points for Challenges 1B and 2B won't count towards your final position in the overall leader board as these are practice rounds, so please don't crash our beautiful server in a stampede to get the challenges this afternoon. If it is busy take five minutes out to do your Zen deep breathing exercises or to look up "Index of Coincidence" in your favourite code-breaking manual (just kidding) then try again.

 

Now, more exciting news. It's today, it's today!!!!!! No, not the launch of the first challenge, we already did that in the paragraphs above. This is the stupendous coincidence that our old friend Simon Singh has a new book out today, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. It is a fact well known to Mathematicians that text books are yellow, at least the Springer ones are, and I like to think that this was the inspiration for the jacket design of Simon's book, though I suspect it has more to do with the Simpsons themselves. It is also well known in the field that the writers of The Simpsons have advanced degrees in mathematics and buried a lot of in-jokes in the scripts. Simon has delved into the series to bring those jokes to life for the uninitiated and in the process has produced perhaps the funniest maths text book ever, or at least the funniest one in a yellow cover. (Springer maths books have many strengths, but humour is not one of them). 

Simon is a longstanding supporter of the Challenge and he has offered 8 autographed copies of the book to be awarded to participants in the first round, so sharpen your pencils and get a submission in. Everyone who successfully cracks Challenge 1A will be entered into a draw for the books. Probably best to give them to your school library so everyone can enjoy them.

 

Now I have to return to the Black Chamber to prepare for the launch this afternoon, see you all later, 

 

Harry

Punahou join the race

Strictly speeaking the rules prohibit entry for teams outside the UK, but we have always taken a fairly relaxed view of this and while they don't qualify for prizes we have had a number of teams from around the world taking part in the competition over the years. If you zoom out on the world map on the news and info page you will see that we already have a few competitors overseas and it is great to see our old friends from Punahou High School in Hawaii taking part. Harry is particularly fond of Sharks Cove on North Shore and it brings back happy memories to see a Cipher Challenge flag planted in Oahu soil. It would be great to hear from you if you are taking part from afar, so do get in touch.

 

Harry

Welcome to the 2013 National Cipher Challenge

I can't believe it is that time again, but here we are gearing up for the 2013 National Cipher Challenge. If you were here last year you will see we have given the place a lick of paint, but it should feel pretty familiar. If this is your first time doing the Challenge head over to the registration page and get an account and take a look at the rules page to see what it is all about. (You can also download the Teachers' Pack which is full of useful information.)

We sent out posters to schools two weeks ago so if you haven't had yours send us an email and we will send one out to you. In the meantime you can download an A3 version of the poster using the link on the right ready for printing.

This year we are joined by a brand new sponsor, Winton Capital Management, and we have some exciting new prizes as well as a brand new competition for teachers! More on that later. Do keep checking the News and Info page for any updates.

Hope you all had a great Summer. I look forward to getting to know you all over the next few months.

All the best, 

Harry