Puzzle Caches

[+JustAlan]

I don't know about the rest of you, but a side effect of this thread is that I've now got quite a list of good/fiendish puzzle caches to go at over the winter, with the aim of ticking some off in the spring.

 

After all, Derby is effectively the centre of the UK (see the Lucky 7 cache in the vague vicinity), so I 'should' be able to cover quite a wide area (family commitments not withstanding - basically, the family think I'm mad and should be committed!)

[+Happy Humphrey]

It started 25miles from home...the last part was only 2mile from home.

If you mean that the published coords are 25 miles from home then you should mention that privately to a reviewer, as it doesn't conform to the guidelines I quoted above.

 

The caches published coords are correct for the start which is 25miles south of where I live, I'm just moan as each of my trips back and forth from each stage took me closer to home with the final part being 2miles from where I live. Last person to complete it took 2 years

 

Puzzled GeoCacher

As the "last person to complete", I must say that this was a most enjoyable multicache. It did take 2 years, but only because I don't live anywhere near and tended to do the next stage whenever I was in the area. It's been around for a long time, and I suspect that the guidelines weren't quite so rigorously applied in those days. If such guidelines threaten a very good cache like this one, it's quite right to apply a liberal interpretation - although if it was my cache I'd probably modify it slightly so that the first stage was near to the final location.

 

FWIW I enjoy having the occasional challenging puzzle to mix in with micros, nanos, power trails, conventional caches, easy puzzles, hard and easy multicaches and all the others - entertaining stuff!

 

BTW JustAlan - I think you may be giving an inadvertent hint to a certain puzzle ("see the xxxx cache in the vague vicinity") and need to modify this post before too many people twig!

 

HH

[+Papakas]

Now this topic has got the attention of many puzzle cachers I'll inject the following:

 

If a setter wishes their puzzle cache to be treated as such they must ensure that information given in finders (and DNFs) logs doesn't compromise the puzzle.

 

I openly admit that if I look at a puzzle cache and am unable to grasp the solution I'll surf through whatever information is available in the cache listing, including the additional hint, logs and photos and, certainly for a cache that's been in place for some time, either the solution or clues to the location will be found.

 

Let's face it, who wants to sit frustrated staring at a cache listing when the real enjoyment is getting out there in the countryside making the find and the proof is getting your mark in the log book.

 

I'm pro puzzle caches as there are some really clever ones around such as Wilkinsons "Bunny has a holiday in the UK" but sometimes the challenge for me is not in cracking the puzzle but finding a way round it to discover the cache location and ultimately get to the log book.

 

Anyone reading this who's had a visit from me to their puzzle caches and are concerned that their cache is achieveable without solving the puzzle you're quite welcome to contact me and I'll confirm whether it was solved or by-passed and if the latter I'll advised how I managed it.

 

Before anyone starts slagging me off saying I'm not caching in the spirit of Geocaching just remember the basics that is to find the cache and providing proof by getting your mark in the log book! Keep your replies constructive for the benefit the topic as you'll not gain anything by criticising my methods!

[+JustAlan]

BTW JustAlan - I think you may be giving an inadvertent hint to a certain puzzle ("see the xxxx cache in the vague vicinity") and need to modify this post before too many people twig!

 

HH

 

Hi HH,

 

Unfortunately I don't have the option to edit the original post (not sure why, the Edit button just isn't there). However I hoped (and still do) that what I said is as much/little use as the co-ordinate given on the cache page. If I'm proved wrong, then I apologise in advance to anybody I may have offended (especially the cache setters) with that part of the post.

 

JustAlan

[nobby.nobbs]

i have to admit that i employ a similar technique to pyoung1s

[+Happy Humphrey]

I don't see anything wrong with using "detective" techniques to bypass a puzzle/mystery. In my view, if you can find a cache then you can log it.

 

If you've just obtained the coordinates from someone else then I don't see the point, but if you've worked it out yourself from in-situ hints and deduction then it's entertaining to see if you're correct. As Pyoung1s observed, it's up to the cache setter to tighten it up if the puzzle can be bypassed. Or perhaps not - a clever mystery cache could have more than one way of approaching it: a puzzle for those that like puzzles, but discreet hints (mystery) for those that don't.

 

HH

[+Pieman]

I don't see anything wrong with using "detective" techniques to bypass a puzzle/mystery. In my view, if you can find a cache then you can log it.

 

If you've just obtained the coordinates from someone else then I don't see the point, but if you've worked it out yourself from in-situ hints and deduction then it's entertaining to see if you're correct. As Pyoung1s observed, it's up to the cache setter to tighten it up if the puzzle can be bypassed. Or perhaps not - a clever mystery cache could have more than one way of approaching it: a puzzle for those that like puzzles, but discreet hints (mystery) for those that don't.

 

HH

Absolutely agree. There is a very dificult Wirral cache that I found using an obscure clue in one of the logs and it was as great a sense of achievement finding it this way as by cracking the puzzle. When people leave hints in their logs to my puzzles I invariably leave them as they generally just add to the fun.

[+The Bolas Heathens]

Us too - we do the same on multi's if we can, missing out some, or all of the stages (we do then generally visit the stages, especially if something of interest is at one of them). You'd be surprised by what the cache setter gives away in the text of the cache sometimes, never mind some of the logs.

 

We really enjoy solving caches this way if we can as it gives a great sense of achievement.

 

i have to admit that i employ a similar technique to pyoung1s

[+Papakas]

Us too - we do the same on multi's if we can, missing out some, or all of the stages (we do then generally visit the stages, especially if something of interest is at one of them). You'd be surprised by what the cache setter gives away in the text of the cache sometimes, never mind some of the logs.

 

We really enjoy solving caches this way if we can as it gives a great sense of achievement.

 

No comment!

[+Nanny Ogg]

You'll see from my post count, that I rarely visit these boards, but as one of the puzzle cache setters in Surrey, I thought it worth posting my thoughts. If you lack the time or inclination to read it all skip to the last paragraph, where there's a summary.

 

I got into caching via a colleague at work around a year ago, and the first cache I tried was Brambler's Pitch One. I failed to find, but was hooked. I then set off to do some local non-puzzle caches, but kept heading back into the hills to try and complete the Pitch series (which to date is still my favourite). I enjoy caching mostly as something to do when I'm out walking the dogs on my own, and because it takes me to places that I wouldn't normally go to walk.

 

I have eight caches set, and all are puzzles. Why? Well there are many reasons for it, but they start with the fact that I enjoy setting them. I enjoy the research, and that eureka moment when you can fit an idea into a cache. I spend more time walking around looking at likely sites for hides and clues than I do caching, and more time researching ideas than solving puzzles.

 

Another reason is that I also enjoy solving puzzle caches, but more importantly I often enjoy not solving them. To clarify that last point, I will use the original "'X' Marks the Spot" cache by purple_pineapple as an example. I spent several months looking at this cache and searching the internet before hitting on the solution. However, I learned an awful lot about local history and some very interesting people, and I feel much richer for it. It also spawned a series of caches in tribute to the original XMTS cache and the inventors of Surrey, of which I have set four, and have more planned. XMTS III has some interesting fact and folklore connected to it, and this in turn got me into researching other folklore for use in caches. For example it is highly unlikely that I would ever have heard of "The Buckland Shag" or "The Rabbit Woman of Godalming" without some of the local puzzle caches I have done and set. As an aside, the latter of the two examples is a true and fascinating story (albeit a little worrying) and well worth reading up on. There are countless more stories, both myth and fact that I won't mention as they are likely to be involved in caches in the future, and yes they will involve research both on the internet and in the field in order to find the cache, but I promise that you'll learn something from them.

 

I enjoying finding caches full stop. I do however get more satisfaction from finding a puzzle cache, because I've put more into it, and as has been previously mentioned, it is something to do when not actually out caching. There is also an element of getting your own back on other local cachers who have stumped you, as Alboy has mentioned above, but that does not preclude anyone else from getting involved in both solving and setting them. Without puzzle caches such as the Pitch Series, I would not have spoken to a number of people I now class as friends, even though some of them I've never actually met yet!

 

There are indeed a lot of caches round here that require research before setting off into the field, but there are also those that provide puzzles in micros that can be solved with a bit of thought and no need for the internet, and plain caches where you can walk straight to the coordinates.

 

I believe that we are really lucky around here to have so much countryside and a variety of open spaces, and the fact that they are packed with caches of all varieties makes us even luckier. Big respect to all the landowners round here who keep giving permission for them. There is a risk of the place getting oversaturated, and some would say that this is already the case, but there are many places around the country where the caches are few and far between, thereby involving much driving before caching. The more local caches and cachers there are the better.

 

Cachers come in all shapes and sizes, and enjoy different things, and that's the joy of it. We are not all going to enjoy the same things, and puzzle caches are for a certain type of cacher. If caches were cars, not all people who bought a sports car would do so simply to show off or impress their neighbours. Some people actually buy them because they like them (and no, I do not own a sports car). Same with caches, if you like puzzle caches, that's what you're going to set. This is always going to be a subjective discussion, as it's horses for courses. [NOTE - if you skipped straight to this paragraph, then you've missed out the bit on "The Rabbit Woman of Godalming."]

 

Nanny

 

PS. Here's a convenient gif for local puzzle cachers.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Nanny Ogg

[+JustAlan]

Thanks for that Nanny, I look forward to doing some of you puzzle caches if I'm ever allowed to go 'Down South' - do us Midlanders need a visa?

 

Why do I now have an overwhelming desire to fire up Google and start searching for "The Rabbit Woman Of Godalming" .....

 

I better go and have a lie down

[+tjapukai]

Puzzle caches, some are ok, but the Surrey cachers as mentioned above have gone a little mad, let me link you to an example...

36 (of 70) puzzle caches in this area, just over half! (+ a few multis, and 22 normals)

 

Also I should add my opinion, as I said, some are ok, but being so young, I miss out on the wide general knowledge needed to complete some of these puzzles, for example pictures of people in the background, probably well-known personalities, quite hard to find a name from a picture :S

 

never looked at the forum before but Alboy told me there were some interesting comments about puzzle caches at the moment. Time to 'fess up: I am principally responsible for the plethora of Surrey puzzle caches, having set around 30 here in my first year of caching. I make no apologies for that, as I prefer puzzle caches myself as a solver and finder, and partly I was trying to stimulate other local cachers to set ones that I would enjoy (thanks guys to those who have). Nanny Ogg's post echoes most of my own sentiments.

 

If you don't like them then, as Andy33 says, you can simply ignore them (or try them for just 15 minutes). I try to make my puzzles very varied in nature and follow Alan White's dictum that they should be solvable by a person of average intelligence, without spending ages in email dialogue with the setter for clues. I also try to provide several routes into the solution so that age/general knowledge etc shouldn't be a barrier.....Obviously I have got a couple wrong, which have proved harder than intended, but these have been simplified by subsequent additional hints. As someone said in this thread, the joy of geocaching is that you can find your own favourite ways to do it, as both a seeker and setter.

[+pirate_matt]

I enjoy puzzle caches but like many people I get bored easily if i can't solve them fairly quickly. i must admit to on occasions getting my girlfriend to solve the puzzle part as she enjoys them while i do the cache part as thats what i enjoy! (team work)

the ones that i don't get are those caches where you just have to go somewhere get some info which will lead you to the cache. surely these are just multi-caches? i almost feel i have cheated logging a puzzle cache which i think would be better logged as a multi.

[+Escanaba]

I believe that only a small minority of cachers like to spend the time to solve puzzle caches. When a new one pops up, they go for it. This accounts for the initial surge and then the tapering off in hunting enthusiasts. I think that you would get more cachers looking for the cache if you would let them know if there would be travel involved to other sites. I worked on one puzzle cache only to discover the final cache location was over 50 miles away. I never finished the cache and feel it should have been logged as a multi-cache. Minimizing travel distance (and time) is important to me.

[+purple_pineapple]

 

...follow Alan White's dictum that they should be solvable by a person of average intelligence, without spending ages in email dialogue with the setter for clues. I also try to provide several routes into the solution so that age/general knowledge etc shouldn't be a barrier.....

 

Gee thanks!!! I don;t think I know where to start on any of yours yet!! Dorking may be a start!

 

My views pretty much reflect those of tjapukai and Nanny. We have only really set one stinker of a puzzle, which has been mentioned a few times already blatant cache promotion but it is still my favourite cache set. The only downside is that it doesn't get enough logs!

 

I'm sure that with winter setting in, the nights will be spent solving puzzles and the short days will be dedicated to finding those caches! Hopefully....

 

Oh, and the ones round here are nothing compared to a certain tall northern cacher and his Poor Johnsons....