Ever dreamed of being a spy? Try the GCHQ puzzle — with the solution now available

The UK intelligence agency designed the puzzle to appeal to people who “think outside of the box”.

Could you solve the GCHQ puzzle? Image: GCHQ

GCHQ, the UK's intelligence, security and cyber agency, made its Linkedin debut with a puzzle to challenge potential new recruits.

Created with Manchester-based artist Justin Eagleton, the visual puzzle has been designed to appeal to those who “process information differently and possess strong lateral-thinking skills”.

The roots of the agency are in cryptography and encryption, both of which are still vital to its modern day mission of keeping the country safe. The careers on offer at GCHQ range from intelligence analysts to business support.

Unlike the past, when recruits were plucked from university courses, they stress that a degree isn’t always a key requirement.

What is the GCHQ puzzle and how do you solve it?

The unique puzzle has a series of clues, each of which reveals a letter.

To solve the puzzle, potential recruits must discover the letters hidden within the image.

Could you solve the GCHQ puzzle? Image: GCHQ

There are 13 letters which must be found. They will then come together to spell out a message.

The full solution wasn’t revealed until a day later — look away now if you don't want spoilers!

GCHQ puzzle solution

The solution to the GCHQ puzzle has since been shared – with challengers around the country put out of their misery.

If you were among the many who attempted to solve the puzzle here is how you could have found the answers.

Phonetic alphabet

A vital resource for many, including the military, five letters could be found using the phonetic alphabet.

In the buildings of the puzzle, Romeo and Juliet can be spotted, accounting for the letters R and J.

The building which appears on the right hides two letters, H and N. Its status as a Hotel is shown with its vacancy sign, while the calendar marks the month of November.

Meanwhile, the golfer indicates the letter G.

The solution to the puzzle was posted by GCHQ shortly after. Image: GCHQ

Languages and alphabets

British Sign Language (BSL), Morse Code, Braille and even French were all hidden among the picture’s clues.

Of the four hands which sit atop the building on the far left, only the final hand represents a letter in BSL, E.

Then the inspector character on the road is investigating Morse Code. The three dashes are the letter O.

Then, slightly to the left of Alan Turing, the TV featuring the bombe machine has red drums highlighted – the letter Y in braille.

Finally, the bottle decked out in the French flag is pouring water, or “eau”, into the sea revealing the letter O.

What else?

The final letters require the lateral thinking that GCHQ is seeking.

While some would look at the sheep on the road and think just that; a sheep. However, it has no horns and is in fact a ewe – U.

The cars at the traffic lights also follow the same logic as they sit in a queue – Q.

The water at the foot of the image is shown to be the sea – C – with the beach shop, dune and chair which surround it.

And finally, the shop window which is tucked behind the cars features tea imagery, bringing Britain’s favourite drink and the letter T into the picture.

The final GCHQ puzzle solution

Once you have gathered all of the letters and unscrambled them, the solution to the GCHQ puzzle reads: "Journey to GCHQ".

Anne Keast-Butler, the director of GCHQ, said that “diversity is mission critical”.

“The world is getting more complex and we're only ever going to stay ahead of those threats by bringing together the right mix of minds that lets us tackle the challenges ahead. For us, that means bringing in people with different backgrounds, different experience, different insights, different knowledge, and creating a team where all of us can play our part. For us, it's clear that that diversity is mission critical.

“So we're on a journey to make sure that we reach out and connect to people who've never thought of working with us. And today we're launching on LinkedIn as a way of starting to showcase a little bit more of the work that we do and some of the amazing people who work at GCHQ."