Pocket Riddle: Cipher School, a Clue Puzzle

About Pocket Riddle: Cipher School

The Pocket Riddle is a puzzle newspaper printed on a train, and its back page is a school. Each edition, Monday to Saturday, teaches one rule with a worked example: how to read a definition, how to untangle an anagram, why switching kinds of clue pays, how to think in links, how to spot a word hiding across a phrase. Then it tests the rule with a set of clues written for this paper.

Every answer is set from a compositor's case of lead letters, the answer's own letters and a few spare ones, into a steel composing stick, so you always know the length and can type or tap. Right answers of a different kind from the last raise the multiplier up to three; a wrong one starts the chain again. Solve the whole edition without a hint and it is won, and the front page spins in with your headline.

An edition takes three to six minutes. The daily edition is the same for everyone. Your won editions and records stay on this device only.

How to play

Pick an edition and read its lesson. The worked example shows the rule at work.
Read each clue, then set the answer: tap the lead letters in order, or type them. Tap a slot or press Backspace to take letters back.
The answer is set when every slot is full. A slip gives you one more try; a second one shows the answer.
A right answer of a different kind from the last raises the multiplier by a half, up to three. A wrong answer or a skip resets it.
Solve every clue without a hint to win the edition. A hint (1 or Ⓧ) halves that clue and the edition can no longer be won this time.
Skip a clue with 2 or Ⓨ. Press Escape or Start to pause.

Controls

Tap the lead letters, or type them — set the answer
Backspace, Ⓑ or tap a slot — take a letter back
Arrow keys or D-pad, Space or Ⓐ — move along the case and set a letter
1 or Ⓧ — hint; 2 or Ⓨ — skip
Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of clue are there?

Definitions give a meaning and a length. Anagrams give the letters out of order. Logic clues are link words and one-letter changes. Hidden words run across the words of a phrase.

How does the multiplier grow?

Each right answer whose kind differs from the last right answer adds a half, up to three. A wrong answer or a skip starts it again at one.

How do I win an edition?

Answer every clue right without a hint. A slip on a clue is allowed if the second try is right.

Is it general knowledge?

No. Every clue is about words: their meanings, their letters and how they link. No facts to memorise.