GCHQ 2025 Christmas puzzle questions and hints revealed

If you love testing your mind then it’s the perfect time of year as the annual GCHQ Christmas quiz has been released.

The UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency creates a Christmas Challenge puzzle every year and this year marks a decade of challenges.

While the questions are aimed at teenagers and young people, they are tricky enough for adults to be left bamboozled by.

The agency said the puzzles aim to “test codebreaking, maths and analysis, and skills such as lateral thinking, ingenuity and perseverance”.

GCHQ’s chief puzzler, Colin, said: “This year’s Christmas Challenge features seven puzzles designed to test everything from codebreaking and mathematical analysis to lateral thinking and creativity – the same blend of skills our teams use every day to keep the country safe.

“We’ve designed the puzzles so that no one will find them all easy! Some will suit analytical minds, others require creative leaps or perseverance.”

If you’re struggling, read below for a bit of a helping hand, followed by the questions. GCHQ has not revealed the answers yet but these hints may just be enough. The quiz can also be downloaded on the GCHQ website.

Here are those handy hints from GCHQ:

1. You might not have to look far for the special word.

2. The streams are rivers, and the driftwood is from one which flows in the opposite direction to the other six.

3. The start of the robber’s route is straight forward.

4. I like my sweater and computer, but they aren’t complete.

5. V can only be ONE thing, which leads you to R, which leads you to P.

6. SOMEONE HAS ENCODED the beginning of the message.

7. Each flag represents a 7-letter European country.

So there’s all the hints for you. And here are those all important questions for the 2025 GCHQ Christmas quiz.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7