Creating a puzzle cache

[+Skillet68]

I'm creating a puzzle cache and need help with it. Wanted to see if anyone on here would be willing to give me a hand. The cache will be hidden on an island so the terrain will be a 5. The difficulty doesn't need to be a 5 but I would like for it to be atleast a 3.5-4.0. (the cache itself will be very hard to find) I was thinking about making some sort of dairy of a pirate and sprinkle the coords in there. But that wouldn't be that difficult. Was thinking about maybe having a map and having the coords hidden on it. Just looking for ideas and help.

 

Thanks in advance!

[+KoosKoos]

That's a really wide-open question. What types of puzzles do you like? any general thoughts on where you're heading with it?

 

Here is one I did:

 

Siege of Vicksburg

 

Originally, my letter was in a nice PDF version, but due to some computer glitches, I had to revert to the plain text you see now. Finders had to first locate 2 altoid mint containers at historic (and pretty much unknown) sites that were important to the civil war.

 

Then, using the phrases in those containers, plug it into a Vigenere cipher decoder as the key code to get the final coordinates. The container itself was a 5 gallon bucket, so at that point, it was a very simple find.

 

It was a difficult and time consuming puzzle, but was generally well received around here.

[+Skillet68]

I really want everything they need to be on the cache page. Either in text (story) or picture (map).

[+Lasagna]

Here's one of my favorite pirate themed caches ... doesn't involve an island, but it does involve finding the coordinates to three separate hides from which you obtain three portions of a map which conveniently doesn't tell you exactly what area it's from or the exact coordinates of the final hide (although each piece of the map has some reference points that when put together allow you to figure out where you need to go) -- from there a little satellite recon combined with so good old one-the-ground comparison of the clues to what you see yields the final. This one took a good bit of work to complete.

 

The Legend of the Wretched Cursed Treasure of Gold (GCRCNM)

Edited August 3, 2008 by Lasagna

[+J-Way]

Just curious, but are you looking for ideas from which you can create your own puzzle, or do you want someone else to create a puzzle for you?

[CLV3]

I'm creating a puzzle cache and need help with it. Wanted to see if anyone on here would be willing to give me a hand. The cache will be hidden on an island so the terrain will be a 5. The difficulty doesn't need to be a 5 but I would like for it to be atleast a 3.5-4.0. (the cache itself will be very hard to find) I was thinking about making some sort of dairy of a pirate and sprinkle the coords in there. But that wouldn't be that difficult. Was thinking about maybe having a map and having the coords hidden on it. Just looking for ideas and help.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Umm a 5 just because its on an island? Thats kinda high unless there are no public ferries to the island. Just being on an island alone shouldn't warrant a 5 for terrain in my opinion. There are island caches that are rated 1-2.

 

Also, what kind of puzzles are you looking for?

[crawil]

The 5 terrain would be warranted if it required a boat to access it.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The 5 terrain would be warranted if it required a boat to access it.

 

When using the Clayjar cache rating form an automatic terrain rating of 5 indicates:

 

Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc) or is otherwise extremely difficult.

 

A cache on an island might technically be accessible via a long swim, an inflatable raft, or $6 one person "raft". Unfortunately "knowledge or experience" is not as easy to define, and some may try to access an island cache using one of the above methods but may not have to cognitive skills to understand that what they are attempting is a very bad idea.

[+CCrew]

The 5 terrain would be warranted if it required a boat to access it.

 

Agreed. It then kicks in the "requires special equipment" ie: a boat. That makes it a 5 Terrain.

 

Shoot for a 3.5 or 4.5 hide. That will put it on the radar of many "well rounded" grid seekers. The .5 variations are a pain to locate close by usually and people will travel for them. Just my experience.

 

-Roger

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The 5 terrain would be warranted if it required a boat to access it.

 

When using the Clayjar cache rating form an automatic terrain rating of 5 indicates:

 

Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience, (boat, 4WD, rock climbing, SCUBA, etc) or is otherwise extremely difficult.

 

A cache on an island might technically be accessible via a long swim, an inflatable raft, or $6 one person "raft". Unfortunately "knowledge or experience" is not as easy to define, and some may try to access an island cache using one of the above methods but may not have to cognitive skills to understand that what they are attempting is a very bad idea.

[+niraD]

Agreed. It then kicks in the "requires special equipment" ie: a boat. That makes it a 5 Terrain.

 

Shoot for a 3.5 or 4.5 hide. That will put it on the radar of many "well rounded" grid seekers. The .5 variations are a pain to locate close by usually and people will travel for them. Just my experience.

Or, if it only "sorta" requires a boat, then give it 4.5 Terrain. Combine that with a 3.5 or 4.5 difficulty, and you've got a double-whammy for the "well rounded" grid seekers.

[+Skillet68]

Just curious, but are you looking for ideas from which you can create your own puzzle, or do you want someone else to create a puzzle for you?

 

Looking for ideas to create my own puzzle but would not turn down an offer to create it. I have no ability to create a gif or jpeg file for say a map.

 

I'm probably gonna scrap the puzzle idea and just make it a very difficult hide.

 

On the terrain rating, I only had it a 5 because of the need for a kayak or canoe. Although, at times, you could reach it by walking across rapids. But that would require tresspassing on private property. Didn't want anyone doing that.

[+9Key]

Make it a multi with the first stage on the shore, the second on the island, and the final back on shore somewhere. Make 'em work for it!

 

Having just the coordinates out on the island would help reduce your maintainence visits to the island. I know many of the island caches in my area tend to go missing since islands are popular places for non-cachers to visit and the caches get plundered and stolen, prompting a visit from the cache owner. Hiding the coordinates to the final stage on a metal tag might be the way to go.

Edited August 5, 2008 by 9Key

[CLV3]

The 5 terrain would be warranted if it required a boat to access it.

 

Plenty of places have public ferries. I don't see how that would warrant a 5 for terrain. That should be reserved for mountain climbing and such activities. Now if it was an island where you had to have your own boat that would be different.

 

I just know i recently did a cache on an island where I grew up. There is a ferry that goes out all day long. I think terrain was rated at like 2. If I had seen that it said 5 and found it easy to get to by just taking a ferry out I probably would have expected a lot more challenge.

 

However, if the reason for the ratings is in the cache description I suppose thats cool though.

Edited August 5, 2008 by CLV3

[knowschad]

The original post said

The cache will be hidden on an island so the terrain will be a 5.

 

So why so many responses stating that it should have a terrain rating of 5 when the OP already said that it will be?

Edited August 5, 2008 by knowschad

[CLV3]

The original post said

The cache will be hidden on an island so the terrain will be a 5.

 

So why so many responses stating that it should have a terrain rating of 5 when the OP already said that it will be?

 

Sorry, as I am new to the game, I am always trying to learn more about it. As I will be hiding a cache soon on an island as well I am curious about the rating system. Never was my intention to start any debate.

Edited August 5, 2008 by CLV3

[+J-Way]

The original post said

The cache will be hidden on an island so the terrain will be a 5.

So why so many responses stating that it should have a terrain rating of 5 when the OP already said that it will be?

Sorry, as I am new to the game, I am always trying to learn more about it. As I will be hiding a cache soon on an island as well I am curious about the rating system. Never was my intention to start any debate.

Because there is controversy about caches on easily accessible islands. Some say that any boat requirement automatically means a 5-star terrain rating. Others argue that caches on islands accessible via ferry are no different than caches accessible via taxi. The key things to look at in this argument are the commercial access guidelines. Specifically, you usually cannot place a cache where finders are required to pay an access fee (exceptions usually granted for state parks and not-for-profit entities).

 

This means that caches that require finders to pay to ride a private ferry are not allowed… but caches where the finder can use his/her own boat to access the island are allowed. This means a 5-star terrain rating, even though the majority of finders will simply pay out the few bucks and cache a ride on the ferry.

 

Edit to add: This is in situations with a private ferry, similar to the Chattanooga Water Taxi. Public ferries are usually considered to be different. If an island has regularly scheduled ferry service then the ferry is really no different than a toll road. The money you pay may go to a private company, but that company is usually under contract with the government so it's considered a public fee not a private fee. Also, an island with scheduled ferry service usually has people living on it. These caches should have normal terrain ratings, ignoring the fact they're on an island.

Edited August 5, 2008 by J-Way

[CLV3]

Edit to add: This is in situations with a private ferry, similar to the Chattanooga Water Taxi. Public ferries are usually considered to be different. If an island has regularly scheduled ferry service then the ferry is really no different than a toll road. The money you pay may go to a private company, but that company is usually under contract with the government so it's considered a public fee not a private fee. Also, an island with scheduled ferry service usually has people living on it. These caches should have normal terrain ratings, ignoring the fact they're on an island.

 

Thank you. That does clear it up ALOT. This is a public island that >I< am referring to with quite a population and a public ferry. Like you said, no more costly than taking a cab somewhere. The OP's may be a different situation. I will question it no more.