How This Kit Works
Each trail is a 5-stop hunt. Clue #1 tells players where Clue #2 is hidden; Clue #2 leads to #3, and so on until the last card reveals the prize. Every clue is written in one language, and its decoder key sits right below it — no answer is spelled out on the printed card, so the code has to actually be broken.
Choose one trail for the group, or hand the Easy Trail to younger kids and the Hard Trail to older ones and race to the same prize.
20-Minute Setup Guide
Easy Trail (ages 5–8)
Pirate reads almost like English wearing a costume — nothing gets scrambled, just swapped for its nautical cousin. Goblin adds one real cipher habit (a few swapped letters) on top, so this trail is a gentle first taste of code-breaking.
Arrr, look-out under a pillow on the couch, matey!
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Look under a pillow on the couch.”
Hide Clue #2 under a couch pillow.
Check-y sneaky-inside shoe-in by front-iz doaz-oo!
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Check inside a shoe by the front door.”
Hide Clue #3 inside a shoe by the front door.
Arrr, seek behind the kitchen curtains, matey!
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Search behind the kitchen curtains.”
Hide Clue #4 behind the kitchen curtains.
Look-in sneaky-inside toy box!
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Look inside the toy box.”
Hide Clue #5 and the prize inside a toy box.
Arrr, ye found the plunder! It was hidden right here! Shiver me timbers, matey!
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “You found the treasure! It was hidden right here.”
Decoder key
Pirate decoder key
No letters change — Pirate keeps real English spelling.
Goblin decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: tion → shun, ing → in, th → d, er → az, or → az. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like sneaky, itsy, yooz, gobby or an ending like -y, -iz, -oo, -in.
Easy Trail (ages 5–8)
Clue #1 · Pirate
Arrr, look-out under a pillow on the couch, matey!
Clue #2 · Goblin
Check-y sneaky-inside shoe-in by front-iz doaz-oo!
Clue #3 · Pirate
Arrr, seek behind the kitchen curtains, matey!
Clue #4 · Goblin
Look-in sneaky-inside toy box!
Clue #5 · Pirate
Arrr, ye found the plunder! It was hidden right here! Shiver me timbers, matey!
Pirate decoder key
No letters change — Pirate keeps real English spelling.
| look | → | look-out |
| search | → | seek |
| you | → | ye |
| treasure | → | plunder |
| it | → | it |
Goblin decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: tion → shun, ing → in, th → d, er → az, or → az. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like sneaky, itsy, yooz, gobby or an ending like -y, -iz, -oo, -in.
Hard Trail (ages 9–12)
Dragon, Wizard and Elvish-inspired all reshape unfamiliar words with a prefix or ending, and Dragon also reorders the sentence itself. Kids who finish this trail have genuinely broken three different ciphers, not just memorized one.
By flame and sky, varserchath morwindowath morforak gorfoldedath thalpaperor morneror — under ancient wings.
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Search near the window for a folded paper.”
Hide Clue #2 near a window.
By the ancient arts, the ancient-nextoth mystical-cluius ancient-restsara arcane-insideius mystical-anoth ancient-oldeyn ancient tome ancient-onara the elder-shelfius. By the arcane — so it is written.
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “The next clue rests inside an old book on the shelf.”
Hide Clue #3 inside an old book on a shelf.
Elen síla, ellokë aminunderion vanyagreniel calëplantarë vanyabyiel elendoriel — nai vanya.
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Look under a green plant by the door.”
Hide Clue #4 under a houseplant by a door.
By flame and sky, thuru mornextak draclueth morwatsath drainsidear thalshoeth gorboxeth morunderor gorbedeth! Varok — under ancient wings.
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Your next clue waits inside a shoe box under the bed.”
Hide Clue #5 and the prize inside a shoe box under a bed.
By the ancient arts, well elder-doneoth, ancient-sekeroth. The ancient-tresurael was elder-hiddenara arcane-insideius elder-thisius elder-veryeyn ancient-boxeyn — so it is written.
Reveal English (for the grown-up running the hunt)
English: “Well done, seeker! The treasure was hidden inside this very box.”
Decoder key
Dragon decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: c → k, f → v, j → zh, q → kh, x → ks, y → i. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like dra, thal, mor, var or an ending like ath, uun, or, ak, ar.
Wizard decoder key
No letters change — Wizard keeps real English spelling. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like arcane-, mystical-, elder-, ancient- or an ending like ius, ara, oth, ael, eyn.
Elvish-inspired decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: k → c, ck → c, j → y, v → w, z → s, x → ks. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like el, elen, amin, calë or an ending like ë, iel, ion, arë, iel.
Hard Trail (ages 9–12)
Clue #1 · Dragon
By flame and sky, varserchath morwindowath morforak gorfoldedath thalpaperor morneror — under ancient wings.
Clue #2 · Wizard
By the ancient arts, the ancient-nextoth mystical-cluius ancient-restsara arcane-insideius mystical-anoth ancient-oldeyn ancient tome ancient-onara the elder-shelfius. By the arcane — so it is written.
Clue #3 · Elvish-inspired
Elen síla, ellokë aminunderion vanyagreniel calëplantarë vanyabyiel elendoriel — nai vanya.
Clue #4 · Dragon
By flame and sky, thuru mornextak draclueth morwatsath drainsidear thalshoeth gorboxeth morunderor gorbedeth! Varok — under ancient wings.
Clue #5 · Wizard
By the ancient arts, well elder-doneoth, ancient-sekeroth. The ancient-tresurael was elder-hiddenara arcane-insideius elder-thisius elder-veryeyn ancient-boxeyn — so it is written.
Dragon decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: c → k, f → v, j → zh, q → kh, x → ks, y → i. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like dra, thal, mor, var or an ending like ath, uun, or, ak, ar.
| your | → | thuru |
Wizard decoder key
No letters change — Wizard keeps real English spelling. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like arcane-, mystical-, elder-, ancient- or an ending like ius, ara, oth, ael, eyn.
| book | → | ancient tome |
| was | → | was |
Elvish-inspired decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: k → c, ck → c, j → y, v → w, z → s, x → ks. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like el, elen, amin, calë or an ending like ë, iel, ion, arë, iel.
Answer key — for the organizer only, do not hand out
Easy Trail
| #1 | Look under a pillow on the couch. | Hide Clue #2 under a couch pillow. |
| #2 | Check inside a shoe by the front door. | Hide Clue #3 inside a shoe by the front door. |
| #3 | Search behind the kitchen curtains. | Hide Clue #4 behind the kitchen curtains. |
| #4 | Look inside the toy box. | Hide Clue #5 and the prize inside a toy box. |
| #5 | You found the treasure! It was hidden right here. | This is the final clue — the prize goes here. |
Hard Trail
| #1 | Search near the window for a folded paper. | Hide Clue #2 near a window. |
| #2 | The next clue rests inside an old book on the shelf. | Hide Clue #3 inside an old book on a shelf. |
| #3 | Look under a green plant by the door. | Hide Clue #4 under a houseplant by a door. |
| #4 | Your next clue waits inside a shoe box under the bed. | Hide Clue #5 and the prize inside a shoe box under a bed. |
| #5 | Well done, seeker! The treasure was hidden inside this very box. | This is the final clue — the prize goes here. |
Make Your Own Clue
Need a 6th clue, or want to run this again next year? Type a short, simple sentence and translate it into any of this site's 10 fictional languages.
Translation will appear here
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a real secret code, like something historians or spies used?
No. Each clue is written in one of this site's original fictional languages — a mix of real vocabulary swaps and consistent sound-shift rules, not a historical cipher. It is built for entertainment and creative play, the same way the rest of the translator is, and every clue is generated the same way any phrase on this site is translated, not typed by hand.
What ages does this work for?
The Easy Trail (Pirate and Goblin) suits ages 5–8 — Pirate barely changes the words at all, and Goblin adds just one letter-swap habit. The Hard Trail (Dragon, Wizard and Elvish-inspired) suits ages 9–12, since those three reshape unfamiliar words and, in Dragon's case, reorder the whole sentence. Pair an older kid with a younger one on either trail if your group is mixed.
Do I have to print anything to play?
No — printing is optional. The "Print this kit" button formats the clue cards and decoder key for paper, but you can just as easily read the cipher text on a phone or tablet during the hunt and keep the decoder key open in another tab.
How long does the actual hunt take, separate from setup?
Most groups finish a 5-clue trail in 10–20 minutes, depending on group size and how tricky your hiding spots are. If it goes too fast, hide clues farther apart or add a rule like "everyone must reach the spot together before opening the card" to slow things down.
Can I write my own bonus clue in a different language?
Yes — this site has 10 fictional languages in total, and the translator at the bottom of this page works with any of them. Keep bonus clues short and simple, the same way the ones above are written, since long or slang-heavy sentences are harder to turn into a clean, decodable clue.
Curated by Aster Vale (pseudonym used for this project) · Last reviewed
Every clue above is fictional-language entertainment, not a certified cipher or an official translation. Free to print and reuse for parties and classrooms.