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The Enigma machine was a revolutionary cipher device developed in the early 20th century and adopted by the German military during World War II to secure communications. Its complex system of rotating rotors and plugboard wiring made its codes extremely difficult to break.

But even before World War II began, a team of Polish mathematicians—Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski—cracked early versions of the Enigma using advanced mathematical techniques.

At Bletchley Park in the UK, Alan Turing and his team built on this foundation, creating electromechanical machines called bombes that automated and accelerated codebreaking. Their efforts yielded critical intelligence that shaped Allied strategy and, according to historians, helped shorten the war by several years.

But the fight to break Enigma didn’t just change the outcome of the war—it sparked off the computer age. To deal with the sheer volume of the computational challenge, Alan Turing and fellow codebreakers at Bletchley Park designed sophisticated electromechanical machines, culminating in the development of Colossus—the world’s first programmable electronic digital computer. Though built primarily to break other German codes, Colossus and its predecessors were direct responses to the cryptographic challenges posed by Enigma.

The innovations pioneered at Bletchley—automated logic, pattern recognition, and machine-based computation—formed the conceptual groundwork for modern computing. Alan Turing’s theoretical work, including his concept of the “universal machine,” laid the foundation for computer science as we know it. In this way, the urgency of wartime codebreaking catalyzed one of the most significant technological revolutions in human history.

After WWII, the Enigma's story continued. Believing the machine was still secure, many countries kept using it—unaware that Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA, were quietly reading their messages. Alan Turing, already the prime father of computer theory (the 'Turing Machine'), helped develop some of the earliest general purpose computers - the Manchester computers

Designed by Jürgen Müller, the Enigma touch is a single-board design that aims to closely replicate appearance and function. Electronics on the back of the circuit board do the work; the top side replicates the original Enigma form factor on scale 2:3.


Intended as a handheld device, the Enigma touch is thin enough to be hung on the wall as an object of art. The plugboard at its top can be broken off and installed vertically at the front if you prefer to 'box' your Enigma in the original form factor. We are considering to make such a box if there is interest in that. Do please let us know.

The design esthetic was to keep the exact 'user experience' intact, but replace the elegant, minimalist all-mechanical nature of the real Enigma with a similar minimalist, all-electronic implementation.



So there are exactly zero mechanical parts - the circuit board is not only the front panel, but also a capacitive keyboard and diffuser for the lamp panel letters. Tiny displays under the circuit board show the rotor positions; capacitive sliders reproduce the sprockets for turning the rotors. High quality samples from a loudspeaker in the back evoke the mechanical past of the Enigma.

Why just read about history when you can live it? The Enigma touch is a fully functional encryption device, compatible with all military Enigma versions that existed over time. It allows you to immerse yourself in the early age of crypto and codebreaking machinery hands-on.

This is meant as a somewhat practical communications device! So we also have a two-pack bundle. The idea being, you can exchange encrypted messages with a friend, relatively safely.


Because breaking Enigma's cypher is actually still extremely hard as long as you don't predictably mention your friend's name in every message. Connect the Enigma touch via USB to your computer, and then copy-paste messages between the USB terminal and email/chat/WhatsApp apps. Just let the Enigma do its work on both ends and frustrate snoops and spies worldwide. It'll be a challenge for people you don't even know were listening in :-)

To take the experience further, ask another friend to try intercepting and breaking the messages using a Bombe simulator, just like the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Good luck to him, as long as you follow good practice with Enigma settings.

            Breaking Enigma - the Bombe simulator Breaking Enigma - another Bombe online

Whether you're a cryptography enthusiast, interested in hands-on history, or just looking for a truly unique way to communicate, the Enigma touch is a piece of WWII intrigue, and a surprisingly fun party game to play. If you're in one of those particular niches, of course. In which case, continue reading from the Useful Links list at the bottom of the page!