ideas for challenge caches

[+Oxford Stone]

I know challenge caches are not everyone's cup of tea but for those who enjoy them: any ideas for themes or ones you've particularly enjoyed?

I did four yesterday, 100 day stretch gave me my 75th DT combo; same walk had stretch better than slump, higher number than most caches in a day. I had to pass on 365 caches found in a stretch regardless of length. Earlier I did one based on the. British sidetracked (railway station) series, 20 letters A-Z.

I've also enjoyed a Christmas words in title, 365 days found and rainbow (colours in title - qualify not yet picked up).

Oh and caches in X squares of a map and trads in order beginning Traditional Christmas (working hard on non trads beginning Alternative Christmas) were a lot of fun and planning too.

Thinking of putting out my own and back to the theme idea over numbers as it encourages people to scroll through their finds and reminisce. Ideas so far first names A-Z 20/26, animals (including hidden ones - come on I live near Oxford Cowley Henley and Ewelme!), flora, food not included in previous two eg pie, dessert, lunch, curry; lastly English county names (US states might work too?)

Any good ideas welcomed. I'm looking to be inclusive not just make ones where 5000+ cachers will stand a chance.

[+wimseyguy]

A bunch of good ideas, and a bit of typical forum snark are in this thread from last month.

[+redsox_mark]

I like the Explorer map challenges like Explorer 156 Challenge

 

Not sure if your area already has one of these... if not that is an idea.

[+Oxford Stone]

Thanks that was an interesting read.

I've also found 3 cache types by 10 COs and am a letterbox away from qualifying for same idea but 4 x 10.

There's an extensive (nearly 7000) series in UK called church micros and there are dozens of challenges attached to them. Oh and I've done a straightforward one year resuscitator too.

[+Oxford Stone]

I like the Explorer map challenges like Explorer 156 Challenge

 

Not sure if your area already has one of these... if not that is an idea.

Thanks yes my area has those have done 171 and am working on the Oxford area (where I no longer live!)

[+Harry Dolphin]

How about a souvenir starting with every letter from A to Z?

I'm missing A, E, H, J, U, X, Y and Z. Wish me luck.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Harry Dolphin

[+Shaved Ewok]

I have one that requires you to first find four caches hidden near old blast furnace ruins. Easy to do if you live in eastern ohio and western pa.

[+K13]

Find all 7 caches in one day, each with a different container size/type and different icon.

[+RedhedMary]

I have a Vanity Challenge - need to find 10 caches where the owner put their own caching name in the title of the cache. Limit of one cache per owner, and you can use your own cache as 1 of the 10 if "you're so vain..."

[+terratin]

I do love challenges, but I don't like complicated exercises in book keeping and 'look what I did challenges'. A 10x DT grid challenges or find caches in three time zones on three continents in 24 hours are just annoying and I do wonder if they only exist to show what a cool guy the CO is. Likewise, challenges such as get the number 0-9 and letter A-Z in GZ-codes, each code can only be used once and they must be in the same order is just... well.. there might be a checker for it on project-gc, but it's something I don't enjoy working towards and would only accidentally qualify for.

[+thebruce0]

I don't mind challenges that are, in a way, like challenging puzzles. That is, finding a way to determine if you qualify by analyzing your stats I think for some of those more complicated qualification challenges, if you look it at sort of like a difficult puzzle that you'd have to solve before finding the cache, it could be a little more palatable.

Or, like obtaining coordinates for a puzzle, contact a good coder who can make a script or app to determine automatically if you qualify if one doesn't already exist (via gsak, project-gc, etc)

 

I can understand why some people don't like challenges, but the more I think about it, the more fun I have in some of these more complex requirements. They can be fun, if you like puzzles. It's a mental workout

[+CanadianRockies]

I don't mind challenges that are, in a way, like challenging puzzles. That is, finding a way to determine if you qualify by analyzing your stats

You'd probably enjoy the Obnoxious Portland Challenge. I haven't quite figured out how to qualify for that one yet, but this is our 7th year of geocaching, so I'm hoping one of this year's finds will put us over the top.

[+thebruce0]

You'd probably enjoy the Obnoxious Portland Challenge. I haven't quite figured out how to qualify for that one yet, but this is our 7th year of geocaching, so I'm hoping one of this year's finds will put us over the top.

 

Interesting! I don't know, I think my first instinct would be to find matches for each of the letters for each of the requirements. If you can fulfill all requirements with each required letter, then it would be easier to determine the best find strategy for you. Alternatively, you could just check the qualifying caches that others have used

[+Zepp914]

I have been toying with the idea of making a "favorite local cacher challenge". To qualify you have to find 5 (or maybe 10) caches placed by the same local hider. For me that would be cachers with hides in Maryland. Once a hider has been used to qualify for the challenge, he/she cannot be used by a future finder.

 

Example:

Cacher A finds 10 of LocalCacherZ's hides. She qualifies and can log the find.

Cacher B finds 10 of LocalCacherZ's hides, but cannot log the find because cacher A has already used LocalCacherZ to qualify.

 

The biggest problem for me or any other CO would be maintaining a list of which hiders have been used and updating that on the cache page. I don't think it would be too bad though.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Zepp914

[+thebruce0]

I don't think that would fly because there's an exclusive element. There's an active element that reduces the amount of caches that qualify. I don't think it changes your habits in that you could 'unqualify', but the set of caches that do qualify is in direct competition with other cachers - used once, use no more - which is much more reducing than just occasional archival of target caches.

Interesting idea, and worth asking about; but my gut says it wouldn't be published. =/

 

ETA: I think it does have a way you can 'unqualify'. If you're at 9/10 finds for a hider, then someone logs it found using the same hider, you're unqualified and have to start over.

Yeah, it wouldn't be approved...

 

ETA2: Alternatively, you could publish it as a challenge without that exclusive clause, but maintain your own 'leaderboard' list of people who do qualify for your own non-requirement challenge. So 3 three people could complete and 'find' your challenge using the same hider, but only the first one to use the hider would get 'recognition' in the cache listing. That's allowable. You could offer rewards for those first claimers

Edited April 14, 2015 by thebruce0

[+terratin]

I think another reason why this won't work is because it's a more or less exclusive list of caches = from one hider.

[+Zepp914]

 

ETA: I think it does have a way you can 'unqualify'. If you're at 9/10 finds for a hider, then someone logs it found using the same hider, you're unqualified and have to start over.

Yeah, it wouldn't be approved...

 

ETA2: Alternatively, you could publish it as a challenge without that exclusive clause, but maintain your own 'leaderboard' list of people who do qualify for your own non-requirement challenge. So 3 three people could complete and 'find' your challenge using the same hider, but only the first one to use the hider would get 'recognition' in the cache listing. That's allowable. You could offer rewards for those first claimers

 

That sounds like a good alternative. I could structure it as a leaderboard for hiders.

 

Hider # First finder to use hider:

HiderX 11 CacherA

HiderY 7 CacherC

HiderZ 3 CacherB

 

I just think it would stink if everyone used the guy that has over 100 hides when there are dozens of hiders with 10 - 20 hides.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Zepp914

[+blackdog7]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

[+narcissa]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

I wonder if a challenge requiring a certain number of TFTC logs would pass muster. It would make so many people mad.

Edited April 17, 2015 by narcissa

[+jellis]

 

I've also found 3 cache types by 10 COs

After being the FTF with another cacher in WA on the Know your local Cacher, I created one in the SF Bay Area.

Edited April 17, 2015 by jellis

[+jellis]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

I wonder if a challenge requiring a certain number of TFTC logs would pass muster. It would make so many people mad.

Probably not

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

That's not a challenge cache. That's an ALR. Including challenge in the cache title doesn't make it a challenge cache.

 

 

[+blackdog7]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

That's not a challenge cache. That's an ALR. Including challenge in the cache title doesn't make it a challenge cache.

 

Actually, I worded that incorrectly, it doesn't require a log of TFTC, it 'respectfully requests' either a log of 'TFTC' or 'DNF'. And the weird thing is, everyone has played along so far.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

That's not a challenge cache. That's an ALR. Including challenge in the cache title doesn't make it a challenge cache.

 

Actually, I worded that incorrectly, it doesn't require a log of TFTC, it 'respectfully requests' either a log of 'TFTC' or 'DNF'. And the weird thing is, everyone has played along so far.

 

Okay, that makes it neither an ALR or a challenge cache. One of my favorite finds was a cache on island which had a pirate theme. The CO respectfully asked people to post their logs in pirate-speak and most of the people that logged the cache also played along. That wasn't a challenge cache either.

 

 

[+blackdog7]

There is the TFTC Challenge located in the city I lived in until recently. It requires you to find the cache and only write 'TFTC' in your online log.

 

That's not a challenge cache. That's an ALR. Including challenge in the cache title doesn't make it a challenge cache.

 

Actually, I worded that incorrectly, it doesn't require a log of TFTC, it 'respectfully requests' either a log of 'TFTC' or 'DNF'. And the weird thing is, everyone has played along so far.

 

Okay, that makes it neither an ALR or a challenge cache. One of my favorite finds was a cache on island which had a pirate theme. The CO respectfully asked people to post their logs in pirate-speak and most of the people that logged the cache also played along. That wasn't a challenge cache either.

 

We have a similar one here, a three stage, Pirate themed Multi that uses Letterbox style clues for the third stage. Many people continue the Pirate theme by logging with a pirate-speak log.

 

One of the more enjoyable Multis I've found.

 

Off topic, I know.