Beale Puzzle

[+Jenakel13]

This post might be against the rules so apologies if it is I am only a newbie. I am so confused as to how to solve a Bealer puzzle. I get that its about allocating letters to numbers but I can't for the life of me work out how to do that. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[+niraD]

According to section 2-D of the geocaching.com terms of use, "You agree not to: [...] xxiii. Publish on our websites the solutions, hints, spoilers, or any hidden coordinates for any geocache without consent from the geocache owner.” However, here are some general puzzle tips (based in part on a puzzle-solving class event presented by The Rat a while ago):

 

Identify the theme. Check the cache title, the hint, the HTML source, the graphics (including names/URLs), any links (including URLs), whatever is at the posted coordinates, etc. If you can figure out the theme, then you should look for numbering systems that are associated with that theme (zip codes, athletes’ jersey numbers, episode numbers, product codes, etc.).

 

Around here, coordinates will have 15 digits, and will look like "N 37° xx.xxx W 122° xx.xxx". So when I'm solving a nearby puzzle, I look for a group of 15 things, and then I look for ways to get the digits 37xxxxx122xxxxx from them. In general, I look for ways to get the number 37 (or the digits 3 and 7) from something near the beginning of the puzzle, and the number 122 (or the digits 1, 2, and 2) from something near the middle of the puzzle. (Of course, you'll need to adjust this for the coordinates near you.)

 

Other useful resources include:

Puzzle Solving 101 Series (bookmark list)

Calgary Puzzle Solving 101 (bookmark list)

Puzzle Shortcuts Series (bookmark list)

Solving Puzzle Caches (online article)

How Do I Solve All These $@! Puzzle Caches? (tutorial-style puzzle cache)

Puzzle FUNdamentals (archived event cache) and the Puzzle FUNdamentals resources on the GeocacheAlaska! education page

The GBA's Puzzle Cache FAQ (for puzzle designers, but useful for understanding how puzzle caches work)

LANAKI's Classical Cryptography Course

How to Puzzle Cache (book)

[+ras_oscar]

I know nothing about your cache. I only know about Beale puzzles from my readings on wikkipedia this AM. Its pretty simple. You need to find a standard document which you use as a decrypt key. The coded number 127 (for example) decrypts to the 127th letter of the standard document. The challendge is finding the standard document. I have heard about this type of encoding (although I have never heard it called a beale puzzle) being used with telephone directories, newspapers, etc. Needs to be a standard document widely available and unaltered. If I were you I'd start by reading the cache page carefully looking for clues to the standard document.

[+narcissa]

This post might be against the rules so apologies if it is I am only a newbie.

 

Might be a good idea to check the rules, then.

[+goldsy]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

Edited January 26, 2015 by goldsy

[+doc73]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

 

Glad to see I was not the only one to see this trend in several threads and posts.. Just did want to waste my breathe and type it out! Now I'm sure you'll pay, maybe me as well for not just drinking the kool-aid from the perfect ones who never ask questions because they know all!

 

Back to topic.. There were some good info towards the second half of the second post. I have never gone a puzzle cache because I am not good solving them. My mind just does not work that way! Gives me some studying to do for my own betterment.

Edited January 26, 2015 by doc73

[+narcissa]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

 

Is there a term for the white knights who wait around for an opportunity to call people trolls?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

 

Is there a term for the white knights who wait around for an opportunity to call people trolls?

 

You posted a condescending remark to a newbie that came here just to ask for a general approach to solving a specific type of cipher. Instead of owning up to your condescending response you blame those that call you out for making it.

 

In any case, there are no rules against asking for help on a puzzle cache. The guidelines only address responding with spoilers in a public forum.

[+tozainamboku]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

 

Is there a term for the white knights who wait around for an opportunity to call people trolls?

I suppose the OP opened himself up to the criticism by stating right off that he thought the question might be agaist some rule. I took narcissa's response of "Might be a good idea to check the rules, then." as being due to her being Canadian. Others would have been more gentle in pointing out the TOUs and providing general resources on puzzle solving.

 

Personally, I still find Groundspeak's policy on puzzle spoilers a bit silly. What is really silly is the expectation of puzzle cache owners that people aren't going to ask for help. Even the expectation that they should only ask the cache owner for help is too much, IMO. Sure, one would hope that people aren't simply asking for or posting the solution to a puzzle. I might buy into some rule not to post puzzle answers. But it seems silly to tell people you can't point someone in the right direction or give a hint on how to solve a puzzle. Maybe Groundspeak wants us all to act Canadian.

[+fizzymagic]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Thanks for this. In fact, no guidelines were broken. In actual fact, I think that forum discussions of techniques for solving well-known ciphers would be useful and productive.

 

The key to the Beale cipher, which (usually) uses the Declaration of Independence, is to have the right version, and to know whether or not the cipher's creator includes the preface words. I tend to use the Wikipedia version first, but if that doesn't work there are other sources.

 

Naturally, I wrote myself a little program in Python that does most of it automatically for me.

 

BTW, by your definition, I am a forum troll, as I love to scour the GPS forum looking for people who don't understand WAAS. []

[+doc73]

Chill out folks. He asked a question about a Beale Cipher. He made no reference to any specific cache and he gets pounced on by the forum trolls. I don't think any guidelines were broken.

 

Forum Troll - Users who scour the forums all day waiting for people to post something in the wrong forum or break a guideline just so they can pounce on them.

 

He asked a general question regarding a Beale Cipher. He did not ask for a specific hint on a specific cache.

 

Is there a term for the white knights who wait around for an opportunity to call people trolls?

I suppose the OP opened himself up to the criticism by stating right off that he thought the question might be agaist some rule. I took narcissa's response of "Might be a good idea to check the rules, then." as being due to her being Canadian. Others would have been more gentle in pointing out the TOUs and providing general resources on puzzle solving.

 

Personally, I still find Groundspeak's policy on puzzle spoilers a bit silly. What is really silly is the expectation of puzzle cache owners that people aren't going to ask for help. Even the expectation that they should only ask the cache owner for help is too much, IMO. Sure, one would hope that people aren't simply asking for or posting the solution to a puzzle. I might buy into some rule not to post puzzle answers. But it seems silly to tell people you can't point someone in the right direction or give a hint on how to solve a puzzle. Maybe Groundspeak wants us all to act Canadian.

 

Yes he might have set himself up for the response but we did not need to capitalize upon it and made them, possibly (yes.. my guess), make them feel dumb.. He is new and looking for constructive advise / help... It has been since determines that he violated no rule (later through more info being posted). But instead of helping a new cacher out by checking the rules and referring to the correct place if he was wrong and the rules in their entirety either way for future guidance (like NiraD) a very rude and condescending response was made that helped nothing to the OP question and made no purpose other than maybe run another user from a good forum and game.

[+dprovan]

You posted a condescending remark to a newbie that came here just to ask for a general approach to solving a specific type of cipher.

What in the world do you think is condescending about responding to "I think I'm breaking the rules" with "If you don't know the rules, you should probably learn them"? It has nothing to do with this specific question.

 

And as for condescending, niraD kindly watches the forums, day after day, week after week, for the inevitable "help me with this specific puzzle" posts, and he always posts a response very gently pointing out the problem with the question and giving the answer to the general question they should have asked. You must know that. 99 out of 100 times, the question is, in fact, a rule violation, but just this one time, niraD jumped the gun and posted his standard response without really thinking about what was being asked. (In fact, it's not unreasonable to think that the OP was asking about a specific puzzle cache named "Beale Puzzle".) I think for the 99 times niraD's post is helpful and accurate, we can afford to say something nicer than "Chill Out" on the 100th when he makes a mistake.

[+SwineFlew]

This post might be against the rules so apologies if it is I am only a newbie.

 

Might be a good idea to check the rules, then.

Thats a extremely rude remark you made. He wasn't sure but that doesn't mean you need to tell him to reread the rules. Seriously, he broken no rules because general question like he asked are allowed on the forum.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

You posted a condescending remark to a newbie that came here just to ask for a general approach to solving a specific type of cipher.

What in the world do you think is condescending about responding to "I think I'm breaking the rules" with "If you don't know the rules, you should probably learn them"? It has nothing to do with this specific question.

 

The OP didn't write, "I think I'm breaking the rules." He/She wrote "This post might be against the rules so apologies if it is I am only a newbie." If you're going to put something in quotes you should use the text that was actually written.

 

I (and so far, I'm not the only one) still consider narcissa's response rude and condescending. In fact, the OP didn't break any rules and wouldn't have even if they had asked about a specific cache. Asking for help with a puzzle isn't against the rules. Responding with something that could be considered a spoiler is. niraD's canned response, even you think was premature is informational without being judgemental.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by NYPaddleCacher

[+doc73]

Dprovan, I do not think nypaddelcacher was talking about niraD's comment... I actually think niraD's respose was actually very helpful

Edited January 26, 2015 by doc73

[Keystone]

Let's get back to helpful, positive posts to acquaint this first-time poster with puzzle caches and general guidance on how to go about discovering solution methods. When you see "1" next to a person's post count, assume they're posting in the "Getting Started" section of these Forums. Be welcoming. Thank you.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Keystone

[+Jenakel13]

Thank you all for your response. I appreciate those who welcomed and supported me and appreciated those who gave advice on the Beale Puzzle, sometimes it is nice to get a bit of clarity on the path you are taking. To narcissa, as a newbie I find the rules as confusing as everything else in this game!!!! Anyway peoples lets have a bit of geocaching peace and harmony and all enjoy the beautiful world we live in. I have had a weekend of no finds and despite being a bit disheartened I am going to continue.

[+doc73]

Do not worry the finds will come in time. Enjoy the adventure and the memories made while on the hunt, not just the frown or smiley.

[+Jenakel13]

Thanks doc73. You are right. Had a great day yesterday and cleared a few up including some sneaky ones. Lots of fun.

[+Jenakel13]

Oh and by the way the cache I was referring to is not called Beale puzzle and does not even mention the word Beale. My research has led me to believe that is the way I need to go.