GCHQ Christmas challenge: Can you solve the puzzle?

Latin dancing, Indian butter and American soldiers are some of the clues for this year’s cryptic Christmas challenge set by the national spy agency.

GCHQ’s annual brainteaser comes in the form of the agency’s Christmas card, sent by the intelligence organisation’s director Anne Keast-Butler.

This year’s puzzle challenges the public to decode the names of UK landmarks, testing skills like codebreaking, maths and lateral thinking.

The deceptively tricky tasks require ingenuity and perseverance, GCHQ said.

This year’s Christmas card includes extra layers for those who want to challenge themselves further, with additional elements hidden within the code.

GCHQ’s Chief Puzzler, known only as “Colin”, described this year’s tests as “fiendishly enjoyable”.

GCHQ Director Anne Keast-Butler said: “The challenge has been designed for a mix of minds to solve, so is best tackled in groups of classmates, families or friends.

“Whether you have an analytical mind, a creative brain or prefer engineering, there’s something for everyone.”

“Colin” said: “You can see from the range of puzzles that some parts are trickier than others.

“However, you do not have to be a genius or top of the class to solve them – you just have to be able to work in a team and embrace the mix of minds and approaches teamwork brings.”

The full challenge can be viewed below or on GCHQ’s website.