Friday, October 30Every game with a new puzzle each dayToday's colour: Rust
Daily Games to Play
Filters1

Filter the games

Your choice stays on as you move around the site, until you clear it.

Where you play
Kind of puzzle
26 more
Price
Time to play
Players
New puzzle at
Extras

Your filters leave this game out of every list.

Clear filters

Code Cracker (NZ Herald)

Rate it

The NZ Herald's daily codeword: work out which letter each number stands for and reveal the mystery answer.

Play Code Cracker (NZ Herald)

on nzherald.co.nz

Code Cracker for 7 October 2026: the mystery-answer strip of numbered squares above a numbered codeword grid with the given letters N and Y filled in green, and the A to Z letter board beside it

Code Cracker is the New Zealand Herald's online codeword puzzle, supplied by Lovatts. Every day a new grid appears in which each letter has been replaced by a number, and you crack the code, starting from a couple of given letters, to fill the grid and reveal a mystery answer.

About Code Cracker (NZ Herald)

Code Cracker is one of the daily puzzles on the NZ Herald's Puzzles and games page. It is a codeword: a crossword-style grid with no clues, where every square holds a number and each number always stands for the same letter. The page says new puzzles are published every day of the week, and the player shows today's puzzle along with the previous six days.

The puzzles come from Lovatts Publishing Group, and the player is served by Puzzle Experts. A couple of letters are given at the start. From there you look for word patterns, such as repeated numbers or common endings, and each letter you place fills in everywhere that number appears. When the grid is complete, a row of numbered squares spells the day's mystery answer.

The page is marked as Premium content, so you need an NZ Herald Premium subscription to play.

It suits codeword and cryptogram fans, and crossword solvers who enjoy pattern spotting more than clues.

How to play Code Cracker (NZ Herald)

  1. Open Code Cracker on the NZ Herald site (Premium subscription needed) and pick today's puzzle.
  2. Start with the letters given: they fill in every square with their number.
  3. Look for word patterns, then click a square and type the letter you think matches its number.
  4. Complete the grid; the numbered strip at the top spells the mystery answer.

Screenshots

The Code Cracker player: its logo spelled over numbered code tiles, and tiles for today and each of the previous six days

Tips

  • Look for short words and common endings such as -ING and -ED.
  • E, A and S are the most common letters in English, so the most frequent numbers often stand for them.
  • Only dictionary words are used, never proper nouns, in the grid itself.

Questions

Do I need a subscription?

Yes, the page is marked as NZ Herald Premium content.

How often is there a new puzzle?

Every day of the week; the player lists the last seven days.

Who makes the puzzle?

The puzzle help credits Lovatts Publishing Group.

Ratings and reviews

Your rating of Code Cracker (NZ Herald)

No account needed. Reviews show once they have been checked. Privacy

More daily word games