A Christmas Caching Puzzle

January 25, 2009

Thank you, Wavector,

I received a very nice Trackable Item and Bug Buddy in the mail today.

To New Members of Geocaching this puzzle is do-able, I didn't have a clue when I first saw this puzzle, but I took it one step at a time and I won a terrific prize.

January 25, 2009

sending contest email now

February 2, 2009

Bump Where did all the Christmas caching puzzle solvers go?????? :laughing:

Edited February 2, 2009 by snowball 58

February 2, 2009

I agree snowball 58. Until your bump, this thread was in danger of being buried. I was going to bump it myself, but you beat me to it. Believe me, if I can get through this puzzle anyone can. I've only been a geocacher for two months and only have 17 finds. I worked on the puzzle, half-heartedly, for two weeks until I realized that I had all the answers. I just checked the appropriate page and see that most of the prizes are still available. The prize is worth the effort. I hope to see some more entries.

1.9k · February 4, 2009

"What contest" email sent.

1.4k · February 4, 2009

PRIZES STILL AVAILABLE

If you are a new member of geocaching.com and you joined anytime after September 1st, 2008 and then you might want to read this page carefully! This is a contest that is open to geocaching accounts created between September 1st, 2008 and December 26th, 2008 (inclusive).

I am willing to give you a free trackable item and a bonus prize to go with it, these are very nice unique trackable items and with the bonus item you could get a prize that is worth about $10.00, if you could even find it anywhere. I will mail this item to you at the address you specify.

Your account must exist when this message is first posted.

This message will be posted December 26th at midnight or shortly thereafter. This contest is intended to be a learning experience and I know a lot of the answers may not be immediately apparent. Things are not always apparent to geocachers and we have one type of cache that is actually called a Mystery/Puzzle Cache where seekers try and find a cache using the information on the cache page rather than the coordinates, think of this hunt as your first puzzle solving experience!

This contest is really about learning; learning how this website and geocaching.com work and learning how to figure out information that isn't readily apparent. You need to master a few website skills, you need to use your imagination to decipher where the answers might be hidden and you need to pay attention. You will need certain snippets of information. You will not need to disclose any information about yourself unless you are a winner, then you will need to send your snail mail so that your new trackable item can be shipped to you. For people who are established as geocachers and use these forums regularly this contest would probably be the easiest contest ever. All you need to do is figure out exactly what I might have to give you, sounds easy doesn't it? Once you figure out what I might have to give you then you will need to send me an email with the answers to the questions to qualify.

You can send me an email using the geocaching.com website.

Before you send your email to me you must make a post in this thread stating that you are "sending contest email now".

The contest entry email must include all the following information -

First and foremost, you must include the "exact name" of the trackable item you are requesting in your email. (copy and paste works here, don't get it wrong or you won't get the item)

That is the first and last step, figure out which trackable item you should request and this is important - make sure you request the correct one!

Read all the contest rules below so you can "find" the answers and win a trackable item.

There are ten questions you need to answer. These questions might seem strange if you are a new reader so don't be afraid to ask questions, just don't ask them in this thread, in fact, you would be better off trying to get some private answers or reading and finding the right solutions yourself. Every question answered publicly will be available to every other person reading so public responses might give another geocacher the answer they need to win!

Here are ten questions you need to answer.

1) Include the geocaching nickname of one of the following people, Jon, Dave, Marianne, Mark or Frank. (this question is the best overall hint, well I think so anyway :bad: ) Do I hear a gnashing of teeth from a certain forum!

2) Name one item that does not belong in a geocache.

3) Include your "home coordinates", they do not have to be precise but must be accurate enough to check your answers. You can change the last digit and then no one will actually know which house is yours in Google Earth!

3) Include the GC number of the active geocache closeset to your home coordinates. (Another hint - You may have to figure out your home coordinates and set them up in your geocaching.com account before this feature works for you.)

4) Include the GC number of the oldest active cache in your state, province, territory or country.

5) Your email must include a description of one advantage that is secured by being a Premium Member of geocaching.com.

6) You must include the name of this geocacher, widely recognized in the geocaching world as having the most influence on this activity. If you have the right name then you will be able to confirm by checking and seeing that this geocacher has found approximately 335 geocaches and has hidden 3 geocaches.

7) You must include the name at least one Charter Member of geocaching.com, preferably one who lives in your state, province, territory or country and you must explain what the term Charter Member means in relation to this website.

8) You must explain one difference between a loc file and a gpx file.

9) You have to tell me which cache is my favourite cache and you have to put that cache on your watchlist.

10) You have to tell me which colour is your favourite colour?

Figuring out which trackable item you need to request is only going to be possible after you make sure you have an acceptable set of answers ready to email. The number of your post here in this thread that says "sending a contest email" is the key to determining which trackable item you request.

Figure out exactly where we are in the contest by counting the the "sending a contest email"(s) already posted to this thread. ie. If you see "sending a contest email" six times then you know that 6 people might have given a correct response before you, you must request the seventh trackable item. Work through the list of trackable items in numeric order, pay attention, if you get the name of your requested item wrong you may be disqualified.

Here is another hint - I will accept the first nineteen messages on this thread that say "sending a contest email" as valid contest entries. If there are entries which are not correct I may accept additional entries. If you haven't sent a contest entry and there are nineteen entries posted already then don't post an entry until I request additional entries.

Additional entries are being requested. If you have already entered and you did not win then you can enter again now. Check the clues posted in the update thread to get additional facts for your new entry.

If your entry is posted when no further entries are requested, you cannot win a prize.

If you post "sending a contest email" message on this thread then your contest email must arrive within 30 minutes of the time of your post. If your message is one of the first nineteen and you think you are right then you will know where to look to see if you were successful.

Please do not post any other messages here, just the message "sending a contest email"

If you want to send a PM to a geocacher here in the Forums asking for help that is OK, but please, don't publicly disclose answers and don't send any messages requesting help to me, I will not offer any hints or help.

Here is one final piece of information that you may find helpful.

If you are a new member of geocaching.com and you have a Premium Membership then you are allowed to answer any three questions with the phrase "I am a Premium Member of geocaching.com".The phrase can be used to answer any three of the questions in the list above but you cannot use the phrase in lieu of identifying the exact trackable item that you are requesting.

So read these rules carefully and then try and figure out the answers.

I hope that the forum regulars will help me out by not publicly posting the answers to these questions.

Good luck new geocachers and have fun learning about this activity!

If you are a new member of geocaching.com and you joined anytime after September 1st, 2008 and then you might want to read this page carefully! This is a contest that is open to geocaching accounts created between September 1st, 2008 and December 26th, 2008 (inclusive).

Additional entries are being requested. If you have already entered and you did not win then you can enter again now. Check the clues posted in the update thread to get additional facts for your new entry.

See Contest Update Thread for Hints and Other Contests

I am bringing a copy of the contest over to page two of this thread.

1.4k · February 4, 2009

"What contest" email sent.

CONGRATULATIONS surteb.

You are the FTF winner in "what contest?"

I will post a picture of your FTF prize after I return from the dentist.

The dentist has big plans for me today.........ouch!

1.4k · February 8, 2009

PRIZES STILL AVAILABLE

If you are a new member of geocaching.com and you joined anytime after September 1st, 2008 and then you might want to read this page carefully! This is a contest that is open to geocaching accounts created between September 1st, 2008 and December 26th, 2008 (inclusive).

I am willing to give you a free trackable item and a bonus prize to go with it, these are very nice unique trackable items and with the bonus item you could get a prize that is worth about $10.00, if you could even find it anywhere. I will mail this item to you at the address you specify.

Your account must exist when this message is first posted.

This message will be posted December 26th at midnight or shortly thereafter. This contest is intended to be a learning experience and I know a lot of the answers may not be immediately apparent. Things are not always apparent to geocachers and we have one type of cache that is actually called a Mystery/Puzzle Cache where seekers try and find a cache using the information on the cache page rather than the coordinates, think of this hunt as your first puzzle solving experience!

This contest is really about learning; learning how this website and geocaching.com work and learning how to figure out information that isn't readily apparent. You need to master a few website skills, you need to use your imagination to decipher where the answers might be hidden and you need to pay attention. You will need certain snippets of information. You will not need to disclose any information about yourself unless you are a winner, then you will need to send your snail mail so that your new trackable item can be shipped to you. For people who are established as geocachers and use these forums regularly this contest would probably be the easiest contest ever. All you need to do is figure out exactly what I might have to give you, sounds easy doesn't it? Once you figure out what I might have to give you then you will need to send me an email with the answers to the questions to qualify.

You can send me an email using the geocaching.com website.

Before you send your email to me you must make a post in this thread stating that you are "sending contest email now".

The contest entry email must include all the following information -

First and foremost, you must include the "exact name" of the trackable item you are requesting in your email. (copy and paste works here, don't get it wrong or you won't get the item)

That is the first and last step, figure out which trackable item you should request and this is important - make sure you request the correct one!

Read all the contest rules below so you can "find" the answers and win a trackable item.

There are ten questions you need to answer. These questions might seem strange if you are a new reader so don't be afraid to ask questions, just don't ask them in this thread, in fact, you would be better off trying to get some private answers or reading and finding the right solutions yourself. Every question answered publicly will be available to every other person reading so public responses might give another geocacher the answer they need to win!

Here are ten questions you need to answer.

1) Include the geocaching nickname of one of the following people, Jon, Dave, Marianne, Mark or Frank. (this question is the best overall hint, well I think so anyway :lol: ) Do I hear a gnashing of teeth from a certain forum!