COMPLETE SCIENCE OLYMPIAD DIVISION B CODEBUSTERS CHEAT SHEET
(COPY-PASTE THIS ENTIRE BLOCK - Fits 1 page front/back)
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EVENT: 2-3 students, 50 min, 10-15 ciphers, 1 notebook paper (both sides)
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CIPHER QUICK ID TABLE
Cipher | DivB Level | Fastest Attack
----------------|----------------|-----------------
Pigpen | Regional/State | Visual grid
Tap Code | Regional/State | 5x5 lookup
Atbash | Regional/State | A=Z B=Y reverse
Caesar | Regional/State | Try shifts 3,13
Aristocrat K1 | All levels | E=T=A freq
Aristocrat K2/3 | State/Nats | Pattern words
Xenocrypt | State/Nats | Non-English freq
Cryptarithm | All levels | M=1 S=9 carries
Checkerboard | Regional/State | Polybius square
ENGLISH LETTER FREQUENCY (MEMORIZE: ETAOINS!)
E12.7 T9.1 A8.2 O7.5 I7.0 N6.7 S6.3 H6.0 R6.0 D4.0 L4.0
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FAST DECODE TEMPLATES
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TAP CODE (5x5 Knock Code)
12345
1ABCDE
2FGHIK
3LMNOP
4QRSTU
5VWXYZ
PIGPEN GRID
┌─┬─┬─┐ ┌──┐
││││ │ │
├─┼─┼─┤ ├──┤
││││ │ │
└─┴─┴─┘ └──┘
CAESAR SHIFTS TO TRY: 3, 13(ROT13), 1, 25, 7, 19
ATBASH: A=Z B=Y C=X D=W E=V F=U G=T H=S I=R J=Q K=P etc.
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ARISTOCRAT ATTACK (Most Common Cipher)
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1. COUNT: Most frequent = E,T,A,O,I,N,S,H,R
2. 1-LETTER: A or I (99% A)
3. PATTERN: _N_ = AND TH_ = THE _E_ = THE
4. COMMON: THE AND WAS FOR ARE YOU WITH THEY
5. DOUBLE: LL EE OO MM NN PP SS FF DD
EXAMPLE:
Cipher: ZSV ZOVZ ZOVZ XVNZ
Count: Z=6 V=4 S=2 O=3 N=2 X=1 T=1
Guess: Z=E V=T S=H O=A N=D X=M T=S
Plain: THE STATE STATE WORLD
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CRYPTARITHM (SEND + MORE = MONEY)
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RULES:
1. M=1 (leading digit carry)
2. S=9 (carry to 10000s)
3. Leading digits ≠ 0
4. Use calculator column addition
EXAMPLE SOLUTION:
9567
+1085
---------
10642
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50-MINUTE STRATEGY (TIMING BONUS FIRST 10 MIN)
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0-10 min: Tap Code ✓ Atbash ✓ Caesar ✓ Pigpen ✓ (4 easy points)
10-30 min: Aristocrat K1 ✓ Checkerboard ✓ (3 medium points)
30-50 min: Cryptarithm ✓ K2 ✓ Xenocrypt ✓ (3 hard points)
TEAM ROLES:
Person 1: Frequency counts + simple ciphers
Person 2: Pattern words + verification
Person 3: Calculator + cryptarithm
SCORING: Full=100pts Partial=25-75pts BLANK=0pts
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PRACTICE PROBLEMS (Solve These NOW)
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1. CAESAR: Fubswbq! (Shift 3)
ANS: Welcome!
2. ATBASH: Gsv xlwv rh yvksvi
ANS: The best is history
3. TAP CODE: 4-4 2-4 5-1 1-1
ANS: RUGS
4. PIGPEN: [Grid with ZSV pattern]
ANS: THE
5. ARISTOCRAT: Zsv zovz zovz zovz
ANS: The ship ship ship ship
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PRO TIPS
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- 3 colored pens: Blue=frequency, Red=patterns, Black=final
- Pre-draw Pigpen + Tap Code grids
- Practice FULL 50-min tests weekly
- NEVER leave blank (25pts partial > 0pts blank)
- Calculator: Know column addition for cryptarithm
- First 10 min = 500+ bonus points
PRINT THIS EXACT BLOCK. PRACTICE DAILY. WIN REGIONALS.
