When creating the code, instead of putting the letters in alphabetical order in the grid, try randomly assigning letters to boxes. This way, people who are familiar with pigpen code will not be able to immediately guess which symbol relates to which letter. The more you randomize your code, the more difficult it will be for others to figure it out. If you are using this code to write to your friends, make sure that they have a copy of your cipher. If you use dots, others may recognize your code as a pigpen code immediately. Try replacing the dots with other symbols, such as 0, X, *, or +. Furthermore, if you really want to confuse people, use multiple symbols in coding your grids. If you are using a single grid and X to form your code, you can make the code even more difficult by writing three letters instead of two in each space. While writing in this method, each symbol will consist of zero, one or two dots. Zero is the left letter, one is the middle and two is the right one. In this version, you will have extra spaces. You can fill them with numbers, punctuation (!, ?, &) or leave them blank. The tic-tac-toe cipher is a type of pigpen cipher used for numbers. Draw a crosshatch grid and fill each space with a number. You don’t need to add dots. Simply use the shape formed by the surrounding lines of each number. Replace “0” with an X. For example, 101 would appear as _| X _|

Summary:
Randomize the order of your letters. Replace dots with other symbols. Write three letters instead of two letters in the spaces. Make your numbers into ciphers.