Quirky App Of The Day: Decode The Message In Cryptoquips
Cryptoquips (Free) by BK Beach Labs is a word game that has hundreds of cryptograms for you to play in one convenient app. What is a cryptogram? Well, I’m glad you asked. A cryptogram is a specific type of code where one letter stands for another. Your job is to crack the code so that you can reveal the quote.
Honestly, I never saw the appeal of these games. I couldn’t figure them out for the life of me when I was a teenager. So, why do I love this app? Well, the cryptograms in our newspaper only gave us one letter to get us started. Let me tell you, there wasn’t a lot you could do with a quote that had at least one hundred letters to decipher, and all you had was a lousy “Q” filled in.
In Cryptoquips, you can choose to have one, two, or three letters revealed in the beginning of the round. I stuck with three letters, and I managed to solve all of the puzzles in the starter pack without swearing or vowing vengeance upon the developer. That’s an accomplishment for me.
The game also gives you easier quotes at first, and you work your way up to harder ones. Blue are the easiest, and red are the hardest. There are 50 levels in the initial starter pack, so there’s plenty of time to practice cracking these codes before you hit the tough ones.
At the end of each level, you get a rating of one to three stars. This rating and your difficulty level will determine how many coins you earn. You’ll need these coins to unlock more puzzles. No, you don’t have to get a perfect score on all the levels to earn enough coins. I had plenty of one and two star ratings, and I still ended up with 124 coins by the end.
If you happen to not earn enough coins, you can buy more through an in-app purchase. You can buy 100 coins for $0.99, 300 for $1.99, 1,000 for $2.99, or 10,000 for $3.99.
Because I hated cryptograms as a teenager this is the first time that I’ve solved them in years. I loved the app. I like the different categories and the fact that you can work your way up to the more difficult levels.
Cryptoquips is an iPhone app, and it’s available in the App Store for FREE!