Jefferson Cipher Decoder

Way back in 1784 through 1789, when Thomas Jefferson was our US Ambassador assigned to France, he devised a decoder wheel to use for encrypting and decrypting letters sent between the US and his office in France. Being able to encrypt letters being sent between Thomas Jefferson and the US President became an urgent necessity because the European Postmasters opened and read all diplomatic letters passing through their command. 

When I was a child, we would sometimes play a "Da Vinci Code" type of scavenger hunt game that consisted of written clues leading us to the following clue which eventually leads to the prize or solving the mystery. This was definitely an educational game and sometimes required some research in order to figure out various clues. I certainly enjoyed this game and have been thinking about sharing this game with the grandchildren as they get older.

The grandchildren are now beginning to read so I've been thinking about this game again and wondering how I could make it a more interesting game. I wanted to find a way to add interest while also adding more history and even some mystery into the game. This Jefferson Decoder seemed to be perfect for this purpose because it is easy to use. I have a few other ideas to add over time but adding this decoder to the game seemed like the perfect start. 

Each clue will be written in code. Once the code is decrypted using the Jefferson Decoder, the clue will then be seen in plain language but will still require some thinking and knowledge to find the next clue. For instance, for young kids, a clue might be "I have four legs but no feet" leading them to find the next clue at the table. Or, "I have hands but no arms" leading them to the clock. As the kids get older and smarter, the clues get more challenging and involve more advanced knowledge of history, science, mathematics, art, electronics and even computer science. 

The downside to this game is that it requires a lot of effort to put together just one good game and that effort is on me! 

This decoder, however, should add some excitement and interest to this old game.

By the way, I built the case for this Jefferson Cipher Decoder.