Word-to-code matching

The idea

In a word-to-code puzzle, every letter stands for the same digit wherever it appears. You are given some words with their codes, and each digit lines up with the letter directly above it. If CAT is 527, then C = 5, A = 2 and T = 7. The same letter always keeps the same digit, so A is 2 in every other word too.

To crack a new word, find each letter you need in the given words, note its digit and the position it came from, then build the new code in order. Letters that appear in more than one given word are a good check: their digits must agree in both places.

Work one letter at a time and tick each one off. The new code must have exactly as many digits as the word has letters. You can only work out letters that appear in the clues, so if a letter never appears, its digit cannot be found.

Worked example

CAT is coded as 527, CAR is coded as 529 and EAR is coded as 329. What is the code for TEA?

1. From CAT, the third letter T = 7.
2. From EAR, the first letter E = 3 and the second letter A = 2, which agrees with CAT.
3. Build TEA in order: T = 7, E = 3, A = 2.

Answer: 732

Watch out

• Copying a digit from the wrong position in a given word.
• Assuming digits follow alphabet order instead of using the clues.
• Guessing a digit for a letter that never appears in the given words.