Mystery caches?

[MarinaAp12]

Hi! I'M not really familiar with mistery caches, and there is a very interesting Geopoly near my house that I would love to complete. However, I don't know how this works, the coordenates of the caches form a kind of "drawing" of the monopoly board if seen from avobe, but I don't know how to get the actual coordinates of the little treasures, as there aren't really any clear clues in the description of the cache. Could anybody explain me how this kind of geoart works? Thanks!

[+pingurus]

Hi,

It is not allowed to publish any solutions for mysteries. Try contacting the owner or visit a local event where you might get help.

[+on4bam]

The place to ask for help is the CO. Send him/her an email explaining how you already tried to solve the mystery and ask for an extra hint or a nudge in the right direction. This forum is NOT the place to ask to ask for solutions (see forum guidelines).

 

Edited November 10, 2017 by on4bam

[+justintim1999]

21 hours ago, MarinaAp12 said:

Hi! I'M not really familiar with mistery caches, and there is a very interesting Geopoly near my house that I would love to complete. However, I don't know how this works, the coordenates of the caches form a kind of "drawing" of the monopoly board if seen from avobe, but I don't know how to get the actual coordinates of the little treasures, as there aren't really any clear clues in the description of the cache. Could anybody explain me how this kind of geoart works? Thanks!

If you'd like you can PM me the GC number of the cache your looking at.  I won't give you the solution to the mystery cache but I may be able to help you understand it and offer some ideas on how to proceed.

[+hal-an-tow]

I enjoy puzzle caches, and have found over 500 so far, with another 212 solved and awaiting a visit sometime ... which may never happen, but I've had fun solving them ....

There's a vast, overwhelming amount of info out there about puzzles, I'd suggest you do some background reading and tackle a few easy puzzles first.

:GC25WQJ  is a puzzle cache with a brief guide to some of the strategies often used by setters, this page has more, as does this one.

Some common and straightforward methods of hiding the final co-ords are easy to spot after you've solved a few, for example lists which can be ranked in order (e.g. mountains by height, so Everest = 1) , some kind of number unequivocally associated with something else (e.g. sportsmen's jersey numbers, area codes, colour bands of electrical resistors) , white-on-white characters lurking in an apparently empty line that show up when highlighted  ... and then there are many ciphers , tiny samples of what's out there can be found  here  and here for instance.

It is genuinely difficult for a setter to know how hard a puzzle is, different folk have wildly varied skills and experience levels, but if a puzzle is rated D4 or 5 I'd leave it 'till you've got a few easier ones solved, some of those evil puzzles have multiple layers to navigate. I love that kind of puzzle, many cachers loathe and ignore them, but I reckon  solving and finding a puzzle cache yourself is a doubly satisfying feeling, you really earned that smiley !

I'd contact the C.O. if you made a genuine effort and got stuck partway,  but if you can't make head nor tail of the thing at all, then leave it aside and come back to it later with more experience . I find puzzle owners are happy to help with a nudge ( I certainly am ), but not everyone has the time to coach someone all the way through a complex puzzle step by step.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Try reading the hint.

[MarinaAp12]

On 10/11/2017 at 11:34 AM, on4bam said:

The place to ask for help is the CO. Send him/her an email explaining how you already tried to solve the mystery and ask for an extra hint or a nudge in the right direction. This forum is NOT the place to ask to ask for solutions (see forum guidelines).

 

Thanks, and sorry if I asked the question the wrong way, I never wanted to ask for the solution but just to know a bit more about the basics of mystery caches and cache art in general, as I'm very new to geocaching and I don't really know where to start from  

[+niraD]

19 minutes ago, MarinaAp12 said:

Thanks, and sorry if I asked the question the wrong way, I never wanted to ask for the solution but just to know a bit more about the basics of mystery caches and cache art in general, as I'm very new to geocaching and I don't really know where to start from  

Here are some general puzzle tips that I've posted before (based in part on a puzzle-solving class event presented by The Rat a while ago):

Identify the theme. Check the cache title, the hint, the HTML source, the graphics (including names/URLs), any links (including URLs), whatever is at the posted coordinates, etc. If you can figure out the theme, then you should look for numbering systems that are associated with that theme (zip codes, athletes’ jersey numbers, episode numbers, product codes, etc.).

Around here, coordinates will have 15 digits, and will look like "N 37° xx.xxx W 122° xx.xxx". So when I'm solving a nearby puzzle, I look for a group of 15 things, and then I look for ways to get the digits 37xxxxx122xxxxx from them. In general, I look for ways to get the number 37 (or the digits 3 and 7) from something near the beginning of the puzzle, and the number 122 (or the digits 1, 2, and 2) from something near the middle of the puzzle. (Of course, you'll need to adjust this for the coordinates near you.)

If you ask the cache owner for a hint, then be sure to mention the approaches you have tried so far, and the results those approaches have yielded. It can also be helpful to work together with others who are trying to solve the same puzzle. Geocaching events are a good place to meet other geocachers; ask around to see if anyone else is trying to solve the same puzzle(s) as you.

Other useful resources include:

• Puzzle Solving 101 Series (bookmark list)
• Calgary Puzzle Solving 101 (bookmark list)
• Puzzle Shortcuts Series (bookmark list)
• Solving Puzzle Caches (online article)
• How Do I Solve All These &#$@! Puzzle Caches? (tutorial-style puzzle cache)
• Geocaching Toolbox ("All geocaching tools a geocacher needs in one box.")
• Puzzle FUNdamentals (archived event cache) and the Puzzle FUNdamentals resources on the
• GeocacheAlaska! education page
• The GBA's Puzzle Cache FAQ (for puzzle designers, but useful for understanding how puzzle caches work)
• LANAKI's Classical Cryptography Course
• How to Puzzle Cache (book)

 

[+cheech gang]

I took a quick peek at the caches in question,  and solved.  If I was the owner I know what type of hint I might give you, but it is not my place to do that.  I recommend you reread any one of the descriptions VERY closely.  What needs to be done to solve is provided by the owner.

I will tell you that the fact that the puzzles are part of a geoart have no bearing on how to solve them.  Just think of them as a bunch of puzzle whose icons  just happen to form an item.

[+on4bam]

23 hours ago, cheech gang said:

I took a quick peek at the caches in question,  and solved.

Reading this I looked at the TS profile and quickly found the geoart in question. I looked at the first two mysteries of the series and had the coordinates in no time.

Everything is on the listing page and carefully inspecting everything you see will yield a solution. I don't know about all the other caches in the series but solve #1 and you'll have the coordinates for #2 in seconds.

I'm sure the links in niraD's post will get you started.

 

 

[MarinaAp12]

On 17/11/2017 at 8:02 PM, on4bam said:

Reading this I looked at the TS profile and quickly found the geoart in question. I looked at the first two mysteries of the series and had the coordinates in no time.

Everything is on the listing page and carefully inspecting everything you see will yield a solution. I don't know about all the other caches in the series but solve #1 and you'll have the coordinates for #2 in seconds.

I'm sure the links in niraD's post will get you started.

 

 

I think I figured it out, and now I know that mystery caches are not necessarily close to their positions on the map. Thank you!

[+on4bam]

13 minutes ago, MarinaAp12 said:

I think I figured it out, and now I know that mystery caches are not necessarily close to their positions on the map. Thank you!

Good!

The actual location is always within 3.2Km from the "?" icon. That should also give you a clue, if the solution to a mystery is further away you know you made a mistake. In this case though, the solution is clear

 

[+hzoi]

On 11/21/2017 at 10:09 AM, on4bam said:

The actual location is always within 3.2Km from the "?" icon.

(For most mystery caches.  Some older ones that were published prior to this requirement may be farther away.)

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, hzoi said:

(For most mystery caches.  Some older ones that were published prior to this requirement may be farther away.)

And occasionally, there have been exceptions made for mystery/puzzle caches that were published after this guideline was added.

[+noncentric]

On 11/22/2017 at 9:21 AM, niraD said:

On 11/22/2017 at 7:46 AM, hzoi said:

(For most mystery caches.  Some older ones that were published prior to this requirement may be farther away.)

And occasionally, there have been exceptions made for mystery/puzzle caches that were published after this guideline was added.

And some caches with the mystery (?) icon are actually located at the location of the icon (the posted coords). For example, Challenge Caches.

Since the OP is new to geocaching, I wanted to mention that some Mystery caches are "Challenge Caches".  These caches are usually located at the posted coordinates and the container/logbook can be found there, but the cache cannot be logged as "Found It" online until the challenge requirements have been met. HERE is one example in the OP's general area. The OP could go to the location of the "?" icon to find the cache and sign the logbook, but would not be able to log "Found It" until after s/he has found 200 Mystery caches on a single calendar date (across multiple years is okay).

Different challenge caches have different challenge requirements, so it's necessary to read the cache description to see what the requirements are.