CacheReqs Game - Goal-oriented caching

[+GeoJono]

I don't know who may be interested in this kind of thing, but I really enjoyed the Adventure Quests that TheCachingPlace.com put together a few years ago. I didn't really care about the online puzzles and the time delay requirements, and so on, but I liked the cache requirements and the goal-oriented gaming that it produced. I always thought it would be cool to have a tool that could be used to randomly generate a certain number of cache requirements similar to the Adventure Quests, present it in a nice printable format, and use it for my own caching game.

 

I've spent some time creating that tool using VBScript and text files. I have come up with 330 cache requirements plus requirements based on the 118 elements on the Periodic Table. It will also generate what I call Code Caches which are basically cache requirements that include 2 specific characters in the GC code. It pulls 2 alphanumeric characters that have to appear in the GC code in order to qualify.

 

When you run the main script it will ask for your caching name. It will then ask how many requirements you want for your game (the default is 15). It randomly pulls that many requirements and creates a txt file for you to use. Just take that file and go find caches that qualify. I've inserted an example in a code snippet below. As with any caching, you make it your game and change whatever you want to change. Part of the package includes some ideas of how it can be used as an individual or for group participation or competition.

 

Anyway, since VBS files have the potential to be used maliciously, most sites will not allow uploading them, and most computers will not download them without some serious warnings. So, I don't really know how to upload the package for people to try out. I don't even know if there would be much interest in something like that.

 

If there is interest, let me know. Also, if you know how I might be able to upload it somewhere where people can download it safely, please pass on that information as well (I'm not really interested in torrent sites).

 

Thanks,

Jono

 

CacheReqs Game #1

Caching Name: Sample					Start Date: 

Rules:
* One requirement per find.
* All finds must be after the Start Date. No retroactive cache finds.

Requirements:
1.1 [_] Car Cache - Find a cache that mentions cars or car parts or fluids in the title or description. Alternatively, find a cache that mentions a type, make, or model of car in the cache title or description.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.2 [_] Tower Cache - Find a cache that is near a tower, or a cache that mentions the word "tower" in the title or description.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.3 [_] Waymarking Technology - Find and log a waymark from any category in the Technology department. If there are no waymarks in that department in your area, post one in that department. Alternatively, find and log any waymark that has something to do with Technology.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.4 [_] Time Cache - Find a cache that mentions "time" in the title or description.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.5 [_] 28th Day Cache - Find a cache that was placed on the 28th day of any month.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.6 [_] Worst cache - Find a cache with the word "worst" in the title.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.7 [_] Grillin' the Cache - Find a cache that is themed around grilling or includes the word "grill" (or related word) in the cache title or description.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.8 [_] BBQ Cache - Find a cache at or near a restaurant or store that features BBQ. Alternatively, find a cache with 2 Bs and a Q in the GC code.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.9 [_] Camping Available - Find a cache that includes the Camping Available attribute.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.10 [_] Hockey Cache - Find a cache that has a hockey theme, or one with the word "hockey" in the cache title or description, or in the cache owner's name.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.11 [_] Easy Cache - Find a cache with a Difficulty rating of 2 or lower.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.12 [_] Monastic Cache - Find a cache that is near a Monastery or Convent, or a cache that makes reference to a Monastery or Convent in the cache title or description, or is part of the cache owner's name.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.13 [_] Lonely Waymark - Find and log a waymark that hasn't been logged in over 1 year.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.14 [_] Mental Cache - Find a cache that is near a Mental Hospital, or a cache that makes reference to a Mental Hospital in the cache title or description.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

1.15 [_] 2007 Cache - Find a cache that was placed in 2007.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

[+tallglenn]

I did the Quests years ago and enjoyed them too. I think Challenge caches have taken their place. The big difference is the Quests didn't allow use of past finds, if I remember correctly - that's what made them fun and motivational.

 

IDK computerspeak, so I'm of no use to you in that area.

[+tallglenn]

Oh yes, and also the quests were available all over the world - there wasn't a container to find.

[+GeoJono]

Yes, that's why I made this game. I enjoy using it for my own caching. I know some scripting (VBS, cmd scripting, etc.), but I don't know any real programming that would be required to turn it into something that can be easily distributed.

 

Anyway, the scripts are available to anyone who wants them; it just might take some file renaming to get them to whomever wants to try them.

 

Operationally they are easy: You just double-click the file and it runs. No technical knowledge necessary once you have it.

 

What I could do is run it myself and put the results of each game here. That way people could just copy and paste it into a Notepad and print it off, upload it to their phones, or whatever. I could also just upload all of the requirements as one big game (330 so far, plus the 118 from the Periodic Table of the Elements).

[+tallglenn]

I just cut & pasted your example above and it looks really fun. I'm going to do it! It makes Geocaching so much more fun.

 

I don't remember having to download anything or run a file for the Quests. Cut & paste works just fine, everybody knows how to do it, and it works for any gadget. Maybe you could post your lists on a free website - even a free photo site would work. Kinda limits what you want to do with them though. Thanx for the list and best of luck!

[+The Leprechauns]

There were three things that bothered me about the Coin Quest games from ten years ago.

 

1. I hope your list doesn't include any requirements to hide a cache (or host an event). People hiding caches under compulsion to participate in a contest usually hide crappy caches.

 

2. Is there a time limit like the Coin Quest or can your CacheReqs game be played by participants at their leisure, sort of like qualifying for a challenge cache? I've been working on the Fizzy and Jasmer challenges for many years; if I had to find one Fizzy grid every day for 81 days, would I be tempted to cut corners? I saw such things ten years ago and some other bad behaviors motivated by the need to log a qualifying cache every day.

 

3. Is there a prize? Whenever competing for prizes is introduced, it seems to bring out bad things in geocachers (other than fun event cache games).

 

If none of the negatives from ten years ago are present in your idea, then I might enjoy it in much the same way as I enjoy chipping away at challenge caches. It would be a matter of time before someone set up a "CacheReqs Challenge," of course.

[+GeoJono]

tallglen - I hope you'll enjoy it. As I stated in the original post, that's a sample of 15 cache requirements out of 330 so far, plus the 118 elements from the Periodic Table (it looks like none of them ended up in the sample).

 

There were three things that bothered me about the Coin Quest games from ten years ago.

 

1. I hope your list doesn't include any requirements to hide a cache (or host an event). People hiding caches under compulsion to participate in a contest usually hide crappy caches.

 

2. Is there a time limit like the Coin Quest or can your CacheReqs game be played by participants at their leisure, sort of like qualifying for a challenge cache? I've been working on the Fizzy and Jasmer challenges for many years; if I had to find one Fizzy grid every day for 81 days, would I be tempted to cut corners? I saw such things ten years ago and some other bad behaviors motivated by the need to log a qualifying cache every day.

 

3. Is there a prize? Whenever competing for prizes is introduced, it seems to bring out bad things in geocachers (other than fun event cache games).

 

If none of the negatives from ten years ago are present in your idea, then I might enjoy it in much the same way as I enjoy chipping away at challenge caches. It would be a matter of time before someone set up a "CacheReqs Challenge," of course.

 

Leprechauns - I'm happy to report that it's a NO on all three of your points. They are exactly the same problems I had with them. I really enjoyed the goal-oriented aspect of those games, and that's about it. What I made is just a script that pulls a specified number of cache requirements from a list (some harder than others), puts them in a document for you—similar to the sample above—and you can do with it as you wish. I'm not hosting a site for it or running anything at all. There are no prizes or mentions for people completing anything. Also, none of the requirements include hiding or hosting events. And there are no requirements to get an FTF, which was a requirement in the first Adventure Quest, if I recall.

 

There are two rules that end up on the list by default, but you can remove them, change them, add to them, etc. One of the documents is a list of rule ideas that you can choose to include if you want. Some of them pertain to group competition or group cooperation.

 

I originally did this strictly for my own use, but after spending many more hours on it than I should have, I thought others might like the idea. As I mentioned, the only problem now is that I don't know how to get the scripts out there. They are written in VBScript which most computers don't like to download because of the potential for misuse. If I knew more about actual programming, I'd turn it into something that can be safer to distribute, but I do scripting, and I don't claim to that very well.

 

Anyway, I think what I'll do is paste the master list here. If requested, I'll also post the scripts here and instructions on how to reconstruct the whole thing on people's computers. There are several files involved, but if there are no such limits to what can be posted in the forums, that might be the easiest way to distribute it.

 

Also, I don't really care what people do with them afterward. If they want to improve the scripts, then Amen! I'm all for that.

 

Here's another random set of 15.

CacheReqs Game #2

Caching Name: Sample					Start Date: 

Rules:
* One requirement per find.
* All finds must be after the Start Date. No retroactive cache finds.

Requirements:
2.1 [_] Tall Cache - Find a cache that is near a Skyscraper, or a cache that makes reference to a Skyscraper in the cache title or description, or is part of the cache owner's name.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.2 [_] Dubai - Find a cache in the UAE city of Dubai, one that has a Dubai theme, or one that mentions Dubai in the cache title or description. Alternatively, using the search feature on geocaching.com, find the total number of geocaches in Dubai. Convert that number to its hexadecimal equivalent. Then find a cache with those letters or numbers anywhere in the GC code.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.3 [_] Picnic Tables Nearby - Find a cache that includes the Picnic Tables Nearby attribute. Perhaps take some time for a picnic while you're there.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.4 [_] Macedonia - Find a cache in Macedonia, one that has something to do with Macedonia, or one that mentions Macedonia or a city in Macedonia in the cache title or description.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.5 [_] 2.5/2 Cache - Find a cache with a 2.5/2 rating.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.6 [_] Favorite 10 Cache - Find a cache that has at least 10 Favorite points.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.7 [_] Lonely Cache - Find and log a cache that hasn't been logged in over 1 year.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.8 [_] Garden Cache - Find a cache placed in any public garden area.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.9 [_] 1960 Cache - Find a cache that contains the numbers 1, 9, 6, and 0 anywhere in the coordinates. The numbers don't have to be in order. The coordinates must be the final location of the cache.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.10 [_] 11th Day Cache - Find a cache that was placed on the 11th day of any month.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.11 [_] Double Letter Cache - Find a cache with a double letter in the GC code (examples: JJ, QQ, MM). The double-letter must be together in the GC code.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.12 [_] October Cache - Find a cache that was placed in the month of October of any year.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.13 [_] Food Nearby - Find a cache that includes the Food Nearby attribute.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.14 [_] Elemental Cache (Magnesium) - Magnesium is a chemical element with atomic number 12 and chemical symbol Mg. Find a cache or waymark with "MG" in the GC or WM code. This will also count toward the Periodic Table Caching Challenge.
Can it be a Micro? Yes		Date Found: 		Code: 

2.15 [_] Solid Ground Cache - Find a cache with a Terrain rating of 2 or lower.
Can it be a Micro? No		Date Found: 		Code: 

[+The Leprechauns]

Thank you so much for that helpful response! I am glad you also remembered some of the negatives from way back when, and decided to concentrate on the positive, fun parts.

 

It seems to me that a group of caching friends, a local geocaching organization or a Facebook group could generate a game once each month for their own enjoyment. If only a small group of people were playing, the impact on cache owners would be minimal. There is nothing wrong with getting a few more find logs from people who enjoyed searching for a cache that qualifies for one of your categories.

[+GeoJono]

It seems to me that a group of caching friends, a local geocaching organization or a Facebook group could generate a game once each month for their own enjoyment. If only a small group of people were playing, the impact on cache owners would be minimal. There is nothing wrong with getting a few more find logs from people who enjoyed searching for a cache that qualifies for one of your categories.

 

Thanks Leprechauns! I pitched the idea to a local geocaching org here a few years ago and there wasn't any interest. But at the time, there really wasn't much to it. It's a lot better now, with a lot more caching requirements in the database. I'll pitch the idea to them again. If nothing else, or maybe in addition, do you think the GC forums would be a good place to post the games? Or even to post all of the scripts and files for people to use as they wish? I don't want to add a lot of stuff here if it's not really the right place for it. Then again, if the greater GC community would find it useful or fun, I don't want to limit it to just my local area.

 

I value your insight on this. Thoughts?