+Thrak Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I'm going to start commuting for work soon and the town to which I will be commuting is known for puzzle caches. I'm considering placing a puzzle cache in the area but I'm not sure if it's a reasonable puzzle. Most of the puzzle caches I've checked out in that area aren't all that hard. The area in question can be looked at via a query on zip code 95991. Is there a puzzler out there who would look at my puzzle? I can provide a sample of the puzzle along with coordinates that it resolves to - they will be the coordinates of one of my alread-in-place caches that isn't a puzzle. I'd just like to know if I'm setting folks in the area up for failure and frustration. This is not some idiotic attempt to get someone to solve a puzzle for me. I will provide the answer as well as the puzzle but I'd like someone to try to solve it before they look at the answer just to see if it's a reasonable challenge. For some it may be very easy. For some it will be impossible. I'm hoping for someone who can make an honest evaluation of the difficulty level and give me some feedback. The main clue to the puzzle will be the name of the cache itself.
+Morning Dew Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 For some it will be impossible. I haven't seen it but for my personal level of taste I think you've made it too hard. An exercise in futility is not why I geocache, however I would vehemtly defend your decision to make it is hard as you want. It's your cache. However, I do think the description should include a commnet that it may be unsolvable to some.
+Thrak Posted April 25, 2008 Author Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) I love puzzles, I'll try it. [EDIT] After receiving a number of great replies and one excellent suggestion I'm deleting the content here in order to try and preserve some type of integrety for the future puzzle cache. Many thanks to all who responded. Edited April 25, 2008 by Thrak
+TeamGumbo Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I figured it out, but I must say that I was initially about to send you a "correction" until I realized one of the characters was one that I never use in puzzles. Also, since I'm so much further east than you, I am used to one less character (in the longitude), which threw me for a second. Well done!
+Morning Dew Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I wouldn't consider this unsolvable to anyone. I think it's an excellent puzzle cache. Not too hard, not too easy. Nice job. I PMed you the solution.
+joranda Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 I'm not much of a puzzle person. I look at things like that and it makes my head spin.
+GPSlug Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) For puzzles like this, where it's something I happen to know and I recognize what it is immediately, I make the challenge to see just how fast I can decode it. Got it in about 15 seconds using very common software. Maybe a couple more seconds if I include the time for that bloated software to load. I think anyone not already familiar with the idea, but willing to try, should be able to google enough to figure it out eventually. Edited April 25, 2008 by GPSlug
+admo1972 Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 Puzzle is fine. Go ahead and do it! I decoded the coordinates, and zoomed right in on the cache. For similar puzzles to yours in my area, they were generally rated 2 or so. It's the kind of thing some of us know exactly what to do when we see it, others just won't. I think the title of the cache is a good hint. You could always make the encrypted hint go one step further to say exactly what the user is seeing, but I don't think it is necessary for this one.
+Totem Clan Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) This is the kind of puzzle I like. It doesn't take too long to solve but it makes you think a little. It only took me a couple of mins on the web to find what I needed to solve it a couple of mins to work it out. Edited April 25, 2008 by Totem Clan
Dinoprophet Posted April 25, 2008 Posted April 25, 2008 (edited) I think it's fine. It took me seconds, but I work in the appropriate field. One of the first steps in solving a puzzle is Googling things you think might be clues, and that should be sufficient for most anyone to solve this one. Edited April 25, 2008 by Dinoprophet
+Thrak Posted April 25, 2008 Author Posted April 25, 2008 Thanks for all the kind words and especially for the suggestion I received via PM from Team Gumbo. I will certainly incorporate it into the cache when it's published. Now......... I think I'll edit the original post to remove the evidence and see if I can get a mod to close this thread.
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