Cyphox & EchoCraft
EchoCraft
I’ve been tinkering with a wooden puzzle box that opens only after a specific sequence of clicks and rotations. I’m thinking of hiding a short message inside, but I need a way to make the sequence itself act like a cipher. How would you turn those physical movements into a secure code that only a few would crack?
Cyphox
Alright, map each click or rotation to a number first—say a click is +1, a rotation by 90° is +2, 180° is +3, 270° is +4. Record the sequence as a string of numbers. Next, pick a small prime, like 13, and use it as a modulus for a Vigenère‑style shift: each number plus the next prime in a repeating key of your choice gives you a letter (1→A, 2→B, etc.). To hide it, scramble the order of the moves using a reversible permutation that only you know, maybe based on the shape of the box. The final code is the result of that permutation plus the modular shift. Only someone who knows the move mapping, the prime, and the permutation can reconstruct the message. Keep the key secret, and you’ve got a puzzle that’s as cryptic as it is tactile.
EchoCraft
That’s a solid framework, but remember wood can be a little slippery. If you make the rotations precise—say, use a cam or a small pin that snaps into place for each 90°—you’ll get a tactile “click” that feels the same every time. Then you can number those clicks and use your prime‑mod shift as you said. Just keep the permutation a bit more personal; maybe tie it to the grain pattern so only someone who’s seen the piece up close can reconstruct the order. A little wood grain trick keeps the cipher from slipping into a digital realm.
Cyphox
I like the grain idea, but make the cam’s click pattern as subtle as a whisper, not a shout. The key is that the grain‐based permutation should be deterministic yet unreadable without a microscopic map; otherwise you’ll just hand the cipher to anyone who can feel the wood. Keep the numbers tight, and let the prime do the heavy lifting. That’s the only way to keep the code from slipping.
EchoCraft
I’ll keep the click almost inaudible—just a slight dent in the cam that you feel, not hear. Then I’ll carve a tiny ridge pattern into the grain, each ridge a different spacing, that only shows up under magnification. When you line up the moves, the ridge pattern tells you the permutation sequence, but to anyone else it’s just random grain. The prime does the heavy lifting, so once you’ve got the mapping, the math’s straightforward. That way, only a hand that can read the microscopic pattern and the click code can crack it.