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Puzzle Caches

SeventhSon

By SeventhSon
in General geocaching topics

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SeventhSon

+SeventhSon

Posted
Posted

I'm planning on a Multi-Puzzle Cache. I'm curious about how these caches are accepted by finders. The puzzles would be fairly simple to solve, and need to be to get the coordinates to the actual cache.

 

Any feedback by hiders and finders of puzzle caches would be great icon_smile.gif

 

SeventhSon

 

== If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you. ==

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tbbeer

tbbeer

Posted
Posted

Personally, I love puzzles!! Anything that is creative or new or different makes it that much more fun if you ask me. Some people may not like it I suppose - Just add into the description that there are puzzles involved - people who don't like that kind of thing will skip it and go on to something else! icon_wink.gif

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skydiver

skydiver

Posted
Posted

Puzzle Caches rock! I love to hunt and hide them. And personally, I like 'em difficult. Simple is good too, but the more difficult, the better, in my book.

 

skydiver-sig.gif

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"We never seek things for themselves -- what we seek is the very seeking of things."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

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BluEyz and Bugsy

+BluEyz and Bugsy

Posted
Posted

We have a cache called Crossword Puzzle:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=41818

that has a single puzzle, but it has been well received. We also did a picture puzzle mult-cache:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=60056

We put it out recently but it, too, appears to be going well. If you want to see a bunch of math puzzle caches, check ones put out by Geometry. He really makes you work for your coordinates. We love puzzles and they make geocaching even more of a game. The people who like the park and grab variety of cache will avoid them, but a whole lot of other people will enjoy solving them.

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bigcall

+bigcall

Posted
Posted

Finders generally love puzzle caches since I think you'll find that those cachers who attempt them love puzzles. That said, many others won't even bother so your visitors will be much less.

 

Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!

- Rudyard Kipling "The Explorer"

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CoronaKid

+CoronaKid

Posted
Posted

Puzzles caches are great as long as they are carefully planned and mistake free. Be extra careful if you plan on including some math calculations. There's nothing more frustrating than driving all over town because of an incorrect math equation in the puzzle. Also, keep track of the first few finders. If it's too hard for these guys, it is probably too hard for everyone else. Just a few suggestions.

 

--CoronaKid

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wimseyguy

+wimseyguy

Posted
Posted

I spent three hours searching and solving Secret of the Rainbow yesterday. It is way more satisfying to work on a creative puzzle like this than a park and grab run up the numbers cache IMHO. Plus kudos go to the hider who invests the time and creativity to place caches like these. icon_wink.gif

 

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes;

Nothing remains quite the same.

Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

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Web-ling

+Web-ling

Posted
Posted

I tend to like puzzle caches where the puzzle is designed to be solved at home, before the hunt. Since I hunt most caches GPSr-less, I tend to approach most caches like a puzzle - I try to figure out the best approach, etc., from the aerials and topos.

 

As far as puzzles during the hunt, they're ok, as long as they're not tedious or too time-consuming. When I'm out hunting caches, I want to spend my time wandering through the woods looking for boxes, not sitting on a bench scratching my head.

 

web-lingbutton.gif ntga_button.gif

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OuttaHand

OuttaHand

Posted
Posted

I had a puzzle cache sitting at the top of my nearby caches for a long time. It looked like it was going to take an entire weekend to do. When I finally decided to DO it, I was able to get about 1/2 the answers without leaving my computer. I then got out and polished it off in an afternoon. It turned out to be fun! I think the biggest thing if you decide to make one, is to give an idea of how long it should take the average finder to complete it.

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bug and snake

bug and snake

Posted
Posted

The following details my recent attempts to get a puzzle cache placed on the site... Don't bother to get heavy with me over any of this coz I have already pretty well decided to recover the cache and to use the box and contents some other way. This is just posted as an illustration of my own recent problem. I sort of nominally agree with the comments made regarding GATOR but I think I would like to take a degree of responsibility for my own actions in this - after all, I am old enough to go out into the woods on my own now..... Anyhow, the extracts of the dialogue follow - make of it what you will..... This is an extract from a message that I sent to geocashing.com following the e-mails between myself and the examiner of my original submission. Names and addresses are 'sanitised' to protect the guilty and innocent alike.

----------------------------------------------

Extract...........

 

I recently submitted a cache for consideration. I had contacted yourselves before creating the cache for some assistance with acceptable guidelines, which you were happy to provide. (see following)

 

From: bugandsnake@XxXxXxXxXxX

Subject: no subject

Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:29:56 +0100

 

Hi there, Excellent site, thanx for a great hobby.

I wish to place a cache in the local area which will start on the net as

an on-screen, virtual cache and lead to a set of (simple?) mathematical

puzzles. The answers to those puzzles would then form the co-ords for a

REAL cache. Is there a way to do this as the site is currently set up?

The virtual cache is still under construction since I will require the

complete location of the final placement to work all the details of the

puzzle section. Please feel free to check it out here however...

http://www.bugandsnake.XxXxX.com/intro.htm

Assuming that you can approve the idea in principle I will get the

physical aspect of the cache set and the remainder of the cache website in

place and then post the cache on your site in what ever form you advise.

Once more, thanx for some excellent work and a wonderful site.

Best regards, Bug and Snake.....

 

to bugandsnake@XxXxXxXxXxX

cc

subject Re: [#xxxxx] no subject

memo This would fit well as a multicache. Similar puzzles have been created in

the past. Most folks have the coordinates as the parking location for a

particular search, so people know the general area for searching.

 

Jeremy

 

The site was submitted after being prepared and was archived by the admin who checked it out. This is my description of the site as per my submission.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=XxXxX

----------------------------------

Who wants to be a millionaire?

 

The co-ords above are for a place you can park for part two. They came off the map, not live measurements so please treat it as 'close but not exact'.

 

It's a two part cache. But you only need to go out once.

 

The first part is done right here on your computer.

You will need to go have a look at this address to get started: Big Money

 

When you get to the 'questions' stage, (all will come clear) you might find that you can 'Google' for answers if you are stuck.

 

The second part is done in the open air.

It is a conventional cache. It is NOT a themed cache really. You will understand why we named it as we did when you see it. I was going to make a lot of 'poor' puns about money, you can 'bank' on that. But I decided that people might loose 'interest' if I did. So, no puns or double meanings at all this time.

 

The first visitor to the physical part of the cache will find a 'first visitor certificate and button'... Please take those.

 

The cache is not far off the trail so please make an effort to ensure it is well hidden when you are ready to leave.

 

---------------------------------------

Here is the response of the examiner:

 

April 27 by XxXxXxX

You can [delete] or [permanently encrypt] this log entry.

I have archived this cache for several reasons. First of all you must have accurate coordinates to place a cache on Geocaching.com. If you do not have accurate coordinates your cache is archived immediately. Second of all, your information is all off site on your own web page. We ask that you keep all the information to find the cache on the cache page itself. A big reason for that is what happened when I clicked on your web page. I immediately had a window pop up asking me if I wanted to run and install GATOR. GATOR is an invasive program that loads on your computer. Some people may not know that it is an invasive program and might click yes. It is then difficult to get all parts of that program off of your computer. We will not approve a cache that could possibly load an invasive program on a users computer. That almost like a commercial cache.

NOTE: If you have any questions, do not reply to the archive note email. Click on the link to go to the cache page and click on my name in the archive log at the bottom of the page. You can then send me an email regarding the cache. Please send me a link to the cache in question so I will know which cache it is regarding.

Sorry,

XxXxXxX

Geocaching.com ADMIN

 

I raise issue with the following.

Accurate co-ords? Does this person thing that the caching community would blindly park at the given co-ords if it were, for example, in the middle of a busy junction or up a tree? I think that saying that it is ‘a place to park’ covers this with no problem.

An option to load GATOR makes the cache ‘almost like a commercial cache’. Really!?!?

While I do agree that GATOR can be bad news, I don’t think that geocaching.com has any responsibility in this area but that is a matter of opinion and yours rules.

 

I did respond to the examiner as follows:

 

-----------------------------------------

I note that you have archived my cache Big Money. I would refer you to the following.....

(The first message pair above were then appended)

 

The reply received follows:

 

------------------------------------------

Well, like I said, we cannot post a cache unless you are able to go and get

the exact coordinates for the cache location and/or for the starting point.

Caches posted with coordinates from Mapquest or Topozone are not allowed.

People take coordinates literally and some people go to a cache by just

looking at the coordinates only before reading the description (I do that

all the time myself for a better challenge). This is from the page

regarding making a cache.

 

"When you reach the location to place your cache, the hardest part

(depending on the model of your GPS unit, the terrain, etc), is getting

exact coordinates from your GPS unit. It all depends on how visible your

cache is, but you'll need to get the coordinates as close as possible to the

cache."

"Some GPS units have the ability to do averaging, but if yours can't, the

best suggestion is to take a waypoint, walk away from the location, then

return and take another waypoint. Do this around 7-10 times, then pick the

best waypoint (I've done this with a Garmin eTrex on a cache)."

 

When I go to your web page and click at the bottom I get an error and the

JavaScript window will not open so I can't go any further. I cannot review

the rest of the description.

 

FYI... if you don't have your description on the cache page you cut out a

growing group of cachers from finding your cache. Many of us use PDA's to

cache and your description would not be on my PDA. I would just skip over

the cache. It is just something to think about.

 

If you can get coords for the parking location and if you can get your web

page working I will see if the cache conforms to the guidelines at that

point. Let me know when you get these things fixed.

 

XxXxXxXxX

 

The first paragraph of this reply is ridiculous in the extreme:

 

‘People take coordinates literally and some people go to a cache by just looking at the coordinates only before reading the description (I do that all the time myself for a better challenge).’

How often do these people find they are sitting in a car park wondering under which vehicle the ‘ammo box’ is lying?

 

What is the relevance of the quote from the ‘making a cache’ page? Like most, or all cachers, I am well aware of how to get a good fix on a location.

 

As regards errors on the webpage, I am not able to reproduce these. I have tested the site on four different PC’s with no problem what so ever. These were all different machines and connected directly to the net through a dial up in two cases, cable modem in one case and through a network connection in the remaining case. The machines are an IBM, a COMPAQ, a DELL and a MEDION. Between them they are running Windows 2000, Windows ME and Windows XP. In all cases the site has run flawlessly.

I suspect that your reviewer has missed the point of the exercise and is looking for something that is not there.

 

It would be interesting to know what percentage of cachers are PDA users exclusively. I suspect that if such people chose to ‘skip over my caches’ my heart will remain unbroken.

 

I have no desire to continue the dialogue with this examiner and believe that the best thing that I can do is to remove the cache completely and re-start the process at a later date.

 

I hope that I do not have to resort to simply filling a box with small items and throwing it under a thorn bush to satisfy a future examiner.

-----------------------------

End of extract.....

 

Understand that I appreciate the efforts of all who help to keep this site working. Thsi is NOT a pop at 'management' in any way. I would like to get some feedback on the subject from other site users however.....

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pdxmarathonman

+pdxmarathonman

Posted
Posted

Hey Bug (or Snake),

 

It sounded like if you just got some decent coordinates and moved everything to the geocaching.com site you'd be in like Flynn.

 

Many puzzle caches have totally bogus coordinates - no relevance to any part of finding the cache! It is clearly stated in the description. But the close but not quite coords sound like you didn't want to go do what you expected the cachers to do.

 

I got the impression that the off-site stuff is the real deal breaker. Separate from the GATOR program issue is the complete lack of control of whether the site is up or down.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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bug and snake

bug and snake

Posted
Posted

quote:
Originally posted by pdxmarathonman:

Hey Bug (or Snake),

 

It sounded like if you just got some decent coordinates and moved everything to the geocaching.com site you'd be in like Flynn.

 

Many puzzle caches have totally bogus coordinates - no relevance to any part of finding the cache! It is clearly stated in the description. But the close but not quite coords sound like you didn't want to go do what you expected the cachers to do.

 

I got the impression that the off-site stuff is the real deal breaker. Separate from the GATOR program issue is the complete lack of control of whether the site is up or down.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Appreciate the comments, thank you. You are right in every respect.

Before I started working on this cache I did a fair degree of research around the site and my wording as regards the co-ords, "The co-ords above are for a place you can park for part two. They came off the map, not live measurements so please treat it as 'close but not exact', were meant to be just a different way of saying "It's in this area, but don't go there and expect to find the cache". I could have phrased it better.

The puzzle aspect of the cache was contained in a series of image mapped photographs of a forrest which it was necessary to find a route through, leading eventually to a cache containing a question and answer sheet. As such, I had used off site references, as I had seen others do.

All of this said, I appreciate the existance of this facility and I have no desire to fall foul of its rules and regulations. For this reason I will not be re-presenting the cache in its current form. I do have another idea in mind which I had intended to use later for a different cache. I will combine these into one and place that cache in a week or two. I have received AMAZING responses from the people who have found my previous caches and this was an attempt to thank those people for that. I will find a different way to do so.

Again, thanx for your response to my somewhat dragged out post...

 

Regards, Snake

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