Question about hiding caches

[+dahobbitz]

Hi everyone!

 

I’m looking to start hiding caches and have invested quite a bit to get ready. Sure, I will be doing some easier traditional caches of fav spots, but I also would like to do something else and I’m wondering if it’s against the rules.

 

I’m an author myself having written a middle grade fantasy novel. I would like to do a series of mystery caches based on characters in my book. The caches will be difficult to very difficult and will feature nice treats for everyone, especially FTFs. Would doing a series based on characters in my book be against any rules? There would be no need to buy anything, just solve puzzles, riddles and make your brain work!

 

Thanks!

 

dahobbitz

[+lee737]

So long as the information they'll need to solve it is accessible, I can't see a problem, as long as you aren't just trying to advertise your book of course....

I've actually had to buy a specific book once to solve a mystery.... it wasn't written by the CO though....

[+Max and 99]

As long as the information is readily available I'm guessing it would probably be okay.  How does the geocacher connect the puzzles to your book characters, without violating any guidelines? 

 

I'm very happy to see that you have found a lot of geocaches of different types, so I don't expect a forum post from you asking why you can't see where all the final locations are that are keeping yours from getting published. 😁

It sounds like you have a fun and creative project in the works! Good luck. 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Max and 99

[+niraD]

5 hours ago, dahobbitz said:

Would doing a series based on characters in my book be against any rules?

Be sure to read the guidelines, especially the sections regarding agendas and commercial content. There is additional information about the commercial content guidelines in the Help Center article Commercial guidelines explained.

[+mustakorppi]

There may also be regional guidelines. In my area puzzles involving books, movies, tv series etc. are only allowed if the content is freely available e.g. at the local library.

 

 

[+cerberus1]

9 hours ago, dahobbitz said:

I’m an author myself having written a middle grade fantasy novel. I would like to do a series of mystery caches based on characters in my book. The caches will be difficult to very difficult and will feature nice treats for everyone, especially FTFs. Would doing a series based on characters in my book be against any rules? There would be no need to buy anything, just solve puzzles, riddles and make your brain work!

 

We've done series based on a few movies, games and novels.  If permission and guidelines met, it should be fine.

Checked out your country's regional placement wiki and couldn't find any info where most of your finds are.

Most Reviewer's names are on the top right of each Province page, but locally it's usually the first post on any cache page. 

I'd contact one of them with your question, as so many areas have different policies (in an international forum).   

[geoawareUSA9]

13 hours ago, dahobbitz said:

I’m an author myself having written a middle grade fantasy novel. I would like to do a series of mystery caches based on characters in my book.

 

Would doing a series based on characters in my book be against any rules? There would be no need to buy anything

 

One limit on geocaches that reference current works (movies, books, TV shows) is the guideline concerning commercial content. Groundspeak, the company that runs geocaching.com, doesn't allow geocaches for free advertising. Though you could of course explore the possibility of a commercial partnership by contacting Groundspeak directly.

 

If a cache is based on a topic that is well known enough that it can be considered part of pop culture, then it can be published as an exception to the commercial guidelines. Since your user name references hobbits, a perfect example of pop culture would be characters from The Lord of the Rings, which have been in print and movies for decades.

 

Here, your proposed cache series is based on characters in your book. Unless you can show that your book is widely available for free at libraries, then I would disagree that there would be "no need to buy anything." How else would one learn about your book characters apart from reading your book, and if your book is not widely available at local libraries, how else would one read your book apart from buying it? I think it's reasonably likely that your local reviewer may conclude your proposed caches appear to be advertisements for your book, and deny publication based on the commercial content.

 

The best way to find out whether your idea is publishable is of course to contact your local reviewer with more specific information.

[+dahobbitz]

Thank you for all the feedback! I appreciate you all taking the time to reply. I’m very confident that I wouldn’t be breaking rules of any sort. The caches I have in mind are just mystery caches following one of my characters going on an adventure. Riddles, puzzles and so on would completely be solvable without purchasing anything or even going to the library to read any book 😊. I just want to tell a little story with a mystery cache to challenge people a bit.

[+Max and 99]

6 minutes ago, dahobbitz said:

Thank you for all the feedback! I appreciate you all taking the time to reply. I’m very confident that I wouldn’t be breaking rules of any sort. The caches I have in mind are just mystery caches following one of my characters going on an adventure. Riddles, puzzles and so on would completely be solvable without purchasing anything or even going to the library to read any book 😊. I just want to tell a little story with a mystery cache to challenge people a bit.

That sounds like fun! I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Good luck with the project.

[geoawareUSA9]

On 9/5/2022 at 1:30 AM, dahobbitz said:

I’m very confident that I wouldn’t be breaking rules of any sort. The caches I have in mind are just mystery caches following one of my characters going on an adventure. Riddles, puzzles and so on would completely be solvable without purchasing anything or even going to the library to read any book 😊. I just want to tell a little story with a mystery cache to challenge people a bit.

 

While that's not as involved as how I read your first post, it still might be seen as commercial promotion for your book.

 

Before you get too far in the preparation process, I'd highly recommend reaching out to your local reviewer and discussing your idea with them.

[+GeoTrekker26]

On 9/2/2022 at 10:19 PM, dahobbitz said:

Hi everyone!

 

I’m looking to start hiding caches and have invested quite a bit to get ready. Sure, I will be doing some easier traditional caches of fav spots, but I also would like to do something else and I’m wondering if it’s against the rules.

 

I’m an author myself having written a middle grade fantasy novel. I would like to do a series of mystery caches based on characters in my book. The caches will be difficult to very difficult and will feature nice treats for everyone, especially FTFs. Would doing a series based on characters in my book be against any rules? There would be no need to buy anything, just solve puzzles, riddles and make your brain work!

 

Thanks!

 

dahobbitz

Sounds fun.  No need to mention either your book name or the character's book name in the online cache.  Neither one would either add or detract to the fun of the cache, so go ahead a make your fun caches.  No reason to include the book in any manner.  Note that the contents of the physical cache can include anything you want in regards to your books or characters.