How To Code Your Own Message

Using the Lizard & Friends Cipher Cards

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How The Cards Work

All the cards come with a pre-written ‘roses are red’ style poem and a short coded message. A separate decoder (known as a Caesar Cipher) also comes with the card.


The poem acts as an instruction for how to use the decoder. In this case, the line “Marigolds are orange” has the capital M and lowercase o highlighted orange.


To decode orange letters, the lowercase o must align with the uppercase M on the cipher wheel.

The person receiving the card can now decode all of the capital orange letters using this alignment.

y

o

r

d

n

d

o

t

m

a

s

e

e

For the green letters, the cipher shifts so that the Capital I is aligned with the lowercase g. The process of decoding the letters is the same.

You can code your own message doing this in reverse!

(Don’t worry, I made some shortcuts for you!)

Coding With Your Card(s)

Each card uses two unique cipher alignments in its coded message. No alignments are repeated between cards. This means that you can combine multiple cards to make your own super-coded message! That said, ONLY use the alignments from the cards you plan on giving (or else your card-getter will be quite confused on how the heck they are supposed to decode this message!)


Here is a quick reference to the colors you can use in coding based on the card you are giving:

Green I g
Orange M o
Red K r
Yellow M y
Pink S p
Blue O b
Purple J p
Brown N b

Use the instructions below to write your coded message. If you would like to print a copy of the quick-reference chart for coded letters, you can find a copy here.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Write out the message you want to be coded.


EX:

}

Leave space above your words.

Happy


Birthday!

}

You’ll draft your code here.

Step 2: Grab colored writing tools that match the card(s) you will use. All four cards can be combined or you can just use one.

Step 3: Code your message using the chart to the right. Find your uncoded letter, then follow the row until you get to the color you want to code with. Write the coded letter in the matching color above the uncoded letter.


EX:

}

H coded in the green column is F

J

Marker Icon

Happy


Birthday!

P

}

Marker Icon

R coded in the orange column is T

Step 4: Continue coding your message. When you’re done, double-check your work by using the rotating decoder. Align the outer and inner circles based on the key at the top of each column. For more information on how the cipher works, read “How The Cards Work” at the top of the page.

Step 5: If your test run goes smoothly, you are ready to copy your coded message onto a blank surface for your giftee to solve! Be sure to keep your colors organized and leave space for them to solve!

A=A

I=G

M=O

K=R

M=Y

S=P

O=B

J=P

N=B

A

C

Y

T

O

D

N

U

M

B

D

Z

U

P

E

O

V

N

C

E

A

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F

P

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O

D

F

B

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R

G

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P

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C

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F

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T

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JYRRW


ZKPVJBYY!

Good Luck & Happy Coding!