🛸 FST Halloween Spooktacular 2026 - The Truth Is Out There

10 words missing. 10 discount codes waiting to be discovered. One very suspicious alien message. 📡

We've received a signal from beyond the stars… and we need your help to decode it.

Something has been detected. A strange transmission. A signal unlike anything we've encountered before.

It appears to have travelled an extremely long way to reach us… and somehow, it's made its way to the FST HQ.

We've managed to intercept the transmission, but there's a problem.

It's encrypted.

Our scientists, cryptographers and highly trained minifigure specialists have been unable to make sense of it. So we're turning to you.

Because whatever is on the other side of this signal… really wants to talk to us. 👽

📡 INCOMING TRANSMISSION

We've discovered 10 encrypted words hidden throughout our Halloween Spooktacular.

They'll appear in unexpected places, including our newsletters and social media posts.

When you find one, bring it back here and use one of the decoding methods below to reveal the hidden word.

And there's something else…

Every decoded word is a 20% OFF discount code.

That's right. Crack the code. Reveal the word. Use the word at checkout. Get 20% OFF.

But each code can only be used once, so you'll need to be quick.

🔐 THE ALIEN DECODING STATION

The aliens haven't made things easy.

Each transmission may use a different cipher, meaning you'll need to figure out how the word has been encoded before you can uncover its true meaning.

Here are some of the decoding methods we've identified so far…

🕵️ CAESAR CIPHER

A classic from Earth!

Each letter has been shifted a certain number of places through the alphabet.

For example, with a shift of 3:
A → D
B → E
C → F

So:
FDW → CAT

Can you work out how far the alien signal has shifted the letters?

👽 ATBASH CIPHER

This one is particularly suspicious.

Atbash replaces each letter with its opposite in the alphabet:
A ↔ Z
B ↔ Y
C ↔ X
And so on.

For example:
XZG → CAT

Simple. Unless you're an alien...

🔢 A1Z26 CIPHER

The aliens seem to have discovered numbers.

Unfortunately for them, humans already invented this one.

Each letter is represented by its position in the alphabet:
A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
All the way to:
Z = 26

For example:
3 - 1 - 20 → CAT

What a fiendish ruse!

📻 MORSE CODE

We've also intercepted several transmissions that appear to use dots and dashes.

Morse Code translates letters into combinations of:
· dots
– dashes

For example:
-.-. .- - → CAT

If you hear strange beeping coming from your computer while you're decoding these;

Don't panic!

It's nothing to worry about… probably.

🕸️ PIGPEN

Now things are getting weird.

The Pigpen Cipher replaces letters with symbols based on their position within a series of grids.

It looks less like a human language and more like something you'd find scribbled on the wall of an abandoned spaceship.

Here's the key:

The letters are replaced by the shape of the section of the grid they occupy.

For example, the Pigpen symbol for A is the top-left corner shape, whilst E is the centre shape.

So when you encounter a collection of mysterious symbols that look like tiny alien hieroglyphics, don't assume the aliens have invented a new language.

They've probably just discovered Pigpen.

🧩 THE MESSAGE

Every decoded word is more than just a discount code - It's a piece of the transmission.

There are 10 missing words hidden within the message below. As you discover each one, add it to the appropriate space.

Once all ten have been found, the alien message will finally be complete. But what could they possibly be trying to tell us?

👽 THE FINAL TRANSMISSION

Q!NY 4ZR9S*?NK, W4 SZV4 +βJ4RV4D Y+!R _______ F+R J+M4 9?M4.
4Z0S J+*ZR 0Y0*4 F+R +N4 _________ QSZJ4, Y+!R Y+!NK WZ*K 9S4 J9R449J W4ZR?NK FZ*J4 FZ04J.
Y+!R QR?M?9?V4 ________ D+ N+9 F++* !J!
9S4Y 0ZRRY 4MQ9Y V4JJ4*J ZND D4MZND _______ FR+M 9S4 S!MZNJ WS+ S?D4 β4S?ND 9S4?R D++RJ.
Y+! 0+V4R Y+!R D+M?0?*4 ?N ________ J?*K, D?JQ*ZY 4FF?K?4J +F ________ JYJ94MJ, ZND Q*Z04 D4FZ04D, +RZNK4 V4K49Z9?+N +!9J?D4.
W4 D+ N+9 !ND4RJ9ZND 9S?J _________ 4ZR9S 0!J9+M, β!9 W4 S?KS*Y ZQQR+V4 – W4 9++ W?JS 9+ _________ Y+!R Q*ZN49!
+N 9S4 31J9 Q*ZN49ZRY ZX?Z* JQ?N +F Y+!R 4ZR9S-M+N9S “+09+β4R”, Z Q+R9Z* W?** +Q4N. D+ N+9 F4ZR 9S4 ________ 9SZ9 ZWZ?9 β4Y+ND ?9.
*4ZV4 Z _________ +F M?N?Z9!R4 0S+0+*Z94 βZRJ +!9J?D4 Y+!R Z?R*+0K F+R +!R 0+**409?+N – ?F Y+! D+, W4 MZY JQZR4 Y+!…
SZQQY 4ZR9S FR?KS9 N?KS9, S!MZNJ!

📡 TRANSMISSION STATUS: INCOMPLETE

👀 WHERE WILL THE SIGNAL APPEAR?

The encrypted words could turn up anywhere. Keep your eyes peeled across:

📧 FireStar Toys newsletters
📱 Our social media posts
👻 Halloween Spooktacular content

When you spot an encrypted word, don't ignore it. Capture it. Decode it. Claim it.

Each decoded word is a single-use 20% OFF discount code. And once somebody else uses it… it's gone.

🛸 THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

We don't know who sent the transmission.

We don't know what they want from us.

And, frankly, we're a little concerned about whether they "come in peace".

But there's only one way to find out...