The Secrets of the SPY Codes

A short article by Siddharth Pyapali



Have you ever wondered how spies carry secret messages from one place to another? They use a lot of spy codes! Shhh... close your windows and doors, I'm going to tell all the secrets of the spy codes. So, read on to know more! (hint: every code needs a key)


Every spy uses their own spy codes, but there are some famous codes that you can use after reading this article to make your own secret messages. Some popular codes are:

The Pinhole Code

The Undercover Postcard Code

The Wheel Code

The Playing Card Code

The Navajo Code

The Spike Code

The Keyboard Code

Pinhole Code

All you need to make a Pinhole Code is a magazine or newspaper and a safety pin. That's it! The Pinhole Code was invented in England almost 200 years ago. People who could not afford to mail a letter figured out a clever way to write to their friends. They would make pin prick holes above printed letters in the newspaper until they spelled out a message. It didn't cost a cent to send. And that is the secret of the Pinhole Code.

The Undercover Postcard

You can send a secret message by writing in tiny letters in a top right corner of an envelope. Place a gummed stamp on top of it, and mail. Your friend needs to place some water on top of the stamp to easily peel it off to read the secret message.

The Wheel Code

The wheel code is made by using a decoder wheel. The decoder wheel has an inner wheel and an outer wheel. The outer wheel has the alphabet in clockwise order from A to Z. The inner disc has all the letters jumbled up. By lining up the inner wheel with the outer wheel you can make the wheel code.

The Playing Card Code

Pull out two full suits of cards from a deck to make a total of 26 cards. Make each card stand for one letter from the alphabet. This is the key to a code.

The Navajo Code

This is about sending messages in your native languages. The enemy will never know what you are talking about.

The Spike Code

You start with the Morse Code that is made up of dots and dashes. To convert the Morse Code to the Spike Code, use a tall spike to stand for a dash and a short spike for a dot.

The Keyboard Code

The letters on the keyboard are not in A-Z order, so take a blank sheet of paper and order it A-Z. Place it on the keyboard and type your message using the key!