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Opinions on a mystery cache


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I'm getting ready to release an unknown/mystery cache that I have been working on for several weeks. This should be a good challenge and will require a good deal of research as well as some advanced field calculations. It very well could take several hours or days of research and multiple trips to more than one location to figure it all out but I think finders will enjoy it. I already have my cache page set up and all of my waypoints accounted for and I'm down to just putting the cache itself onsite.

 

This is where I need some opinions. I originally had a medium size L&L loaded with quality SWAG that I was going to use. But I've since come up with an idea for a different container that might be more fitting for the area and ties in with the theme of the mystery but it could only contain a log book and possibly some coins.

 

My question is if you spent days doing research (not all of it possible by internet), had to determine and find specific locations and/or objects without the use of a GPS, maybe had to learn some new techniques to figure out coords, and had to make multiple trips to figure everything out, would you be disappointed or feel cheated if the cache only contained a log book when you finally found it?

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I think most puzzle solvers primarily are interested in solving the puzzle - my friends who do this type of cache are not disturbed by micros. And it wouldn't matter to me because the cache would go straight to my ignore list. So actually I would prefer it to be in a Home Depot lot.

Edited by mulvaney
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Thank you all for the replies. You've all expressed pretty much the way I felt about it too but I just wasn't sure how others might feel. I know that I much prefer to find a full blown cache myself, but the log only types have never bothered me any as long as the location was nice. I haven't done very many mystery caches myself and certainly none that required a lot of effort so I don't really know if I'd feel differently about finding a log only type after putting in that much effort.

 

No Home Depots, 7-11's or dumpsters on this one Briansnat. I like to think that I'm one who got the whole "language of location" concept from the get go. None of mine are what I would consider urban hides. Even my most lame cache still requires a decent walk or bike ride to get to.

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I'm getting ready to release an unknown/mystery cache that I have been working on for several weeks. This should be a good challenge and will require a good deal of research as well as some advanced field calculations. It very well could take several hours or days of research and multiple trips to more than one location to figure it all out but I think finders will enjoy it. I already have my cache page set up and all of my waypoints accounted for and I'm down to just putting the cache itself onsite.

 

This is where I need some opinions. I originally had a medium size L&L loaded with quality SWAG that I was going to use. But I've since come up with an idea for a different container that might be more fitting for the area and ties in with the theme of the mystery but it could only contain a log book and possibly some coins.

 

My question is if you spent days doing research (not all of it possible by internet), had to determine and find specific locations and/or objects without the use of a GPS, maybe had to learn some new techniques to figure out coords, and had to make multiple trips to figure everything out, would you be disappointed or feel cheated if the cache only contained a log book when you finally found it?

not if it was listed as a micro

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No. I might feel a bit cheated if after all that work it brought me to a Home Depot parking lot or next to the dumpster behind a 7-Eleven, but the container wouldn't matter to me one bit.

What the fez-head said.

Me, too.

 

And if the container did tie in with the theme of the mystery, I'd find that to be a great touch.

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I doubt most puzzle-solvers really care about the size of the container, but if I go to all that work I don't want to be taken to the back lot of a strip-mall. It doesn't necessarily need to be a view of Yosemite Falls either...just a nice place to enjoy the fruits of my labors. A container that ties in with the puzzle is always a plus...assuming it can keep the log dry and signable.

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My question is if you spent days doing research (not all of it possible by internet), had to determine and find specific locations and/or objects without the use of a GPS, maybe had to learn some new techniques to figure out coords, and had to make multiple trips to figure everything out, would you be disappointed or feel cheated if the cache only contained a log book when you finally found it?

If the container size is listed as a micro I won't bother with the puzzle cache. If I solve a puzzle cache I prefer a complete reward, which includes a watertight swag-size container in a decent location. If the container is listed as a small but I can't fit a small travelbug into it I'm going to be unhappy with the overall caching experience.

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Thanks for the opinions. I think I will go with the themed container, although it will take me a day or two to make. What I have in mind is definitely not a micro, but more along the lines of a themed object with a hidden (and waterproof) compartment. I'll make the compartment as big as possible but it will likely be only be big enough for a log and some coins.

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No. I might feel a bit cheated if after all that work it brought me to a Home Depot parking lot or next to the dumpster behind a 7-Eleven, but the container wouldn't matter to me one bit.

What the fez-head said.

Me, too.

 

And if the container did tie in with the theme of the mystery, I'd find that to be a great touch.

 

One of the things I like about mystery caches is that, frequently, they use a common theme throughout all aspects of the cache. When the cache title, the puzzle itself, the location, and the container are all tied together with a common cache, it often, for me makes for a very memorable cache. If every aspect does *not* follow a theme, I don't mind it when the container itself is the one piece that doesn't fit.

 

I've got a cache where the title, the cache description, the location, and the container (and even when it was placed) are all tied together with a common theme, and it typically get some of the best logs of any of my hides.

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