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Plenty of similar ideas in the UK: as you said, there's fine pair , CM, also Sidetracked, Little Bridges, Village Signs, Village Halls, Trigtastic, Motorway Madness ... and that's just the ones I can quickly think of .

There used to be 'Curse of the FTF' and 'Red Telephone Box' informal series too, before rule changes did for them.

 

I'd speculate that there is some sort of Darwinian evolution going on with these series: however good an idea they seem to the originator, they only flourish if other cache setters like the idea, join in and contribute to the series. There have been a few attempts (I'll not name them!) where someone's bright idea didn't strike anyone else as interesting, so they became extinct fairly quickly. A central website, a co-ordinator who issues official numbers, and a leaderboard seem to motivate many cachers. Not me though, I see most of the above series as a way to give roadside micros a little extra fairy dust.

 

I've long joked at events that I'm planning a new series called 'Rubbish Micros' , there's a perfect hide for a leaky film pot mag. micro at my local rubbish tip gates, it would be #000001 and the only cache in the series, there would be a leaderboard, every finder would be at the top with a 100% score for the series ... I've no idea if abundant sarcasm on the cache page would be a valid reason for my lovely local reviewer to reject a listing. What stops me from finding out is the dispiriting number of logs it would probably get from the FTFers, cache a day-ers and other folk who set their sights low. And worse, I'd probably get e-mails from people who wanted to set one at their rubbish dump :rolleyes:

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OK, slightly more helpful reply.

These threads are not the right place to ask for permission, altho' you will get plenty of opinions!

 

Read the cache setting guidelines to see if what you want to do is feasible, then run the idea by your local  reviewer. The problem I think you may encounter is that if you try to set any of your series miles from your home, your listing will be denied publication as it's too far away for you to maintain. That's when you need those enthusiastic other setters who think your series is a good idea to join in and extend it to cricket grounds in their home area.

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On 06/06/2018 at 4:15 PM, IceColdUK said:

There's already a Cricket Pitch Micro series in UK - mostly in Surrey and Sussex - but it hasn't been added to in six years, and only has seven active caches:

https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=d912eb33-cc73-473e-9296-54b05d54e1c0

 

If you're keen on a cricket-themed series, then it may be easier to expand this one rather than starting from scratch...

Thanks sounds great

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On 5/5/2018 at 7:45 PM, hal-an-tow said:

Plenty of similar ideas in the UK: as you said, there's fine pair , CM, also Sidetracked, Little Bridges, Village Signs, Village Halls, Trigtastic, Motorway Madness ... and that's just the ones I can quickly think of .

There used to be 'Curse of the FTF' and 'Red Telephone Box' informal series too, before rule changes did for them.

 

I'd speculate that there is some sort of Darwinian evolution going on with these series: however good an idea they seem to the originator, they only flourish if other cache setters like the idea, join in and contribute to the series. There have been a few attempts (I'll not name them!) where someone's bright idea didn't strike anyone else as interesting, so they became extinct fairly quickly. A central website, a co-ordinator who issues official numbers, and a leaderboard seem to motivate many cachers. Not me though, I see most of the above series as a way to give roadside micros a little extra fairy dust.

 

 

These types of "series" seem particularly popular in the UK.   I'm in the UK so I see these more, but I've cached in a fair amount in other countries, and I've not seen the same phenomena there.  To be clear what is meant here (as series can mean lots of things), these are generally as described above; a "series owner" issues numbers, often keep statistics, etc.   I think "franchise" is probably a better word!  (Though no money changes hands).   The largest such series in the UK has over 10,000 active caches - about 5% of the total caches  in the UK are in this one series.   Church Micro Website

 

Generally, the person who starts the "series" hides the first caches in it.   After that, others can add to the series, usually contacting the owner to get a number (though some don't use numbers).   

 

As has been said.. with the caches you hide, they are no different than any other cache.   And there are no rules about naming  "series" and asking others to contact you for a number if they want to add to it.   

 

I've seen some take these too seriously.   I saw a log recently on a cache in the "Little Bridges" series (the cache was hidden near a footbridge).    But that footbridge was also near a church.. the log was complaining that the cache should have been a "Church Micro" instead (presumably as the Church Micro series is bigger and has existed for longer).    I have some friends who pretty much just look for "Church Micro" and/or "Little Bridges" caches, and not much else.    It creates a side game they enjoy; but I'm not sure if it is a good thing or not for geocaching overall.  

 

I'm interested to know if these kind of "franchise series" are increasing in other parts of the world.  

 

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There is one series I know of in the states that was made along the same lines as the Church micro Series, started by a geocacher in Tennessee. it is called Guard Rail Fun (GRF), and as the name implies, the series is meant to be easy finds along guardrails all over the country. According to the bookmark list I found, there were 320 of these published between 2009 and 2013.

https://coord.info/GC20PGH

 

Here is a quote from the GRF cache listings:

Quote
Guard Rail Fun! A nice quick park and grab micro.

 

Looking for a really challenging cache? This isn't it!
Looking for a magnificent location with a beautiful view? This isn't it!
Looking for a cache where you can drop off some travel bugs? This isn't it!
Looking for a nice, easy cache that doesn't involve a walk in the woods? You won't get any ticks, your shoes won't get dirty, and unless you are really, really directionally challenged, you won't spend very long looking for this cache.
If you hate micros, don't stop! Otherwise, I hope you have fun, and happy caching!

Watch for more of this series!

 

I suspect some folks will not be happy about this kind of series, especially here in the forums. I'll admit, I think the series is pretty silly and it does not inspire me to get out caching. I mainly wanted to psot about it as an example of a  non-UK series similar to those mentioned above in the thread.

 

There is another series here in New Mexico (Southwest USA for the non US-centric out there) called the "Spirit of Insert Town Name" where caches are placed near small rural cemeteries. Here is an example: https://coord.info/GC4EG0M. This series doesn't seem to have any formal book-keeper (I couldn't find a comprehensive bookmark list either), but a bunch of NM geocachers place these in tiny desert towns all over the state, and they all seem to have the same name.

 

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2 minutes ago, The Magna Defender said:

Phone boxes were a popular series like that locally, until two locals conspired with a now ex reviewer; a phony story about BT having a problem with phone boxes. The "big box little box" series was quickly destroyed just because of two NIMBY locals who didn't want a phone box series in their local area. <_<

 

The "Fine Pair" series (phone box and post box) seems to be doing well and expanding, at least near me.   But yes, the caches can't be in the phone box itself (if it is still a BT phone box).  

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Just now, redsox_mark said:

 

The "Fine Pair" series (phone box and post box) seems to be doing well and expanding, at least near me.   But yes, the caches can't be in the phone box itself (if it is still a BT phone box).  

 

Yeah they can't be in phone boxes anymore because of NIMBYs and a now ex reviewer concocting a phoney story about a BT maintenance man finding a cache in a phone box and reporting it head office. 

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On 6/12/2018 at 10:04 AM, redsox_mark said:

 

The "Fine Pair" series (phone box and post box) seems to be doing well and expanding, at least near me.   But yes, the caches can't be in the phone box itself (if it is still a BT phone box).  

I have also encountered some "series" that just seem to be an excuse to put out another easily found cache.  There was the "Always" series that consisted of geocaches near Walmart stores (their motto is Always Open), usually in a lamp post in a parking lot.  Then there is a "Drug wars" series that's in my area which involves hiding a cache where there are two competing drug stores (often on the same corner).   The fact that a cache is part of a "series" doesn't make me want to go look for a cache in a Rite-Aid parking lot.  

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On 6/12/2018 at 6:21 AM, Fugads said:

There is another series here in New Mexico (Southwest USA for the non US-centric out there) called the "Spirit of Insert Town Name" where caches are placed near small rural cemeteries. Here is an example: https://coord.info/GC4EG0M. This series doesn't seem to have any formal book-keeper (I couldn't find a comprehensive bookmark list either), but a bunch of NM geocachers place these in tiny desert towns all over the state, and they all seem to have the same name.

Sounds like the "Spirit Quest" series that are in several US States.  The theme is caches in cemeteries.  I don't think the caches across different states are associated with each other, or even the caches within the same state and I haven't seen any type of dedicated website like the Church Micro series.

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On 6/12/2018 at 7:04 AM, redsox_mark said:

The "Fine Pair" series (phone box and post box) seems to be doing well and expanding, at least near me.   But yes, the caches can't be in the phone box itself (if it is still a BT phone box).  

Interesting.  So these boxes are often placed next to each other?  Looks like that series also has a dedicated website with stats and such.

Are caches allowed to be hidden on post boxes in the UK?  Hides on postal service mailboxes are not allowed in the USA, or Canada, so just curious if it's allowed in the UK.

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1 hour ago, noncentric said:

Sounds like the "Spirit Quest" series that are in several US States.  The theme is caches in cemeteries.  I don't think the caches across different states are associated with each other, or even the caches within the same state and I haven't seen any type of dedicated website like the Church Micro series.

I didn't realize this was a widespread thing in other states. Guess I need to get out more :). The only other state I've lived in as a geocacher was Tennessee and they have a law prohibiting geocaches in cemeteries there.

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21 hours ago, noncentric said:

Interesting.  So these boxes are often placed next to each other?  Looks like that series also has a dedicated website with stats and such.

Are caches allowed to be hidden on post boxes in the UK?  Hides on postal service mailboxes are not allowed in the USA, or Canada, so just curious if it's allowed in the UK.

 

It does seem like they are quite often near each other.    There is no specific rule in the UK regarding caches on post boxes, but there is about having them on/in active phone boxes.   

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