M*A*R*S Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've started having fun with puzzle caches. Today I've stumbled into three that refer to "the DR" of a word. Try as i might, I cannot find a reference to what this means. Is it a letter to number conversion of some kind? A=1, B=2 and add up the result? so the DR of CACHE would be 3+1+3+8+5 = 20? Many thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I've started having fun with puzzle caches. Today I've stumbled into three that refer to "the DR" of a word. Try as i might, I cannot find a reference to what this means. Is it a letter to number conversion of some kind? A=1, B=2 and add up the result? so the DR of CACHE would be 3+1+3+8+5 = 20? Many thanks! 3+1+3+8+5 = 20? That suggests a Check Sum... eg Find A, B, C, D, and E add the numbers, the check sum is 20. Doesn't mean you have the CORRECT numbers as 2+2+3+7+6 will also add up to 20! Be careful, as giving solutions to caches in the forums is against the sites Terms of Use. Quote Link to comment
M*A*R*S Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 oh, sorry, maybe I wasn't being sufficiently clear. I'm just asking what is meant by "DR" in the context of a puzzle cache. Example: - "determine the DR value of the species of tree at the waypoint" - " DR the words found on the sign" My example for CACHE isn't from any puzzle (at least not one that I know of). Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) Interesting! Just found out what "DR" stands for, and a link to a site to help solve things! ETA. The old adage on the forums for problems with puzzle cache is: "Have you asked the CO?" Edited August 31, 2014 by Bear and Ragged Quote Link to comment
+mdeanbbn Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 oh, sorry, maybe I wasn't being sufficiently clear. I'm just asking what is meant by "DR" in the context of a puzzle cache. Example: - "determine the DR value of the species of tree at the waypoint" - " DR the words found on the sign" My example for CACHE isn't from any puzzle (at least not one that I know of). I am not familiar with the term DR, but I have solved puzzles that use various manipulations of words to get coordinates. Things to consider - in your example - would you be expected deduce a single digit from the word CACHE? If so, then you would need to do additional operations on your sum of "20" to yield a single digit, or find another way to convert words into numbers (sometimes length of word, sometimes using just one of the letters (first, last, some sequence (first or the first clue, second for the second, etc.)). Look for patterns that might fit with some of the coordinates you know. You could ask the cache owner what DR means (it would seem from your question, that is not the significant part of the puzzle), or look at more surrounding puzzles to see how it is used locally. I was able to see some info on the page of a cache close to the unknown you have already found that gives spells out what DR stands for, as well as giving a link to a tool that will help. To help find just unknowns, there is a link on each cache page under the hints section that lets you find nearby caches of this type. Quote Link to comment
M*A*R*S Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 figured it out. DR = "Digital root". Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) figured it out. DR = ... And I'd stop right there! 3+1+3+8+5 = 20 I think you could well be correct. Edited August 31, 2014 by Bear and Ragged Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) figured it out. DR = "Digital root". Cool! The objective of many puzzle caches is to figure things out . If you have questions about a cache, ask the Cache Owner. If you don't understand it, others probably can't either, and (unless it's part of the intended difficulty of the puzzle) the Cache Owner should fix that. Edited August 31, 2014 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+The_Incredibles_ Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) I would have said DR=Difficulty Rating, if I hadn't read the rest of the thread... Edited August 31, 2014 by The_Incredibles_ Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I would have said DR=Difficulty Rating, if I hadn't read the rest of the thread... My guess was "Dead Reckoning". Quote Link to comment
+fizzymagic Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Using digital roots in puzzles is, IMO, a Bad Idea. The main problem is that the digital root cannot be zero except for the number zero. So typically what you see is people introducing additional operations (e.g. subtraction) to make the coords come out right. Mod 10 is a whole lot easier and more robust. Quote Link to comment
+Panther&Pine Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I would have said DR=Difficulty Rating, if I hadn't read the rest of the thread... My guess was "Dead Reckoning". My first geocaching related one was direct route, maybe a road number. First thought was Dr. Who. Also not helpful. Quote Link to comment
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