Cipher Disk Decoder for Escape Rooms

The idea of a cipher disk has been around for hundreds of years. Traditionally, it consists of two concentric circular disks that are attached in the center, and both disks would have the alphabet imprinted on it. The larger disk was referred to as the “stationary” while the smaller disk would be called the “movable”. It allows you to encode or decode a message as long as you know the cipher key.

Our family loves escape rooms and have created several through the years. In our most recent one, we incorporated a modified version of the cipher disk into one of our puzzles. Instead of having an alphabet on both disks, ours has numbers on the stationary disk. This gives us the ability to convert a word into a number code which can be used with a standard combination lock instead of requiring a word lock.

Tools:

xTool S1 40W Laser Engraver

Software:

xTool Creative Space

Materials:

12” sheets 3mm basswood plywood

CA glue

Clearcoat

Create a 1.75" diameter circle and assigned it to a black layer. I used the “Outline” tool in Creative Space to create offsets of this circle with diameters of 3"(red), 4.25" (orange), and 5.5” (yellow).

Draw a line through the 12:00 and 6:00 positions of the largest (yellow) circle. Use the “Array” tool to create a circular array with 13 lines. I assign this to a green layer.

Draw a line through the 12:00 and 6:00 positions on the second largest (orange) circle. Use the “Array” tool to create a circular array with 13 lines. I assigned this array to a purple layer.

Add numbers 1-26 between the yellow and orange circles and spaced appropriately for one number in each cell.

Add letters A-Z between the orange and red circles and space appropriately for one letter in each cell.

Create a copy of the red circle. Add the text and symbol of your choice. This will become the centerpiece.

I separated this project into three individual jobs.

The first job was for the stationary disk. I set layers green, blue, and black to score. The yellow layer was set to cut.

The second job was for the moveable disk. I set layers blue, red, and purple to score. The orange and black layers were set to cut.

The third job was for the centerpiece. The blue layer was set to score and black was set to cut.

First, use the CA glue to attach the small circle (black) cut from the second job to the stationary disk. This will give us a center hub for the moveable disk to rotate on. The next step is to glue the centerpiece to the hub. We will need a spacer to allow the moveable disk to rotate easily. I cut a piece of paper towel and glued it between these layers and this worked perfectly.

I think this version of a cipher disk is best used along with some type of word puzzle or riddle. Below is an example how we used an analogy for the puzzle in an escape room we did for a youth event at church.

"Simon is to Andrew as James is to _____" Key is 1=G

The solution is JOHN which decodes to 4928 when the key is applied.

We also would provide the hint of: Mathew 4:18-21 if asked.

I think having a variety of puzzles is essential to a successful escape room. Below are links to other puzzles we have used if you are interested.

Jigsaw Puzzle Code

Pigpen Cipher