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How to Create Your Own Message Decoder Game

Coded messages add an extra step to games and puzzles by disguising key instructions or clues. In these games, the words or sentences must be deciphered with a decoder to play. The decoders must be set or crafted to display the same code for every player. Make games a little more interesting by devising a set of coded instructions or clues for your players.

Things You'll Need

Scissors
Legal pad
Printed decoder patterns
Hole punch
Scrapbooking brads

Instructions

- 1
  Create matching decoders for all players by turning a sheet of paper from a legal pad sideways and writing the alphabet in order with one letter over each line. Write a scrambled alphabet one inch below. Cut a strip of paper including the two rows of letters. Cut a 2 by 3 inch block of paper and fold it into a sleeve around the strip. Pull the sleeve off and cut slots into the top and bottom that are big enough to allow the letters to show through. Create identical alphabet decoders for every player.
- 2
  Download a printable decoder pattern and print a copy for each player. Some decoder patterns are available online for free (see Resources). Cut out the two circular parts and put a hole in the center of both with a hole punch. Place the smaller circle on top of the larger with the center holes aligned, and push a scrapbooking brad through the holes. Flip the circles over and fold the two prongs of the brad outward to keep the circles together. Give all players the same letters to align for the decoder with the coded instructions.
- 3
  Use the decoder to make game instructions for the players to follow. For example, you could create a list of items to collect in a scavenger hunt. Play games online by sending coded clues to websites for players to visit. Declare the first player to correctly identify all the websites the winner.

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