Games for big groups!

[Guest Mildly_Amused]

Hi All,

 

I represent the Salem Geographical Society at Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts. We study a broad range of geographic topics including GIS/Cartography. We have just come across this "Geocaching" stuff and think it would be great fun!

 

We have looked through the Massachusetts and surrounding listings and hope to try one out in the next few weeks. After we do a few, we hope to begin hiding some of our own.

 

One question though. Most cachers seem to go it alone or in very small groups. We might have 10-30 people on a typical field excursion and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for what such a big group might do differently to enhance the Geocaching experience.

 

We have been considering setting up 3-5 teams, with 2 geocaches each. The teams each hide one cache and then leave biodegradeble clues (ie. ketchup written on white bread) along the trails. Then using walkie-talkies, the groups disclose the locations of the "clues". These lead to the first cache, which contains a puzzle to solve which then leads to the final cache! The hope is that with multiple groups leaving clues around, there will be some confusion as to which clues go with which cache... etc.

 

Any thoughts on how to improve this game or any other ideas are very welcome!

 

You can send me email at cadman@bigfoot.XcomX

(just remove the X's in the .com portion - I use this to defeat email search bot's)

 

PS: I am cross posting this to the games board.

[Guest jeremy]

League gaming may be the next step of the game. We usually play in small groups because we're still a small number of players MA seems like a great place to start such a thing.

 

If you want to plan some kind of organized event, let me know and I'll try to promote it on the site for the area of choice (on the results page for Massachusetts, for instance. I could even see if I can work out some kind of signup page if these events get more popular.

 

I can also do some bulk silkscreening, and possibly (if I'm nice to the boss), create some custom shirts for the events.

 

If you want to host an event, we can also provide you with some server space (for free) that you can access through Frontpage Server extensions or ftp. Let me know!

 

J

[Guest cache_ninja]

If the cache is hidden off-trail, 30 people bushwacking their way to it and back might basically blaze a trail there-maybe something to think about.

 

30 people is a lot, i only wish we had that many around where i am. you could create a little geocaching community yourself, maybe teams could somehow compete, each could hide caches of their own, and find caches other teams hid and such, seein gwho could make the hardest to find cache or something.

 

c/n

[Guest jeremy]

For these sort of games we'd definitely want the cache to be temporary, so as not to ruin the environment. I'd also suggest speaking with a park official before doing such a thing, especially if the event gets more people than, say, a boy scout troop.

 

Using natural obstacles definitely makes the game more interesting, but if you wanted to rent out a recreation area and create obstacles to reach the "prize" - This would work just as well (and fun).

 

J

[Guest robanna]

You could set this up similar to an orientering event where you youd have a multiple points to find. you could use diferent shaped punches at each point (to verify that they got there). Break them up into small groups (2-3) and time them to see how long it take them to get get to all of the point and back to the start.

 

To expand on your original idea and use more teamwork, they work in small teams going to multiple points to get a clue to solve a puzzle.

[Guest norbert1973@hotmail.com]

Perhaps you could make it a two part event. First part, the groups go off in different directions (within a predetermined radius)and make their caches. The second part could be that all teams would drop their cache details in a hat, then each team would pick one and the hunt would be on. I know that this idea is not fully formed, but it's a start.

 

Good luck.

 

ps This geocaching idea is great.

[Guest Alex]

Perhaps a series of caches each with instructions to the next stash in a linked circle. eg A->B->C->D->A ... Each group is given the coordinates of one stash. All start at once going to their assigned stash then following the directions until they have visited all...first one home is the winner.

[Guest Mildly_Amused]

proof.

 

We will be setting up a game similar to this one in the next few months - probably in late March or early April - at Brooksby Farms in Peabody (280+ acres of woods, trails, orchards and farmlands!

 

I will post this event (and the full text of the rules) as we approach the date. I am expecting that this will take place on a Saturday or Sunday - and will probably NOT be rain or shine - that is we want to have fun in the SUN!!!

 

If anyone wants to be assured of being emailed about this event, send me a request and I will keep you informed!

mailto:bmcgis@icnt.net

 

Thanks for your help and keep those ideas coming!

[Guest jeremy]

I'm moving this topic to a new forum dedicated to group games around Geocaching.

[Guest Cape Cod Cache]

A few ideas about team play : 1, a GPS twist to Boy Scout troop 'capture the flag/orienteering. Two teams made up of a couple patrols go into 'enemy' territory to retrieve the flags back to the start. Cell-phones or Family Radio Service could add to the heat, ie; keep a 'general' at the base, once all the 'enemy' flags are found and verified,the general sends the patrols en masse to find the final cache. Judes and observers might make it more like a 'war game' (think "The Dirty Dozen" LOL).

2, A 'scramble/shotgun' start, a few teams with a couple patrols each go Hell bent for leather finding caches of different point ratings, dependent upon their difficulty. Lots of opportunity for dirty play in this one ! Perhaps have one with a spring-loaded snake as a mine ! LOL Add paintball and stir!

[Guest lynnwoods]

I think the key to not destroying the environment (and joining the Mountain Bikers on many park managers hate list) is to use a little common sense. Don?t place your cache in heavy undergrowth that will be damaged when seekers crash through it or in wet areas that can be real sensitive to compaction. Pick dry rocky areas not too far off the beaten path. I would also suggest that you rotate the location of your cache so that new trails aren?t blazed by the hoards that seek your stash. I think this has the potential to be a great new outdoor activity and hopefully we will all use our heads and not abuse our parklands.

[Guest Cape Cod Cache]

OK, let me back-pedle a bit. Ranger lynnwoods has a few good points. We have very little of accessable land here on Cape Cod, and as fragile an ecosystem as one can imagine. It's a sand bar with 6"-10" of topsoil. I plan to keep my caches away from natural beaches; 1 step on beachgrass will kill it, eroding us deeper into the Atlantic ocean.

Team sports are ORGANIZED. Use a Boy Scout Camp, or A YMCA camp, etc. Cut a deal, whether monetary or some help with maintaining the place. 2(or more) companies or frats/sororities or a couple small groups of 'rival' GPS teams could do well. The environmental effects of some adults at a Boy Scout camp are markedly less than a bunch of adolescents with knives and hatchets. I bet we can do more good than harm. CCC

(BTW, I'm a merit-badge councelor, I teach Orienteering, Sailing and Pioneering)

[Guest lynnwoods]

You said the magic word Cape Cod. An offer to help with maintainance will open a lot of doors. I can't imagine there is a park anywhere with enough paid employees to take care of it. This place would be a dump it it weren't for all the scouts, clubs, student goups etc. who volunteer to help out.

[Guest daviskw]

How about this Idea??..Take a given area say a 10 mile radius. The size of the area will be made known in advance and participants will be responsible to provide their own maps. Place multiple caches or punches say about 15 in all, in neighborhood parks or public lands. Then have the geocachers meet say at a shopping center or park. Have the first location posted at the start/finish line and start geocachers at timed intervals, say 5 minutes apart. Each cache will have the location for the next cache and a unique conformation punch. Then the times will be logged at the finish and the group that found all the caches in the shortest time wins a prize.

[Guest Alex]

There is a sport here called Rogaining( and elsewhere - the last World Championship was at Kamloops, Canada) which could be adapted to make a great GPS event.

It is similar to orienteering but different in that there is no fixed course, just a whole lot of checkpoints of differing values, the value being based on the difficulty of getting there. Competing teams, of two to five people, decide which to visit and in what order, aiming to score maximum points in the alloted time. Six hours is considered a 'fun' event, 24 hours for a championship (usually midday to midday) so it requires stamina as well as skillful navigating day and night. Some of the adaptions include 'cyclegaines' - on bikes, and 'metrogaines' - in cities using foot and public transport.

Real rogaining, like orienteering, allows only map and compass for navigation, however

the principles could be easily adapted to make it a GPS event.

[Guest RyckZ]

Don't forget rubber stamps as an alternative to paper punches for validating your finds.

After all, rubber stamps are a critial element to GeoCaching's sister sport of Letterboxing.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

"Verdana, Arial">quote:

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Originally posted by Alex:

There is a sport here called Rogaining( and elsewhere - the last World Championship was at Kamloops, Canada) which could be adapted to make a great GPS event.

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Here in the states, "Rogaine" is an over-the-counter drug that promotes hair growth in balding men and women! I'm trying to figure out if there is some connection with this sport, or if it is just a coincidence! (I'm picturing a bunch of bald people running through the forest with GPS units and compasses!)

[Guest robanna]

and the winner get a full head of hair!

[Guest Alex]

Moun10Bike & robanna you must have magic video on your computers. How else would you know the state of my hair!!!

I'm not bald... my hair is just seriously thinning - wish my stomach would also!!

As for the derivation of the name 'Rogaining', some say it is Swedish for 'endless suffering', others say its an anagram of 'go raining'reflecting the weather during many events.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

Alex, you're not alone! I'm fast on my way to the Jean-Luc Picard look myself!

[Guest CaptHawke]

FYI

According to the Austrailian Rogaining Assoiation:

"The Victorian Rogaining Association (VRA) was formed in 1976 with Rod Phillips as President and the goal to coordinate and publicise twenty four hour events as a sport in their own right. The name Rogaining was coined to give the sport an identifiable name. The origin of the name was kept secret for more than 10 years, with Rod Phillips mischievously suggesting it had aboriginal or Swedish origins. The acronym Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance gained popularity, but the name Rogaining originates from the names Rod Gail and Neil Phillips."

http://rogaine.asn.au/ara/docs/history.html