GCHQ has released its annual Christmas Challenge, featuring seven new brainteasers for the first time designed alongside schoolchildren. The UK intelligence agency launched the festive puzzle tradition's 10th edition on Wednesday, marking the milestone by incorporating winning designs from over 500 young participants into this year's Christmas card.
Three students saw their artwork selected for the card's cover after a nationwide competition. Mariia, a Year 10 pupil from The Henry Beaufort School in Winchester, created a design featuring a ginger cat at a "top secret" computer surrounded by Christmas lights and morse code. Haoran, a Year 8 student from Wilson's School in London, and Amelie, a Year 12 pupil from South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury, also won with their designs aimed at different age groups.
New Instagram puzzle club launches
This year's challenge introduces a "Top Secret Puzzle Club" on GCHQ's Instagram account. Participants can now share their progress, seek help, and celebrate successes through the social media platform, which also offers bonus puzzles and hints. The agency encourages solvers to tag @GCHQ on Instagram, X, or LinkedIn.
The seven puzzles test skills central to intelligence work, including codebreaking, mathematical analysis, lateral thinking, creativity, and perseverance. GCHQ's in-house puzzlers designed the brainteasers specifically so no single person would find them all easy, encouraging collaborative problem-solving among families, friends, and classmates.
Director praises winning designs
Anne Keast-Butler, GCHQ's director and the first woman to lead the agency, said: «Puzzles are at the heart of GCHQ's work to keep the country safe from hostile states, terrorists and criminals; challenging our teams to think creatively and analytically every day.»
She added: «I hope this Challenge inspires the next generation to explore STEM subjects and consider the rewarding careers available in cybersecurity and intelligence. Who knows - some of these talented schoolchildren might be solving our own puzzles in the future.»
Colin, GCHQ's Chief Puzzler, explained the intentional difficulty variation: «We've designed the puzzles so that no one will find them all easy! Some will suit analytical minds, others require creative leaps or perseverance. That's entirely intentional – we want groups of classmates, families and friends working together, combining their different strengths to reveal the final festive message.»
Last year's Christmas Challenge attracted 143,166 downloads from schools and the public. The puzzles remain available for download at GCHQ.gov.uk, with answers to be revealed later on Wednesday.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
