Posting Notes for Puzzles Solved But Not Found

[+succotash]

There have been quite a few threads on puzzles caches over the past few weeks. Some don't enjoy puzzles and filter them out, and others enjoy solving and finding them.

 

But there also seems to be a consistent message that lots of cachers like working puzzles that can be solved from home even if they never get to the physical cache. For example, some solve puzzles in foreign countries or states they don't plan to visit. Sometimes puzzles are solved in advance of a trip and just don't end up fitting into the travel plans.

 

I would think the owner of puzzle cache would appreciate a note on the cache page letting him/her know that someone solved and enjoyed the puzzle part. This could be especially nice for caches that are rarely found, which is one of the disappointments that some cache owners have posted about here. I'm interested in thoughts on this practice - would it generally be viewed as favorable, a positive thing?

[Andronicus]

There have been quite a few threads on puzzles caches over the past few weeks. Some don't enjoy puzzles and filter them out, and others enjoy solving and finding them.

 

But there also seems to be a consistent message that lots of cachers like working puzzles that can be solved from home even if they never get to the physical cache. For example, some solve puzzles in foreign countries or states they don't plan to visit. Sometimes puzzles are solved in advance of a trip and just don't end up fitting into the travel plans.

 

I would think the owner of puzzle cache would appreciate a note on the cache page letting him/her know that someone solved and enjoyed the puzzle part. This could be especially nice for caches that are rarely found, which is one of the disappointments that some cache owners have posted about here. I'm interested in thoughts on this practice - would it generally be viewed as favorable, a positive thing?

 

Never thought of that. As the owner of a puzzle cache, I think that it would be nice to get notes about people solving the puzzle.

 

I always wonder how people solved my puzzle. I only know of one way, but based on people's comments (which of course are very generic so that they don't give anything away), it seems that people are comming up with other ways to solve it.

[+BlueDeuce]

People always enjoy a nice compliment. But then again, no good deed goes unpunished.

[+CanUK_TeamFitz]

I just published a puzzle and it occurs to me I'd like to see some notes too from those who solve it!

 

And am I glad that this is not another "anti-" thread, for a moment there I thought it was going to be a rant about people posting notes with no intention of finding!

[Mr.Yuck]

This sounds like a great idea, and I've seen it a few times.

 

My most difficult puzzle, some Canadian guy from like 100 miles away has on a "solved but not found" bookmark list on my cache page. I have no problem with that, but I'm sure there are people out there who would get all crazy about bookmark lists on their cache page.

[+StumpWater]

I have a "SOLVED, TO-FIND" puzzle bookmark list. I'm also working on a few puzzles where the physical final is located quite far from my home area. I've posted notes to those cache pages, never got a complaint

 

I also own a few puzzles and would LOVE to have people solve and post notes or bookmark. Why on Earth would a CO not want that? Perhaps there are reasons, but I can't see what they'd be .......

[+kunarion]

I would think the owner of puzzle cache would appreciate a note on the cache page letting him/her know that someone solved and enjoyed the puzzle part. This could be especially nice for caches that are rarely found, which is one of the disappointments that some cache owners have posted about here. I'm interested in thoughts on this practice - would it generally be viewed as favorable, a positive thing?

Yes, that's a good idea. I've added that to my Mystery Cache description just now: "Leave an online log if you finish the puzzle even if you can't go to the cache itself."

 

The first comment on my Mystery Cache was a note that they had solved it (a few minutes after it was published). But it's in a strange county park, where most people must pay a steep fee to park. That's why I hid it there (and made it a "puzzle"), so it's not a high-traffic cache. But some folks can only afford to do the puzzle

 

I'd like to know which puzzle caches are fun to solve, just because I'd like to try those. So logs about that would be great. Many cache "Found" logs don't even mention working a puzzle.

Edited November 11, 2009 by kunarion

[+Kit Fox]

I posted a "first to solve" on A Mystery Cache, and got hounded by requests for hints for 3 months.

[+Xantos10]

Basically....I HATE puzzle caches. And I know everyone has their own opinion and many of you LOVE them. Normally, I just filter them out. I will solve the easier ones (especially with a way to check to see if I have the correct corrdinates). Some of the puzzles are too hard and not interesting. I guess the owners of those just don't want as many people visiting their caches. It's easy to see that often their numbers of visits are lower. When I come home after a long day at work, I want to relax by hunting a few caches, not solving puzzles. But again...to each his own!!!

[+kunarion]

I posted a "first to solve"

... and got hounded by requests for hints for 3 months.

The Second To Solve asked people to not ask for hints. I don't know if that helped any

Edited November 11, 2009 by kunarion

[+Tequila]

I posted a "first to solve" on A Mystery Cache, and got hounded by requests for hints for 3 months.

 

Sadly, that is the risk associated with this idea.

 

As an owner of several complex puzzles, I like to see they have been visited by faraway cachers. To know they took the time to solve it, is quite a compliment.

[+jhauser42]

This sounds like a great idea, and I've seen it a few times.

 

My most difficult puzzle, some Canadian guy from like 100 miles away has on a "solved but not found" bookmark list on my cache page. I have no problem with that, but I'm sure there are people out there who would get all crazy about bookmark lists on their cache page.

 

That was a fun puzzle! One of these days I actually have to go find it.

[+Castle Mischief]

As somebody that has recently created two puzzles (my firsts) and having received a few PMs and emails from out-of-state looking for help solving them (to create their own) and can't say that I would mind such a note. I'd take it as a compliment that somebody found the puzzle interesting enough to try and solve.

 

Same with bookmark lists. Bookmark away.

[+succotash]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! It seemed like a good idea and something cache owners would appreciate but I wondered if there was something I was missing. It seems like it's worth giving the CO a compliment even if it means you get asked for hints. Good idea to verify your solution with the cache owner if there isn't another way to verify and post a short and sweet note.

 

I will keep better track of our solved puzzles (I tend to lose papers quite often... ) and post notes for the ones we enjoyed the most.

[+Tequila]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! It seemed like a good idea and something cache owners would appreciate but I wondered if there was something I was missing. It seems like it's worth giving the CO a compliment even if it means you get asked for hints. Good idea to verify your solution with the cache owner if there isn't another way to verify and post a short and sweet note.

 

I will keep better track of our solved puzzles (I tend to lose papers quite often... ) and post notes for the ones we enjoyed the most.

 

GSAK is excellent for keeping solved puzzle info. You can add "corrected coordinates" and notes on how you solved it etc.

[+uxorious]

Some of the puzzles are too hard and not interesting. I guess the owners of those just don't want as many people visiting their caches.

 

I guess I see this a little different then you. Some puzzles are too hard or not interesting to me, but for puzzle lovers, maybe not. I think the owners of the more difficult puzzles are just trying to provide some fun for one group of people. If I'm not into puzzles that doesn't change.

 

On topic, I have seen notes on puzzle pages from people who have solved them, but for one reason or another cannot seek them. Good idea.

[+niraD]

I will keep better track of our solved puzzles (I tend to lose papers quite often... ) and post notes for the ones we enjoyed the most.

I used to keep information about solved puzzles in my Palm PDA, as text memos. I had a separate category for Geocaching memos.

 

Now, I use Geocaching Basecamp to store the solution coordinates instead. Then I can send my "Solved, Unfound Puzzles" PQ to Geocaching Basecamp, and download a GPX file from Geocaching Basecamp with all the coordinates corrected.

[+Chrysalides]

If you use certitude, it keeps track of who solved the puzzle and checked the solution. I believe another checker lets you know how many attempts have been made (correct and incorrect) but can't recall which one.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There have been quite a few threads on puzzles caches over the past few weeks. Some don't enjoy puzzles and filter them out, and others enjoy solving and finding them.

 

But there also seems to be a consistent message that lots of cachers like working puzzles that can be solved from home even if they never get to the physical cache. For example, some solve puzzles in foreign countries or states they don't plan to visit. Sometimes puzzles are solved in advance of a trip and just don't end up fitting into the travel plans.

 

I would think the owner of puzzle cache would appreciate a note on the cache page letting him/her know that someone solved and enjoyed the puzzle part. This could be especially nice for caches that are rarely found, which is one of the disappointments that some cache owners have posted about here. I'm interested in thoughts on this practice - would it generally be viewed as favorable, a positive thing?

 

It's a practice that I've done often, but usually if I'm the first or one of the first to solve it. That tells the owner that someone has solved it and others that may be working on it that it is, in fact, solvable. That doesn't mean that I'll provide any help to others that have not been able to solve it.

[+fizzymagic]

I would think the owner of puzzle cache would appreciate a note on the cache page letting him/her know that someone solved and enjoyed the puzzle part.

Great idea! I don't know why I never thought of it.

 

Only problem for me now is that I have a couple hundred notes to write.

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Some of the puzzles are too hard and not interesting. I guess the owners of those just don't want as many people visiting their caches. It's easy to see that often their numbers of visits are lower. When I come home after a long day at work, I want to relax by hunting a few caches, not solving puzzles.

 

The same can be said for a cache that is very difficult to find or requires a really long hike to get to the cache location. Not every cache needs to be easy to find in a short amount of time.

 

After a long day at work, I don't have time to go and hunt a few caches. Even the closest unfound caches to me are just too far away to get to and get back home in time to pick up my son from after school care. I have plenty of time in the evening to solve puzzles. I pretty much see "hunting a few caches" and "solving puzzle" at mutually exclusive activities that don't have time conflicts.

[+flask]

i sometimes see these notes and sometimes it appears nice and other times the first-to-solve notes just seem like so much "nyah-nyah".

 

then you see notes from people who announce that if it weren't for their meeting/concussion/wedding/blahblah they'd have been FTF, so the real fisrtfinder shouldn't be so proud of themselves.

 

what's next? posting first to identify the parking? first to read the listing? first to post a note?

[+Chrysalides]

what's next? posting first to identify the parking? first to read the listing? first to post a note?

I like having fun with my first to DNF - but another local cacher usually beats me to it.

Edited November 11, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+JohnE5]

I would actually love it. I need someone to test my newest cache awaiting to be published. Any takers? It's Morse code puzzle with a major twist.

[+Xantos10]

Definitely some people like to solve puzzles and some people don't. This is Geocaching and my major effort is to find a cache; not to solve someone's almost impossible puzzle. If you like puzzles, I am sure there are thousands of sites on the internet just for that purpose. If you want to put up a puzzle, don't make it so hard that only a few people try to solve it. Also, by placing a cache using a hard puzzle, you have taken up an area that someone could have placed a traditional cache. In my area, the caches are so satturated that it is very hard to find a good location to place a new cache. I am sure you puzzle lovers are going to jump on me for this post, but if all you want to do is to solve the puzzle and not look for the Geocache, then try www.puzzle.com or something like that.

[+Castle Mischief]

Definitely some people like to solve puzzles and some people don't. This is Geocaching and my major effort is to find a cache; not to solve someone's almost impossible puzzle. If you like puzzles, I am sure there are thousands of sites on the internet just for that purpose. If you want to put up a puzzle, don't make it so hard that only a few people try to solve it. Also, by placing a cache using a hard puzzle, you have taken up an area that someone could have placed a traditional cache. In my area, the caches are so satturated that it is very hard to find a good location to place a new cache. I am sure you puzzle lovers are going to jump on me for this post, but if all you want to do is to solve the puzzle and not look for the Geocache, then try www.puzzle.com or something like that.

 

Since you've already stated that you don't like puzzles, why on earth would I cater to your desires when I place a puzzle cache?

 

And how are your comments remotely on-topic? The thread was about posting notes on remotely-solved puzzle caches, not "list your personal screed against puzzle caches".

[+Tequila]

I would actually love it. I need someone to test my newest cache awaiting to be published. Any takers? It's Morse code puzzle with a major twist.

 

Sure. Fire away.

[Mr.Yuck]

I have a "SOLVED, TO-FIND" puzzle bookmark list. I'm also working on a few puzzles where the physical final is located quite far from my home area. I've posted notes to those cache pages, never got a complaint

 

I also own a few puzzles and would LOVE to have people solve and post notes or bookmark. Why on Earth would a CO not want that? Perhaps there are reasons, but I can't see what they'd be .......

 

This is a great idea with the bookmarks, and the one on my puzzle doesn't bother me. I have seen people get their panties in a wad over FTF bookmarks on their cache pages, and especially for one that was more or less being used to advertise a Delorme Challenge. So I wouldn't doubt there are people out there who don't want a solved puzzle bookmark list. Not many, I'm sure though.

[ximines]

I totally rely on cachers from other countries to try my puzzles. I live in "The Land of the Living Dead"..Pattaya.

 

Gave a talk on Astronomy to the local expat's club..Any Questions ??

 

"My Sign is Libra..can you tell my fortune ?"

[+WRASTRO]

Definitely some people like to solve puzzles and some people don't. This is Geocaching and my major effort is to find a cache; not to solve someone's almost impossible puzzle. If you like puzzles, I am sure there are thousands of sites on the internet just for that purpose. If you want to put up a puzzle, don't make it so hard that only a few people try to solve it. Also, by placing a cache using a hard puzzle, you have taken up an area that someone could have placed a traditional cache. In my area, the caches are so satturated that it is very hard to find a good location to place a new cache. I am sure you puzzle lovers are going to jump on me for this post, but if all you want to do is to solve the puzzle and not look for the Geocache, then try www.puzzle.com or something like that.

Just because you do not care for any particular puzzle or for puzzles in general does not in any way mean that puzzle caches should go away. If you don't like puzzles you have the choice to not attempt to solve them. If someone had a great idea for a hide in a particular area they should have placed it. It seems silly to me to try to demonize the puzzle cache hider. My area is also pretty well saturated. I sure don't think poorly of the puzzle creators. This just seems to me to be a strange attitude. And if your area is so saturated with caches that you can't find a new spot for a cache I would say you should be celebrating.

[ximines]

[b]"It seems silly to me to try to demonize the puzzle cache hider. My area is also pretty well saturated. I sure don't think poorly of the puzzle creators. This just seems to me to be a strange attitude." [/b]

 

Many years of seeing churlish attitudes in life and on forums, has lead me to one iron clad conclusion

 

"They aren't getting any"

[+succotash]

I'm not sure a bookmark would serve the same purpose as a note especially if the bookmark were a list of ALL puzzle cache solved but not visited. A note to the cache page lets the CO know that you found that particular puzzle to be especially interesting or enjoyable. A bookmark might be a good supplement to the note - if another cacher was interested enough in the original puzzle to read be reading your note they might want to follow-up by looking at your bookmark for other puzzles. I know some COs do object to bookmarks but I've never seen a good explanation for that (I don't understand how they can clutter a cache page when only the top three are visible).

 

Thanks for the suggestions on methods to keep track of solved puzzles.

[+Harry Dolphin]

i sometimes see these notes and sometimes it appears nice and other times the first-to-solve notes just seem like so much "nyah-nyah".

 

Yeah. They strike me as gloating.

[+succotash]

i sometimes see these notes and sometimes it appears nice and other times the first-to-solve notes just seem like so much "nyah-nyah".

 

Yeah. They strike me as gloating.

 

I hope for every one that comes across as gloating, ten or twenty more come across as something positive. It should be possible to compliment a cache owner, honestly share that you've solved and appreciate a puzzle, and not be viewed negatively.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I hope for every one that comes across as gloating, ten or twenty more come across as something positive. It should be possible to compliment a cache owner, honestly share that you've solved and appreciate a puzzle, and not be viewed negatively.

 

If I wished to thank puzzle owner for an interesting puzzle, I would e-mail her or him.

[AZcachemeister]

I don't see any harm in it.

I suppose the owner might be glad to know that SOMEONE was able to solve the puzzle, and seekers would enjoy knowing that the puzzle was indeed solvable.,..BUT:

If you haven't signed the log, have you truly solved the entire puzzle?

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

I often have time when I cant cache and I get kind of bored so I will pull up some puzzle caches and solve them. When Im sure I have the correct coordinates (verified) I "count coup" on them and post a note. Solving the puzzle is part of my geocaching experience even if I never will go out and get the cache.