H. O. Yardley – Reader of Gentlemen’s Mail

Cryptology historian and writer David Kahn (1930-2024) passed away on Jan. 23rd. Author of The Codebreakers, he’s one of the few civilian writers to make a really major impact on the field of cryptology, and was a co-founder of the Cryptologia journal, along with Louis Kruh (more on him later). I requested his Reader of

2024 Upcoming Escape Game Releases

I’m writing this on April 12. As of right now, we’ve got two companies announcing releases of games in their brands (Exit and Unlock!), but nothing’s showing up on Amazon yet. Exit (Thames and Kosmos) has approximate dates and prices, but they’re going to miss the Spring target if they don’t start doing something soon.

TICOM vol. 1: Synopsis

This is a hand-typed report, with corrections, for volume 1 of the 9-volume TICOM series, subtitled “EUROPEAN AXIS SIGNAL INTELLIGENCE IN WORLD WAR II AS REVEALED BY “TICOM” INVESTIGATIONS AND BY OTHER PRISONER OF WAR INTERROGATIONS AND CAPTURED MATERIAL, PRINCIPALLY GERMAN”. I’m not really sure where I got it from, and I’m not finding a

Python GUI 042 – Transpo – Cadenus Main File

Right now, I have three working solvers – Route, Cadenus and Railfence. I’ve already covered Route, and Railfence is kind of problematic, so that just leaves Cadenus to write up. The reason Railfence is problematic is that it’s the basis for Redefence (which is just Railfence with a key for transposing the rails). The code

Escape Games 159: Talking Tables – 01 – Escape from the Museum

Maker: Talking TablesTitle: Host Your OwnGame: Escape from the MuseumYear: 2023Price: $34.99Language: EnglishInternet access req’d?: YesCipher types: Simple substitution, anagram, null letter, book codePlayers: 2-6Difficulty: UnratedRating: 3.5 of 5 (Box artwork and story (c) Talking Tables) About the company: British. From the About-Our Story page: “It was at her mother’s kitchen table, our founder Clare

Signal Corps Vol. 3, The Outcome

Finishing off with vol. 3 of the History of the Signal Corps. Photos used for educational purposes only. Vol. 1: The Emergency, by Dulany TerrettVol. 2: The Test, by Thompson, Harris, Oakes and TerrettVol. 3: The Outcome, by Thompson and Harris The Signal Corps: The Outcome (Mid-1943 Through 1945), by Thompson and Harris, (1966, reprinted

Escape Games 158: Mysterious Package Company – 01 – Escape from: The Tinker’s Trap

Maker: Mysterious Package CompanyTitle: Escape from:Game: The Tinker’s TrapYear: 2020Price: $22Language: EnglishInternet access req’d?: NoCipher types: Mirror writing, simple substitution, steganography, null letterPlayers: 1-4Difficulty: UnratedRating: 4.5 of 5 (Box artwork and story (c) Mysterious Package Company) About the company: Not a lot to write about based on their website. They claim to have been established

Cryptocomics

More material from the NSA Historical Publications site. Artwork used here for educational purposes only. Back in April, I ran a list of PDF files available for free download from the Center for Cryptologic History site. In that list were a handful of short infotainment files called “Cryptocomics.” Most recently, I decided to read each

Escape Games 157: Unlock! – W.A.F.F.’s Odyssey

Maker: Space CowboysTitle: Unlock!Game: W.A.F.F.’s OdysseyYear: 2024 (for the box set)Price: $36.99Language: EnglishInternet access req’d?: NoCipher types: SteganographyPlayers: 1-6Difficulty: 3 of 3Rating: 4.5 of 5 (Box artwork and story (c) Space Cowboys) W.A.F.F.’s Odyssey is the third of three games in the Extraordinary Adventures box set. As such, it’s marked as a difficulty of 3

History of U.S. Communications Intelligence during WW II

More material from the NSA Historical Publications site. A History of U.S. Communications Intelligence during World War II: Policy and Administration, by Robert Louis Benson (1997) pp. 193 I’m not really finding anything on Benson, and I don’t seem to have reviewed anything by him previously. The Online Archive of California lists a Robert Louis