Mystery - Which Waypoint Is It?

[+CW Iams]

I am planning a mystery cache and wanted to see what people thought of my idea before I run with it.

 

There is a large lake with two islands. I am thinking about placing a mystery cache as such-- The first cache is a micro probably in the general area of the put in dock. In the micro will be three sets of cords (A, B, and C). The cacher will write down or enter all three coords. They then will decide which one to hit first. I am thinking there will be one waypoint on each island, and the third on the other site of the lake. At two of the points there will be a micro saying “Sorry, not this one.” At the third point there will be a regular cache.

 

The lake is a very popular jet skiing / boating (both motorized and non motorized) / water skiing / fishing spot.

 

Does this sound fun? Or would people prefer a multicache hitting all of the points? Obviously that question’s answers will be based on people’s preferences.

Edited June 9, 2005 by CW Iams

[cvcaelen]

I have a cache like that

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...c3-be09036ed35b

 

but with 10 microcaches.

Some go for the cache right after they have found the coords,

some seek all the micro's just for the fun of the jokes on the backs of the ones saying : sorry, not this one

 

Christiaan

[+KYHilltopper]

It's been done. The first cache I ever did was a multi where there are 5 first stages, all close to each other. Each has the coordinates of a cache but only one is actually the second stage of the cache. All the others are stand alone caches in the area.

 

April Fool Cache

 

Do it! It makes the hunt a little more interesting and fun.

 

Clint || KyHilltopper

[+AtoZ]

Been there found the cache. Ihis is NOT a new idea but it is a fun one though.

I would say DO IT.

cheers

[+JMBella]

Yes it's been done. The way you're planning it sounds like a lot of fun. Just don't go over board. I heard of a cacher that hid 10 microcaches!

[tossedsalad]

Making it a guessing game is ok I guess, or you can pick a topic and then have multiple choice questions about the topic. I got a FTF on one like that that took me the afternoon in a large park near here, C&O Cache.

 

The maker had made a mistake and gave the coordinates to the first stage rather than the starting point where the story was given. So I had to figure out the answers to all the questions based on what I knew (or could guess). Each stage of this one had a question with coordinates for each of the two answers. If you got an answer wrong, you would find the alternate one which would then point you back to the one for the right answer.

 

It was a nice afternoon and I really enjoyed this multi.

[+TeamK-9]

I agree with TossedSalad, I think you need to give cachers a better chance than just random guessing. (Unless it's a small lake)

 

I'd recomend maybe a multiple choice question. You could even change it every month. Considering that this cache involves a boat, maybe the question could be about boating or water safety, or maybe it could be a question about the lake itself...

[+Munin]

There's a cache in my area which is based on a geometry problem. Solving the problem yields three sets of coordinates, only one of which is correct. And, wouldn't ya just know it, the correct spot was, of course, the third place I checked. But the other two locations were near scenic spots, so I really didn't mind that I'd spent the time heading over to them and looking around. (Actually, one of the spots can be eliminated with a little bit of sanity-checking, but it was still worth visiting just for the view.)

 

So my thought would be: if you can choose each spot to be a place where people would say to themselves "hey, I'm glad I came here", then I'd think most people would have a great time with it. Doesn't have to be anything extravagantly spectacular about the locations - just a nice view, or a pleasant spot under some shady trees to sit down and relax for a little bit.

 

And I like your idea of having those "not here" micros. I spent quite a bit of time searching the area around my second solution point for the cache I mentioned above - lots of potential hiding spots, so it was difficult to decide whether the cache really wasn't there, or whether it was there and I was simply missing it. But hey, fair enough - it was rated D:4, so I expected to spend a while on that one. Since you might have people going after yours using non-motorized boats, having a way for them to confirm that they're really not at the right spot seems like a good way to keep hot/tired boaters from turning into hot/tired/cranky cachers.

 

So my vote would be: sure, go for it! If I were in your area and had access to a boat, I could see myself having a very fun time with a cache like that.

[+YanniG]

I have placed a version of a multi cache and mystery here in Greece.The difference is that I have a multiple choice question at the first point.I give a question from the ancient Greek history and there are four possible answers.Each answer leads to different coordinates.So if you know ancient Greek history you head straight to the plastic container.If not you are heading for micros that contain just the info "Sorry wrong answer, Please try again !"

The link for the cache is:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...7e-9540bcb32451

 

Greetings from sunny Athens !

[+globalgirl]

It's been done.

Yep, there's precious little that's not already been done - but if it's new in your region, local cachers will be in for a treat.

 

I have a somewhat similar cache (albeit presently temporarily disabled) - but folks don't get to choose. Instead, the first wpt is seeded with special scratch off lottery tickets that I make myself. Half the scratch-offs have the coords that lead directly to the final cache, and the other half - to an interim "detour" wpt not too very far away in the opposite direction. Of course, as folks use up the stash of tickets, the odds of getting the detour change (i.e. there may be more detour tickets than direct tickets or vice versa). Overall, folks find it great fun:

Dumb Luck Detour

 

I also have a cache where folks can choose between "Noodle?" or "Toodle?" (this one too, temporarily disabled - geez the cache owners' lament: wandering/muggled wpts!)

Noodle? or Toodle?

 

Here, folks get 2 sets of coords at wpt 1 whereby they can choose to "Noodle it" (by heading to a 2nd wpt that has a puzzle to solve, but the solution will lead straight to the final cache), or... "Toodle it" (whereby no puzzle to solve, but several more wpts to follow before reaching the final cache. Either way they can reach the final, but the cache appeals to both types of cachers - those who favor puzzles vs. those who don't.

[highpockets]

globalgirl, where do you get the scratch off tickets, is that something you do yourself or have custom made for you. I love the idea.

[cvcaelen]

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...0b-11a3702be742

 

Is another way of letting someone guess where "it" is

 

Christiaan