Puzzle competitions, 18+

Some prizes are drawn. Some have to be solved.

Hidden Round is about the competitions where you answer a question, crack a code or finish a puzzle to take part. Every week there is a free round to practise on, and plain notes on how puzzle and skill competitions are actually judged. No predictions, no paid entries, just the puzzle and the rules around it.

Shift decoder

Round two is a shift cipher, the most common code in puzzle competitions and treasure hunts.

7

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, including to us.

Round 61

Three puzzles, one week

Take a hint whenever you like. Nobody is counting, and this round is just for practice.

How it works

What decides a puzzle competition

Four things worth knowing before you send in an answer anywhere.

Skill or chance

Read which one it is

Some competitions pick a winner by judging answers. Others use a simple question to qualify and then draw at random from the correct entries. The official rules always say which, usually in the section about how winners are chosen.

Judging

Who decides, and how

A fair puzzle competition names its judging criteria and who applies them. Where two answers are both valid, good rules say so in advance rather than deciding afterwards.

Tie-breakers

The question after the question

When many entries are correct, a tie-breaker settles it: a closest-number guess, a short written answer, or a timed round. The tie-breaker is often the real competition, so read how it is scored.

Safety

Solving never costs money

No genuine competition asks for a fee, a card check, a password or a code from your phone to release a prize. A message asking for any of those is not from the organiser.

3Puzzles a round
2Hints each
0Accounts needed
61Rounds published
Weekly email

Next round, sealed and delivered.

The new puzzle round, last week's answers with the working shown, and puzzle or skill competitions that are open to enter with a free way in. One email a week, unsubscribe in one click.

ULEA YVBUK · shift 7 if you are curious

Send me the round

Your address stays with us and our email platform. That is the whole list.

We send a confirmation email first. Nothing else arrives until you click the link in it.

Got a question?

Write to us. We reply within 48 hours.

newsletter@hiddenround.com
Privacy

Privacy Policy

Last updated 1 week ago

This page explains what information Hidden Round collects, what we do with it, and how to make us stop. It covers the website at hiddenround.com and the emails we send.

Who we are

Hidden Round publishes a weekly puzzle round and explains how puzzle and skill-based prize competitions work. We do not run competitions, we do not judge entries for anyone else, and we award nothing. Contact us at newsletter@hiddenround.com.

Email addresses: how we get yours

We only hold an email address if you gave it to us. That happens in one of two ways:

We record the date, time and page where a sign-up was made, and the moment it was confirmed, so we can show you where a subscription came from if you ever ask.

What we send

Subscribers receive a weekly email with the new puzzle round, last week's answers explained, and puzzle or skill competitions that are currently open to enter. Those emails carry commercial content, including promotions run by third parties. We never send a message claiming you have won something, and we never ask for a payment, a card number, an account password or a verification code by email.

How to stop receiving email

Every email carries an unsubscribe link at the bottom. One click is enough and there is no confirmation step. You can also write to newsletter@hiddenround.com with the word "unsubscribe" and we will remove you by hand.

Unsubscribes are processed immediately and always within 72 hours. After that the address stays on a suppression list, which exists only so that you are never added again by mistake. You can ask us to delete that record too.

Who else sees your address

Your address is stored with the email platform we use to send messages, which processes it on our behalf and under contract. Beyond that processor, we do not sell your address, we do not rent it, and we do not pass it to advertisers for their own use.

What else the site collects

The decoder and the hints on the front page run entirely in your browser. Nothing you type, reveal or solve is recorded or sent anywhere.

Cookies

The site uses functional cookies needed for pages to display correctly. Blocking cookies in your browser costs you no content on this site.

Your rights

You can ask what data we hold about you, ask for it to be corrected, ask for a copy, or ask for it to be deleted. Write to newsletter@hiddenround.com and we will respond within 30 days. You do not have to give a reason.

Age

This site and our emails are intended for adults aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has subscribed, tell us and we will remove the address immediately.

Answers and puzzles you send us

If you send us an answer, a solution method or a puzzle of your own, we may publish it, credited however you like, including anonymously. We never publish email addresses. You keep the rights to any puzzle you send; we only ask to be the first to publish it.

Using the puzzles

Solve them, share them, use them at a club or in a classroom. Short extracts may be quoted with a link back. Republishing full rounds as your own is not permitted.

Accuracy of what we publish

We describe how promotions and reward mechanics commonly work. Operators change terms, promotions close and regional rules differ. Always read the official rules of a promotion itself, which is the only version that binds anyone. Nothing here is legal or financial advice, and nothing here is a prediction of any outcome.

Trademarks

Brand names, game titles and trademarks belong to their owners and appear here for identification and commentary only.

Changes to this page

If this policy changes, the new version appears here with a fresh timestamp at the top. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the revised version.

Contact

Anything at all, including data requests and unsubscribes: newsletter@hiddenround.com

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