A quick tutorial of using the tool can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcz_3ql8ebM and a more recent video of using the Test Builder to generate a good mix of question types can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miV-4S38tX8.
Science Olympiad CodeBusters
Test Manager - Create/Delete/Edit Tests
Test Builder - Create a test from a template
Solving Guides!
Looking for solving guides for Ciphers? Here are three good options:
- We have many excellent guides written by ACA members that should put you on the road to solving ciphers faster.
- We have a full guide to all the ciphers. Updated 28-December-2025 to add Knights Templar examples..
- Also don't forget the resources listed on the National Science Olympiad CodeBusters site.
- We have a YouTube Channel @Codebusters-sciol where we are posting short videos showing how to use the different cipher tools.
Cipher usage for Division B/C this year.
If you are trying to figure out what ciphers will be used for what type of event, we have a nice Summary of Ciphers used for the 2026-2027 Season that was made by reading the current rules. This season introduces the Homophonic Cipher. As always, any official clarifications or rule updates override anything on that page, but it is a good start.
If you are looking for a resource sheet to print out for practice, you can find them for Division A Division B Division C
Summary of what's new:
- Version 10.0.0 — Major Update for the new season.
- New cipher type: Homophonic Cipher with all standard features for Division B/C for 2027
- New cipher type: Standard Galactic Alphabet encoder with all standard features for Division A for 2027
- All tests include a Generate Scoresheet option, allowing for easy grading during competition
- Tests can now be exported to LaTeX.
- All ciphers now have a Suggest Quote button so you can pull a quote from the quote database directly from the cipher editor.
- The Cryptarithm generator now supports square roots and cube roots.
- Major improvements to the keyword suggesters: keywords may now include a duplicated letter (e.g. DELICIOUS), offer more variety in length, relaxed word frequency requirements, etc...
- The Checkerboard Cipher can now suggest cribs and shows anagrams when suggesting keys
- Sample tests from the 2025-2026 season are now available.
- New single cipher test type for building practice tests with just one question.
- The recommended minimum and maximum number of questions have been increased for Division A/B/C tests.
- General improvements for quality of life and user experience, making the website more intuitive overall.
Please report any problems at github.com/toebes/ciphers/issues
Are you an Event Supervisor looking to create a Division A/B/C test? A good place to start is these "one-pager" Event Supervisor guides for Division B and Division C. You can use the new Test Builder as a starting point for a good mix of questions. In the Test Builder, each cipher has a Guidance button that points to the corresponding section in the Test Guidance documentation, where you can learn about factors for setting difficulty and find YouTube videos for creating each cipher type within the tool. There is also this comprehensive "How to Write a Codebusters Test" document written by Aneesh Iyer that provides an in-depth take on writing questions for the various cipher types. We also have developed a Quick Reference Table that is a one-page document with suggested lengths and point values for the ciphers.
Are you a Coach looking to create a Division A/B/C practice test? You can use the new Test Builder and the Quote Manager loading up the Previously Used English Quotes and Previously Used Spanish Quotes as a starting point to build your own sample tests. A video walking you through the process can be seen at https://youtu.be/3Nbv5Qsq51s.