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Stumbled On a 5+ Hr. Geocaching-Related Mystery/Sci-Film Video Mini-series & Puzzle Contest


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A few days ago, I stumbled upon a 5+ hour 2016 drama/mystery/sci-fi movie that is very geocaching-intensive, offered in a film/video mini-series called The Gordian Knot. And, for those who are into puzzles, there is a puzzle contest associated with the film that has a $1k cash prize for the first person to solve the puzzle.

 

I finished watching the entire series two days ago, and even though I HATE puzzle caches, and I also hate all kinds of puzzles and games in general, I was sufficiently intrigued by the story itself that I watched most parts/episodes of the series again yesterday. But there is not chance that I will be attempting to tackle the puzzle contest associated with the movie, because I deeply and violently hate puzzles, particularly the complex type that is embedded in this video series.

 

At this point, only the first part of the ten-part series seems to be available free online (at YouTube) but the folks who created the film state on their website that they are in the process of trying to offer all 10 parts (aka episodes) of the film for streaming on their website. BTW, it seems that if you want to officially enter the puzzle contest associated with the movie, you need to order the entire movie on a Blu-Ray disc from their website; the price of the Blu-Ray disk serves as the puzzle contest entry fee as well.

 

I learned of this neat geocaching-intensive movie only because my wife Sue -- who is quite obsessed with puzzle caches -- bought the movie in Blu-Ray disc format last week so that she could officially enter the puzzle contest. Finally, after about five days of noticing her sitting at the TV and watching parts of the movie over and over again, I became sufficiently interested that I sat down and watched the entire 5+ hour series myself; it is largely set in and around Palatine, IL. The movie is pretty good, about a 7.5 out of 10 rating, in my book.

 

BTW, regarding the puzzle contest associated with the Gordian Knot film, I personally feel that the $1k prize amount that the contest creators are offering is abysmally low, particularly when there have been several extreme geocaches in the US that have offered $100 or more in cash as a prize to the first finder, and another hundred dollars worth of prizes to the second and third finders as well, and there were no entry fees involved. Nonetheless, knowing how obsessive-compulsive geocachers and puzzle/treasure hunters can be, I have decided to take the time to post this note about the movie to this forum. You can find the website for the Gordian Knot movie/video miniseries (and the contest) at:

 

http://www.thegordianknotmovie.com

The Gordian Knot Movie

 

And, a note for those who may be wondering:

No, I have no connection to the folks who created the film miniseries (they seem to be a bunch of geocachers and film-makers located in the Chicago, IL area) and the contest, and no, despite the fact that I have some interest in geocaching (particularly extreme geocaching), I have not entered the puzzle contest myself, for I have ZERO patience for puzzles and contests!

 

Rather, I have decided to pass along the information about about this intensively geocaching-related 5+ hour film mini-series because I know a number of puzzle-oriented geocachers who have gotten hooked on this movie (and the puzzle contest)!

 

Finally, a note in closing: My wife Sue does NOT like the fact that I have decided to post this note on the Groundspeak forum, because she feels that this type of publicity for the movie in the geocaching world will increase the size of the pool of entrants in the puzzle contest, thus increasing the competition that she faces in the contest. Alas and alack!

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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BTW, a word of caution about the Gordian Knot movie, for those who may be newbies to the sport of geocaching:

 

Much as has been true of almost every single fictional movie and TV show tale that I have ever seen to date that includes geocaching (and geocache hides) as a plot element, this movie shows a couple of cache hides that are either buried in holes dug in the ground or that are placed too close to active railroad tracks.

 

In real life, of course, geocaches cannot be buried in holes dug in the ground nor placed within 150 feet of active railroad tracks.

 

Just a friendly word of warning for those who might be tempted to try to imitate some of the hides that they may see in this movie (and in almost every fictional movie and TV show that depicts geocaching) in real life!

 

Oh, and there is also a murder in the film. In the real-life world of geocaching, it is considered impolite -- and it is also often illegal, at least in some states -- to murder another geocacher simply because they might get to a new cache ahead of you and therefore potentially beat you to the FTF!

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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Just found a link to the free Part One episode of The Gordian Knot movie miniseries at YouTube:

 

 

I'll look at this later but just wanted to say: Welcome back!

 

Thanks for your kind words! I do occasionally post messages here on the forum, but they are few and far between.

 

One of the reasons why I tend to avoid posting on the forum here is that any of my posts could provide clues to Sioneva and the cartel/cabal of sinister space aliens that are working with her in their never-ending efforts to find me.

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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Though I, too, hate complex puzzle caches, I am sufficiently intrigued to watch the movie. Thanks for the info!

I am a newbie cacher and am unfamiliar with your legend, I can already see that you are awesome folk. ;)

 

Thanks for your kind words, and I can tell you that I feel that the movie is definitely worth watching, at least once, and very likely more than once.

 

As for any legends regarding me, they all seem to involve space aliens, inter-dimensional time-space portals, a legendary trading post geocache for used nuclear weapons, another legendary trading post cache, this one for toxic chemical waste, strange beings from rifts in the fabric of time and space, alien technology (aka alien tech) artifacts from long-gone alien cultures, and an infamous Psycho Urban Cache where the final stage is located in the remains of the core housing of a long-abandoned nuclear reactor, in crumbling building infested with rodents and fleas carrying the Plague and hantavirus.

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Just found a link to the free Part One episode of The Gordian Knot movie miniseries at YouTube:

 

 

I'll look at this later but just wanted to say: Welcome back!

 

Thanks for your kind words! I do occasionally post messages here on the forum, but they are few and far between.

 

One of the reasons why I tend to avoid posting on the forum here is that any of my posts could provide clues to Sioneva and the cartel/cabal of sinister space aliens that are working with her in their never-ending efforts to find me.

 

Ah Vinny I'm sorry to report that you may have little to fear in that regard. The Blue Bow has not been seen or heard in these parts for many a moon. More's the pity!

 

Good to know that you are still worried, though.

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Just found a link to the free Part One episode of The Gordian Knot movie miniseries at YouTube:

 

 

I'll look at this later but just wanted to say: Welcome back!

 

Thanks for your kind words! I do occasionally post messages here on the forum, but they are few and far between.

 

One of the reasons why I tend to avoid posting on the forum here is that any of my posts could provide clues to Sioneva and the cartel/cabal of sinister space aliens that are working with her in their never-ending efforts to find me.

 

Ah Vinny I'm sorry to report that you may have little to fear in that regard. The Blue Bow has not been seen or heard in these parts for many a moon. More's the pity!

 

Good to know that you are still worried, though.

 

Sorry to hear that Sioneva has not been seen on this forum for a while; she was a very worthwhile arch-enemy and uber-adversary. However, I do admit that it was very unnerving the time a few years ago when she popped up in the parking lot of my hotel in a tiny town in the middle of the Nevada desert while I was on a field trip.

 

As for your comment wherein you wrote:

"Good to know that you are still worried, though."

 

All that I can say to that is:

 

AAARRRGGGHHH! That is EXACTLY what Sioneva would want you to say, and that is exactly what Sioneva would want, that is, for me to still be very very worried about her...!

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It appears almost as if an occult hand had reached down from above and steered Vinny's posts off topic like pawns upon some giant chessboard.

Same stuff, different decade.

 

Nice to see you here again, Vinny!

 

Thanks, Keystone.... I hope that you are doing well. Good to see that you are still active here. As you know, I drop by here briefly once in a while and usually post only when I have found or noticed something rally interesting!

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Time for just a quick update. In the time since I first posted this thread, I have learned far more about the film/video miniseries, and here are some of my notes from my research:

 

It turns out that the person who wrote the script and produced and directed the film is an Illinois geocacher, and most of the actors who play geocachers and other roles in the series are geocachers in real life; of course, many of them also have an interest in acting and/or film-making as well. Most of the folks involved in the movie seem to live in and around Palatine, Illinois, where the film is largely set.

 

The majority of the 5+ hour series is footage of geocachers hunting a special series of geocaches that had been hidden in outdoor settings as clues or stages in a strange contest, one that unexpectedly ends in a murder. I can safely say that the vast majority of the film is either footage of folks hunting the aforementioned caches or trying to figure out what the clues and keys found at various stages mean in terms of winning a strange geocaching contest -- one with marked sci-fi overtones -- that they have entered.

 

I recently left a compliment about the film/video miniseries on a Facebook page dedicated to the film, and in my post I introduced myself as a geocacher, albeit one who hates solving puzzles (which was relevant because the movie is connected to a puzzle contest). The writer/director/producer immediately wrote back to me via the movie's FB page, advising me that the entire basis for the movie was geocaching; and I have reproduced one telling phrase from his reply below:

 

"The geocaching part of the story is where it all began, and is definitely the core of the narrative."

 

I caught myself yesterday watching most of the parts/episodes of the 10-part miniseries for the fourth or fifth time, so it must be pretty good! My wife Sue, who is trying to solve the puzzle associated with the series, has seen each part of the miniseries at least eight times.

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Just found a link to the free Part One episode of The Gordian Knot movie miniseries at YouTube:

 

 

I'll look at this later but just wanted to say: Welcome back!

 

Thanks for your kind words! I do occasionally post messages here on the forum, but they are few and far between.

 

One of the reasons why I tend to avoid posting on the forum here is that any of my posts could provide clues to Sioneva and the cartel/cabal of sinister space aliens that are working with her in their never-ending efforts to find me.

 

Ah Vinny I'm sorry to report that you may have little to fear in that regard. The Blue Bow has not been seen or heard in these parts for many a moon. More's the pity!

 

Good to know that you are still worried, though.

 

Sorry to hear that Sioneva has not been seen on this forum for a while; she was a very worthwhile arch-enemy and uber-adversary. However, I do admit that it was very unnerving the time a few years ago when she popped up in the parking lot of my hotel in a tiny town in the middle of the Nevada desert while I was on a field trip.

 

As for your comment wherein you wrote:

"Good to know that you are still worried, though."

 

All that I can say to that is:

 

AAARRRGGGHHH! That is EXACTLY what Sioneva would want you to say, and that is exactly what Sioneva would want, that is, for me to still be very very worried about her...!

 

Has anyone ever seen Michaelcycle and Sioneva in the same room?

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BTW, regarding the puzzle contest associated with the Gordian Knot film, I personally feel that the $1k prize amount that the contest creators are offering is abysmally low, particularly when there have been several extreme geocaches in the US that have offered $100 or more in cash as a prize to the first finder, and another hundred dollars worth of prizes to the second and third finders as well, and there were no entry fees involved.

That doesn't surprise me at all. First, money prizes of any size for cache finders is rare. More than, say, $10 is almost unheard of. Second, they're trying to sell their movie, not make someone rich. :laughing:

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BTW, regarding the puzzle contest associated with the Gordian Knot film, I personally feel that the $1k prize amount that the contest creators are offering is abysmally low, particularly when there have been several extreme geocaches in the US that have offered $100 or more in cash as a prize to the first finder, and another hundred dollars worth of prizes to the second and third finders as well, and there were no entry fees involved.

That doesn't surprise me at all. First, money prizes of any size for cache finders is rare. More than, say, $10 is almost unheard of. Second, they're trying to sell their movie, not make someone rich. :laughing:

 

Tricia, you have a good point regarding the fact that the price of the Blu-Ray disc, at just under $25, is really just the price for the Blu-Ray, and that it could not offer much margin to contribute toward a big prize for the puzzle contest. And I will add that I personally feel that a price of just under $25 for a Blu-Ray disc that contains over five hours of film/video footage, and where the price also includes S/H charges, is a VERY reasonable price by any standard.

 

On the other hand, I betcha that they would get a lot more folks interested in purchasing the movie and entering the contest if the prize was at least $3k or $4k instead of the currently-listed $1k! In fact, at least one page on the main website for the movie and contest listed the cash prize for the movie puzzle contest as $10k until recently, and there is still a post on their Facebook page, dated somewhere around October 2015, that to this day lists the prize for the movie puzzle contest as $10k; the same note also still appears in the description of the video on their YouTube page showing Part One of the movie miniseries! The note on the YouTube page, at

reads:

~~~~~~

"Published on Nov 1, 2015

This is the first part of The Gordian Knot film series. If you can solve the puzzles presented by the film, you can win $10,000. Please visit www.thegordianknotmovie.com for complete details..."

~~~~~~

 

So, it looks to me like they originally intended to offer a cash prize of $10k -- the same amount as the cash prize in the strange and near-sinister puzzle geocaching contest called "The Game" that is depicted in the movie -- but that at some point they decided to scale the prize amount down to $1k.

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Just found a link to the free Part One episode of The Gordian Knot movie miniseries at YouTube:

 

 

I'll look at this later but just wanted to say: Welcome back!

 

Thanks for your kind words! I do occasionally post messages here on the forum, but they are few and far between.

 

One of the reasons why I tend to avoid posting on the forum here is that any of my posts could provide clues to Sioneva and the cartel/cabal of sinister space aliens that are working with her in their never-ending efforts to find me.

 

Ah Vinny I'm sorry to report that you may have little to fear in that regard. The Blue Bow has not been seen or heard in these parts for many a moon. More's the pity!

 

Good to know that you are still worried, though.

 

This is my second reply to your post.... and it is because I have yet one more comment regarding Sioneva:

 

Speaking of the sinister Sioneva -- who has been in cahoots with the evil space alien cartel for over 10,000 years, and who has been my favorite arch-enemy for over 20,000 years -- I want to say that my fondest and most heartwarming memory of her is the day that she wrote the following to me in a post to this forum back around 2007:

 

"You are very evil. You are like a black hole of evilness. You probably have a PhD in Horribleness." - Sioneva

 

That about summed it up!

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