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On Writing A Good Hint


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Before I sound like an ingrate, I must say that I really appreciate the work that goes into creating a cache, and I'm very thankful for all the people who put their time and energy into hiding things for others to find. That said, I do have a small complaint...

 

I recently looked for a cache which I did not find. After searching for some time I decoded the Hint which read:

The cache is straight away from a very cool tree.
It did not say anything else. The cool tree was easy to spot, as the coordinates already had me standing near it. Which is exactly the problem. The hint was useless. Straight away in what direction? How far? Under something? And so on. It didn't add anything at all to the information I already had. I'm not the most experienced cacher in the world, but please understand that I do like puzzles. I don't like to use Hintsl, except as a last resort. There is a cache near my house that I've failed to find twice, and instead of decoding I've chosen to come back again and try more without the Hint.

 

So what is my point? I'm all for vagueness and puzzles in the general cache description. It's a big part of the fun. But, it seems to me that Hints should be specific. Basically that they should say pretty much exactly where the cache is. An idea I REALLY like is having TWO paragraphs in the Hints where the first is a little Hint to push you in the right direction, and then the second completely gives the location away. Or something along those lines. But at some point I would like to have pretty specific information so that I can determine whether the cache still exists. The cacher before me could not find the "unusual tree" cache either. With more specific info I could have helped the owner determine whether the cache had gone AWOL. I'm sure others will not agree with me on this, and might say I want something that contradicts the whole spirit of caching; but regardless, I would enjoy hearing any and all thoughts on the subject of Hints. :)

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N tbbq uvag fubhyq or fbzrguvat hfrshy sbe jura lbh'er ng gur pnpur fvgr naq abg fbzrguvat gung lbh jrer orggre bss ernqvat orsber lbh yrsg ubzr.

 

"Qba'g sbetrg gb znex lbhe pne" vf whfg hfryrff, nf vf "Jrne obbgf, vg pbhyq or zhqql!"

 

V yvxr gur vqrn bs gjb pnpur uvagf. Gur svefg pbhyq ernq "Gur pnpur vf vafvqr n ubyybj ybt" naq gur frpbaq pbhyq fnl "Vg'f vafvqr gur ybt svsgrra srrg abegu bs gur ovt ebpx gung ybbxf yvxr n uhzna urnq."

 

Bs pbhefr, jura jevgvat lbhe uvagf, qba'g sbetrg gung lbh pna znxr hfr bs oenpxrgf gb oernx lbhe uvag hc vagb ivfvoyr frpgvbaf.

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What was the difficulty rating. If it was rated a 1 then maybe a better hint was in order. I think it's all part of the game. Sometimes I leave a hint, sometime I don't, sometimes I leave a lame hint. It depends on how hard I want the cache to be.

 

Off topic. I don't know about anyone else but I see a resemblance between Karma and Bella. I can't quite put my finger on it.

154902_200.jpg

76aea9f9-84b0-4220-bfe1-6ef07a25a9ed.jpg

Maybe it's just me. :)

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I think that hints (if you give them) should be pretty specific, too. That's why they are encoded. You don't have to see them unless you really need to.

 

Sometimes I've seen clever hints that are a poem, or a riddle, and these are fun. They are not specific, but if you figure them out, they can help.

 

It also depends on where the cache is, and how hard it is. I have a multi cache that is 4-5 miles of walking on a nature loop, which sometimes has poor reception. This cache is located in the mountains about 30 minutes from a tourist town that gets visitors from all over the world. My hints are Very specific, because nobody wants to go to all that trouble, and then not find the cache. But I say in the regular text that the hints are specific, and to bring them with you so they can be decoded on the trail only if need be.

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On larger "woods" caches, if the coordinates are accurate and it is in an area with good reception, the hint need not be to specific. On micros, or caches in areas with poor reception, hints would be more helpful if they were clear. Obviously, some caches are hidden with the intention that they be very difficult to find. On those caches, no hint at all is sometimes better than the cryptic hints you often see. The whole game is based on the honor system, so I believe that if you are going to leave a hint, make it one that will guide the cacher to the placement. If they didn't need a hint, they wouldn't have decrypted it.

 

I'm sure that there are some that automatically decrypt the hint before even looking. (I've done this on several occasion when I knew I was looking for something tough right out of the box.) Perhaps another kind of smiley? One that indicates a find without the use of a hint, and one that indicates a find that required a hint. This would open up another opportunity for the FTF crowd. You could be FTF, and FTFNH > no hint.

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I think that hints should be real stinkers which require degrees in philosophy, geography and math to solve. That way when you see '100 found' against someone's name, you have cause to be thoroughly impressed.

How many of these statistics should realy read '100 found; but only 5 without reading spoilers' :) .

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This is my new system and it has gotten positive feedback. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Snoogans. Short and easy to decode in the field.

 

The hint for my Humble Grasshopper cache:

 

NUDGE: Va gur ohfurf.

NUDGE, NUDGE: Jvguva n lneq bs gur bevtvany ybpngvba.

WINK, WINK: Vg qrcraqf ba gur natyr gung lbh ybbx sbe vg.

SAY NA MORE: BX vg'f n zvpeb jvgu n svefg engr pnzb wbo.

A NOD'S AS GOOD AS A WINK TO A BLIND BAT: Gurer vf n fcbg jurer gur bevtvany pnpur unq boivbhfyl orra. Ybbx oruvaq gurer

 

Sn :):) gans

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I prefer no hint at all. That's why I rarely decode them unless I've already failed after a couple of attempts. I enjoy cryptic hints, but I expect the hint to be somewhat specific and meaningful once I've figured it out. "Straight away from the tree" is, IMHO, neither cryptic nor specific. Unless, of course, there's only a single patch which leads "straight away" from the tree. I prefer not to see a hint that is so specific that it leads me directly to the cache. I consider those spoiler hints and they tend to spoil the inevitable find. :)

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My favorite hints are the ones that make perfect sense after you find the cache. Unfortunatly you have to find the cache first to 'get it'.

That's a fine description of a great hint. They make you blush with embarassment and dramatically raise your spirits. It's a beautiful thing!!

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I really don't like those vauge hints. I have only put one hint on a cache of mine and it was because I wanted the cache to be easy. I also think the hints that say something like "under the only blue rock in the area" are way to specific and should not be used, even on the caches meant to be really easy. Hints should only be used on the moderate level caches (not a level 1 and not a 5 either) and they should be specific enough to help but not give it away and they should require some thought to figure out.

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i think that it depends on what the cache owner wants the cache to be. my first cache had a very specific clue but i wanted everyone to find it. i have a micro hidden that is a challenge with no clue. the cache name gives away the location but it's still not an easy find. i think it all depends on what the owner is hoping to do with the cache. if it's rated a 5 5 i would want a hint available but that's just me.

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I reaaaally don't like it when "essential" information is in the hint. By essential I mean parking information or something that could get you killed or poison ivy'ed. I also don't think that a hint should be straight forward. "One foot off the ground in a hole on the side of a big oak tree" is not a hint..it's a gimme.

 

Personally, I think that if a hint actually requires you to think--maybe approach the problem from a different perspective--it does much more than if it does the thinking for you (gives the answer away). Some of my favorite hints have been puns or unusual turns of phrase.

 

Sure, they take a little more time and thought, but I think it's well worth the effort.

 

Bret

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A hint should be written under the assumption that the reader is within 100' of the cache. Hint's with parking coordinates and the like are useless. Likewise a hint that tells you the name of the park you're standing in.

 

And anyone who writes a cute hint that says something like "no hint for you, cheater!" deserves to get their finger snapped off by the next ammo can they open.

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I think the worst hints are the ones that are deliberately misleading. I'd rather have no hint than one that led me down the primrose path. For example, suppose the hint strongly implies that the cache will be ON a certain object, instead of just near it.

 

I think the second worst are hints that require you to read the hider's mind to really understand the hint.

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I don't think there should be any guidelines AT ALL for hints. I think they should be as vague or as thorough as the owner wants. I searched for a tiny micro for at least 3-4 hours on 3 consecutive day, and there was no hint at all. I didn't know what I was looking for or anything. It was so frustrating, but in the end it was great to not have spoiled it by looking at a hint. The micro ended up being hidded inside of a branch that was in a huge bush. I ended up spotting it just by luck, and couldn't believe it when I found it.

 

No hint is better than bad or vague hints.

 

Also, I disagree a little with that. At least with a vague or bad hint, you can kind of try to maybe make an educated guess :) as to what the hider was thinking.

 

Hints or no hints, it's all fun, and I will find them eventually.

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A hint should be short and to the point. I really don't want to sit there and decrypt 2-3 paragraphs. The owner can make it as specific, or as vague as he wants. Personally, I make it a dead giveaway because I feel the point is for the cache to be found.

 

To me a no-no is giving info that is useless once you're at the cache site. Once, I arrived at cache that was hidden way back in an old iron mine and the hint said "bring a flashlight". Geez, thanks for telling me now. I had to walk a mile back to my car to get a flashlight. Parking coordinates are dumb, unless they are labeled as such (which I often do). So is telling the hunter which trail to take in the hint. Duh, I'm already at the cache site, so I guess I chose the right trail. And like others I really hate the "THIS IS TOO EASY FOR A HINT", or "YOU DON'T NEED A HINT" . Hello McFly! If I'm taking the time to decrypt the hint apparently it isn't as easy as you think and I need a hint.

 

And absolutely, positively do not write a hint like this one (yes this was a real encrypted hint, taken verbatim with identifying info remove to protect the innocent...and guilty):

 

When you get to (coordinates deleted) ..look for a dead tree on the right side of the trail,Its kmow more then 20 feet tall.ITs still standing but its top is cutoff. The cache is in the tree.Please cover it up well when you find it,From the tree,you can see a yellow exit sign oN the parkway......MORE INFO...sinse I put this cache out,,,things have changed,,,here is a note from (name deleted)...WHO FOUND THIS CACHE,,,Hey (name deleted), Your(name deleted) cache was found by me and another cacher today. But in a fallen 20 foot tree. You might want to amend the description a bit. We placed it back in the stump that is left of the same tree. Had to poke around for a while to find it. Was quite funny, cuz we knew our GPS's were guiding us to that spot but there was no standing 20 dead tree. ...ok SEEMS MY TREE CAME DOWN...TY (name deleted)
Edited by briansnat
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As long as we're talking hints, let me tell you about two that sorta bugged me.

 

One was in a cache in a wildlife preserve just off from the highway. The obvious parking spot was a wide area by the side of the highway (fairly busy highway at that). Once I got into the woods I discovered a creek running through it and that the cache was on the other side of the creek. Nothing in the hint about it, though..in fact, there was no hint. Instead, without explanation, the hider had written parking instructions at the bottom of the cache page--in spanish.

 

Now, first of all, being the ugly American that I am, I don't speak spanish. Secondly, there's nothing on the cache page or in my Palm that allows for easy translation of spanish. On top of that, due to the accent marks used, during the Spinning and Plucking process on my Palm some of the words became illegible.

 

All in all, it was an interesting idea, but a simple note on the cache page that said, "Just to make things interesting, your hint is in spanish. Good luck, Amigo!" would have made it fun instead of frustrating.

 

The second one was way back in my early caching days (y'know...about a year and a half ago). When decrypted the hint read, "Munroe Leaf wrote a famous childrens story book. What would the "hero' of the story enjoy doing all day!?" Ok, interesting hint, except here I am in the woods and I forgot to bring my LIBRARY CARD! :) Actually, this one sticks in my mind as a great hint, but one that belonged in the cache page and not in the hint area. This is one that I would have needed to know about before I got there.

 

Just for fun, I looked up "hint" at Dictionary.com. Here's the definition I really like:

 


  •  
  • A brief or indirect suggestion; a tip: stock-trading hints.
     
  • A statement conveying information in an indirect fashion; a clue: Give me a hint about the big news.
     

 

I like those because they're "Hints" and not "Give aways." You still have to work for it in one way or another.

 

Bret

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IMO, the specificity of the hint should increase with the proliferation of potential hiding places at the cache location (or with heavy tree cover). When there are only a few possible hiding places, there's really no need for a hint.

 

For example, on my last hide (a catch-4-TB-puzzle cache), if you get within 50' or so of the cache location, the clue will make sense if you're thinking about it. Even then, it will just tell you that you're in the right area and you'll still have a hunt. I intended it more as confirmation that the puzzle was correctly solved.

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I had a "nice" one last week. The hint read something like "the cache is 10 feet west of the westernmost duck blind"

 

The problems were twofold... First, the cache was on an island. ten feet west would have put it out on the water. Second, my GPSr was still reading about 120' to the cache. With the ground covered with snow, where was I supposed to look?

 

I started wandering around a bit, brushing off snow here and there, when I finally got the hint I needed: A voice yelling from one of the houses around the lake, "Look down!" I brushed off the snow at my feet, and there it was, stilll about 90 feet from the posted coordinates.

 

Someone above said the hint should be something useful once you get within 100' feet of the cache. Sounds about right to me, even if it's something as silly as "Don't get stumped!"

 

I still think that people don't take advantage of the brackets as much as they could. I'd love to see hints like:

 

[Hint] Vg'f abg ng tebhaq yriry [Dead Giveaway] Vg'f va gur xabgubyr bs gur guerr-gehaxrq gerr juvpu vf gjragl srrg abegujrfg bs gur tvnag obhyqre.

 

That way you could decypher the clue in pieces.

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I like to think of geocaching as a game. And like any other game sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I don't like hints. If the cache is supposed to be hard then hints take that away from the experience. If it is supposed to be easy then you may as well post it in the clear. Those looking to up their numbers read the clue before they leave home anyways. Next event cache you go to look how many print out cache pages with the hints already decoded there are around.

I have been accused of making my caches too hard to find and have put hints on them. Nobody has found 2 of my caches without me having to tell them exactly how they are hidden, which I do if they have made 2 or more attempts to find them. In the future I will place the hints for my puzzle caches 4 or 5 Km in the woods so they have to work to get a hint :)

I put dead giveaways in my easy to find caches because they are supposed to be easy and if you can't find them then they are probably missing.

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I don't like a hint to tell me exactly where the cache is. on the other hand, I don't like a hint that's too vague. a riddle is always fun, but not if I can't figure it out. :D I don't know, maybe a good thing to do would be test it out on another person to see if they could figure out where it is from the hint alone.

 

I made the mistake on one of my caches of giving too much of a hint, basically telling them where it was straight out, and another more experienced cacher (Team 360!) emailed me after I asked him and advised me to back off a little and be more vague with the clue because it makes it more challenging, and I guess I kind of agree with that.

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While visiting out of state in PA, I needed a little help and looked at the hint: "Hidden in the usual place." :D:D

 

Gee thanks!

 

So I go to another cache: same hint!! :D

 

Ok so I check, it's the same cacher and that seems to be his standard cache hint. I guess it's an inside joke to other locals. :D

 

Alan

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"Hidden in the usual place."

I've come across a couple of these and found that it always means under a log (if you're searching for a micro, that is). I don't know how that came to be universally known as the 'usual place,' but I've heard other cachers mention this as well. Maybe it's just a regional thing?

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