GCHQ Christmas Puzzle Challenges Minds Across the UK

Published: 10 December 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

As the festive season approaches, GCHQ has delighted puzzle enthusiasts with its annual Christmas card, blending clever brainteasers with whimsical illustrations. This year, for the first time, schoolchildren’s designs join the agency’s traditional puzzles, providing both a creative and analytical challenge for participants across the UK. The card tells the story of a robber attempting to steal Christmas presents, navigating a house full of interconnected rooms, coloured doors, and directional arrows. Players are invited to determine how the thief is acting, while following specific movement rules that prevent passing through the same-coloured door consecutively or moving against arrows.

Beyond this initial riddle, the card contains six additional puzzles, each crafted to test code-breaking, maths, lateral thinking, and problem-solving skills. One challenge encourages participants to identify a special seven-letter word with no repeated letters and no adjacent letters in the alphabet, while another presents a cryptic code beginning with “PIGMIHM DRP MHSIAMA QDMPM MBNDQ UITL-FMQQML …”, featuring numerous four-letter words highlighted in red. These exercises are intended to be approached collaboratively, with families, classmates, and friends pooling their talents to decode the final festive message.

Anne Keast-Butler, GCHQ’s director, emphasised the educational and inspirational purpose behind the puzzles. She 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. 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.”

The competition attracted more than 500 pupil entries, each imagining GCHQ on Christmas Day. Designs were judged by Keast-Butler and the agency’s “chief puzzler”, identified only as Colin. Three winning entries were selected: Haoran, a Year 8 student from Wilson’s School in London; Mariia, a Year 10 pupil at Henry Beaufort School in Winchester; and Amelie, a Year 12 student from South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury.

Colin explained the intention behind the puzzles, highlighting the variety in skill levels: “Some will suit analytical minds; others require creative leaps of 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. With over 140,000 downloads last year, we know these puzzles bring people together over the festive period. All ages are encouraged to give them a go, and remember puzzle-solving is often better as a team effort and more fun, too!” Since 2015, GCHQ’s Christmas card has become a seasonal tradition, providing both challenge and entertainment.

The 2025 edition is now available for schools and members of the public to download from GCHQ.gov.uk. Answers to the puzzles will be revealed at 9pm on Wednesday, 10 December, ensuring a festive climax to the analytical fun. This initiative demonstrates the agency’s commitment to encouraging STEM learning and fostering problem-solving skills while engaging the wider community in the spirit of collaboration and creativity during the holiday season.