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Proper Cache Type for potential hide


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4 minutes ago, LakeJacksonFive said:

Hey all, quick cache type question. I'm wanting to place a cache that requires the finder to go to a specific spot (the posted coordinates) and use information they find there to find the actual cache location. The question is, would that be a Mystery, a Multi, or a Traditional with a Field Puzzle attribute?

 

A Multi.

 

Generally we refer to Multis when the info for the next stage in on the terrain, and to Mysteries when that info can be obtain at home, solving some kind of puzzle on the page.

Edited by RuideAlmeida
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2 minutes ago, LakeJacksonFive said:

Hey all, quick cache type question. I'm wanting to place a cache that requires the finder to go to a specific spot (the posted coordinates) and use information they find there to find the actual cache location. The question is, would that be a Mystery, a Multi, or a Traditional with a Field Puzzle attribute?

 

I've seen caches which require finders to use information at posted coordinates to derive the location of the final location (or subsequent stage) listed both as a puzzle or a multi.  My personal opinion, is that one merely needs to gather information and use basic arithmetic and/or number substitution, then it should be a multi.  If calculating the subsequent coordinates requires something more complex, perhaps requiring internet access or a return home to figure it out, I'd make it a puzzle.  

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1 minute ago, LakeJacksonFive said:

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure since the first location doesn't actually have a cache or container, it's just a monument with plaques that contain the info you need to solve the final.

 

Sure... a Multi with a virtual first stage... but remember, if you add anything to the stage, will become physical, so you need to respect the distance rule to any other prior cache (physical stages included) nearby.

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43 minutes ago, LakeJacksonFive said:

Hey all, quick cache type question. I'm wanting to place a cache that requires the finder to go to a specific spot (the posted coordinates) and use information they find there to find the actual cache location. The question is, would that be a Mystery, a Multi, or a Traditional with a Field Puzzle attribute?

 

37 minutes ago, LakeJacksonFive said:

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure since the first location doesn't actually have a cache or container, it's just a monument with plaques that contain the info you need to solve the final.

 

This a kind of multi called an Offset Cache. When you create the cache there is an option to state whether the posted coordinates are a physical container or Virtual (ex: sign/monument).

 

Sample offset cache: https://coord.info/GC4B5GV

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Hello LJF,

 

please do not see this as offense, but I suggest to find some more non-traditional caches, especially multi caches, before hiding your own. And please read about the different cache types in the geocaching.com guidelines. A traditional cache is always - no exceptions - at  the listed coordinates so your question if this might be a traditional with field attribute shows me that there's still much to learn for you (and that's quite normal!).

 

Again - please see this as helpful hint! We are all learning and I remember a little disaster with my first (bigger) multi cache which took about half a year until it was published as I wasn't very aware of the rules.... :-( So you better start reading and finding more (multi) caches before hiding your own one. :-)

 

But to answer the initial question: that's definitely a multi cache. :-)

 

Have fun!

Jochen

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23 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

 

 

This a kind of multi called an Offset Cache. When you create the cache there is an option to state whether the posted coordinates are a physical container or Virtual (ex: sign/monument).

 

Sample offset cache: https://coord.info/GC4B5GV

 

The link leads to a pretty standard multi cache.  What is there about it that distinguishes it from a standard multi cache and earns the label Offset Cache?

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24 minutes ago, GeoTrekker26 said:

 

The link leads to a pretty standard multi cache.  What is there about it that distinguishes it from a standard multi cache and earns the label Offset Cache?


My understanding of a ‘simple offset multi’ is that they have a single virtual stage (at the posted coordinates) and a single physical stage for the cache itself, normally not too far away.

 

The intention is not so much to provide a multiple waypoint experience; more to draw attention to something at the posted coordinates leading to a cache nearby.

 

In the UK, I’d guess this actually covers a majority of multis.  For example, many ‘Church Micros‘ rely on information on signs, benches, gravestones, etc. in the churchyard to locate a cache on a nearby footpath.

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The geocache listing guidelines used to have a description of an offset cache as follows:

 

Offset Caches

 

Offset caches are a variation on multi-caches. They are listed as a multi-cache when selecting a cache type. They are not found by simply going to some coordinates and finding a cache there. With the offset cache the published coordinates could be of an existing historical monument, plaque, or even a benchmark that you would like to have your cache hunter visit. At this spot, the hunter looks for numbers or information already appearing on the marker or on some part of the marker or site (geocachers NEVER deface public or private property). The geocacher is then able to manipulate these numbers using instructions posted on the cache page to continue the hunt.

 

 I have seen some cases of caches which require projecting a waypoint described as offset caches.  

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Some types of multis I have seen...

 

Offset: Virtual posted coordinates, no other stages except the final. The virtual stage is used to calculate the Final. 

 

Simple: physical posted, no other stages except the final. The coordinates are given directly. Often used these days for "multi for the sake of a multi" caches (ex: a numbers trail of all multis)

 

Classic: 2+ physical stages and a final. While the stages have to be found in sequence, coords for the next stage are given directly. 

 

Guided Hike: classic multi on an out-and-back trail. Most commonly used so that an entire trail is occupied by a single multi and seekers do the whole loop rather than taking shortcuts or only doing part of it. Also a holdover from early GPS units that didn't have topo/trail maps so the stages could be important to avoid wrong turns.

 

Runaround/Loop: like a guided hike except the route is circular with the final near the starting location or first stage. Not surprisingly most often found on loop trails.

 

Guided Tour: usually 6-8 virtual stages, with all the coordinates given up front. Doesn't need to be done in order. Info at each stage is used to calculate. Often done in historical urban areas, like an old downtown. Somewhat supplanted by Wherigos, Virtual Rewards, and Adventure Labs.

 

Multi-Puzzle: needs to be done in sequence, but calculations of some kind must be done at each stage to find the next stage coords rather than being given directly. I've seen this done entirely with Virtual stages (except the final), with physical stages (often with a different challenge or type of puzzle at each stage), or a mix of both. These are usually pretty elaborate and take hours, if not most of a day, to complete.

 

Long Distance: there is no maximum distance between stages so occasionally people create multis with stages on opposite sides of a county, different stages, or even different continents.

 

Night Caches: when I started, night caches could be listed as multi or mystery. I think they are now all required to be mystery.

 

Virtuals: a few early multi-stage Virtuals were listed as Multis and some are still active. Long since grandfathered. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, JL_HSTRE said:

Guided Tour: usually 6-8 virtual stages, with all the coordinates given up front. Doesn't need to be done in order. Info at each stage is used to calculate. Often done in historical urban areas, like an old downtown. Somewhat supplanted by Wherigos, Virtual Rewards, and Adventure Labs.

 

This is the most common type of multi around here and is often used when the interesting locations (waterfalls, vantage points, caves, rock formations, Aboriginal art, etc.) are in places where physical caches/waypoints aren't allowed or would be difficult to obtain approval for (e.g. national parks and nature reserves).

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