How to Build a Pig Pen Cipher Puzzle for Other Players

Designing the Puzzle

A good cipher puzzle gives players the encoded message plus a way to find the key. Start by choosing a short plaintext, such as a location hint or a password. Encode it with the grid key, then decide how players will discover the mapping — for example, a hidden sign showing the grid, or a book page that explains the tic-tac-toe layout.

Placing the Clues

Write the encoded message on a sign or in a book at the puzzle site. Put the key somewhere nearby but not immediately obvious, such as in a chest, behind a painting, or on a separate sign in another room. If you use a custom variant of the grid, make sure the key you hide matches the variant you encoded with, or the puzzle becomes unsolvable.

Testing and Balancing

Before opening the puzzle to others, walk through it yourself: read only the clues a player would see and confirm you can decode the message. Check that every symbol renders properly for someone with the mod. Adjust difficulty by adding decoy symbols or splitting the message across pages. Provide a subtle hint in case players get stuck, so the puzzle stays fun rather than frustrating.