GCHQ's Christmas Challenge

[prpr]

Finally cracked it all.
7 first, then 2 easy, 3 part 3 took me ages to work out why but the rest easy, so obviously had filled it in anyway.
4 I had to look up all the verticals, but then easy.
5 got parts 1 and 4 and then looked at the map and worked the rest out - fairly obvious.
6 took a while to work out what they were after, but once I did that it was straightforward, and I'd already guessed the location.
1 took me a surprisingly long time.
Morse is rather rusty, not that I ever really knew it, so had to look some of it up, but was obvious after the first 3 letters.
Assigning animals to places obviously easy.
The final code fairly easy, then reorganising it to deliver the message.

 

[Black Hole]

I'm pleased it entertained.

 

[Black Hole]

Here's the new one for 2025.

Some differences this year, the first being GCHQ have been issuing daily puzzles as a sort of Advent Calendar, as anyone who watches BBC Breakfast will know.

The second is there are three versions of the challenge, in the form of three Christmas cards with designs by schoolchildren on the front and the actual challenge on the back (but note there is also some kind of puzzle in the front design). The version which has appeared in the media today is the second of the three, as illustrated below (but it's a bit fuzzy due to the capture method and upload limits):



Download all three versions in a PDF from GCHQ here: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/files/gchq christmas challenge 2025.pdf. I would have split out just that page, but even that is too big to upload here.

 

[prpr]

Unless I'm going blind, there's definitely an error on the third one: WKH VLAWK DOG where the O should be something else.

I've decoded the password, without the red/green letters on page 3 which have stumped me so far.
I've done all apart from number 4 of the words, but haven't yet got the description of the work, or the meaning of the letters round the card.

 

[prpr]

Bonus: Ofrse Difm pqlbemp rnrbh qzvpjx!

 

[Black Hole]

Like last year, I've not looked at it yet.

 

[prpr]

Have done 4 now - I'd taken a punt at what it might be earlier and have been proved right. No nearer the end result though.