Crack the code. The same GL-style number code puzzles your child meets in the 11+, free to play right here, with every answer explained.
Three words are written in code. The codes are mixed up, and one word has no code. Work out the code for that word, then tap your answer.
Tip: start with the codes, not the words. See the method below.
This page is one slice of what Pip does. The app gives your child a brand-new number code every time, marks it instantly, and brings back the ones they find tricky, across all four 11+ subjects.
A short, slow walk-through of exactly how to solve these, with the cracking shown letter by letter.
A number code question is a type of verbal reasoning puzzle in the 11+, from the wider coding and decoding family. You are given four words and three number codes. Each letter always stands for the same digit. The three codes are written in a mixed-up order, so they are not lined up with the words, and one word has no code at all. Your job is to crack the key from the three coded words, then work out the code for the word that has none.
You will meet these in the GL Assessment verbal reasoning papers that many grammar schools use. They look tricky, and a lot of children find them hard the first time. But they always follow the same pattern, so once you have the method, they become some of the quickest marks on the paper.
Do not start with the words. Only three of the four are coded, so starting with a word can send you chasing the one that was never coded. Always start with the codes.
Look across the three codes for a digit that repeats. That shared digit is your way in.
Notice where that digit sits in each code, then find a letter sitting in the same position in the words. That gives you your first letter.
Check the letter against another code, fill in the rest of the key, then build the code for the word that has no code. That is your answer.
Take the words BEAR, BARN, NEAR, BANE with the codes 2563, 2956, 2539. The number 2 begins all three codes, and every coded word begins with B, so B = 2. Two words have an A in the second position and two codes have a 5 there, so A = 5; the other word has an E, matched with a 9, so E = 9. The 6 lines up with R, and the 3 lines up with N. The word with no code is NEAR, so its code is 3 9 5 6.
That is exactly what the game above asks you to do. For hundreds more, with a brand-new code every time, get the free Pip app or explore more 11+ verbal reasoning practice.
More free 11+ tools on the tools page.