Outbreak Of Puzzle Caches

[WH]

Check this out. 9 out of the last 20 caches listed in Massachusetts are puzzles. Are there any other parts of the country noticing an outbreak of any particular kind of cache?

[+Mastifflover]

Boy I hope not. I like puzzle caches as much as some people like micro's.

[+bigredmed]

I was in Boston last November and was amazed at the number of multis that started in downtown, but ended in some park in suburban Boston. Out of the first cache page, I found one trad.

 

Mass cachers must go in streaks.

[+Cool Librarian]

Mass cachers are a fanatical - and brilliant - bunch. The state has high cache density - while being noticeably low on micros (not much loved around here) - so it means that many of the big hiders and finders have pushed the envelope to find new cache configurations.

 

Personally, I'm not crazy about puzzle caches, as they tend to be math or code based - and I have a very right-brain approach to thinking (AKA, I'm math deficient). I do well on the history based puzzle caches (also popular here).

 

My one puzzle cache Right on Time has had a very low number of finds (comparitively) - but the puzzle is based purely on research and extrapolation - no math/codes involved - and it's the female cachers who seem to have an easier time of it. Heh.

Edited February 10, 2005 by Cool Librarian

[+SeventhSon]

Most of mine are puzzles. I was hoping the locals would catch on and hide a few. It would be nice to do some rather than hide some.

[+LthrWrk]

I do enjoy the occassional puzzle cache and multi's. Sometimes I avoid em on a day of caching when I am tryn to 'work' (Play) my way to a certain destination.

 

The variety of so many different ways to enjoy this geocaching thing makes it suitable for everyone to choose the ones each wants to seek.

 

I say.. keep bringing on all the different mix.

[+vree]

Are there any other parts of the country noticing an outbreak of any particular kind of cache?

my area recently had a whole gaggle of nanos in cemeteries and matchstick containers in the woods. meh.

[+Tharagleb]

I have one cache, Candelabra Entry, it's a puzzle. There are a lot of puzzle caches aound Vermont. Some of them are really amazing. I have had fun doing them. I intend to put out more caches, they probably will all be puzzles...

[+cache_test_dummies]

My office is in southern New Hampshire, just a few miles away from Massachusetts. I just ran a PQ and found out that there are 28 puzzle caches within 20 miles of here: 4 are in NH, 24 are in MA.

 

I personally like the puzzle caches. Heck, I like all the caches.

 

edit: typo

Edited February 11, 2005 by cache_test_dummies

[+mrducky]

I noticed it too. One of the new puzzles is mine. And Play Ball! is really a puzzle as well as a multi, so that's 10 out of 20.

 

I was wondering if it's because there is a high concentration of engineering geeks (like me) around here.

 

I have a few ideas for some more math or code puzzle caches, but I'd like to be able to think of other kinds too, like the history puzzles. I'll have to keep thinking to come up with something good.

[+Enspyer]

A few years ago Central New York started having a ton of "letterbox-hybrids". Since then people have been hiding more, but none of them are actually letterboxes. That is an outbreak of caches that are wrong...there are 12 of them hidden within 11 miles of me!

[+BadAndy]

We have a notorious puzzle cacher here in town. 1 of his has been in the wild for nearly a year, and has yet to be found. He usually leaves top shelf ftf swag on his puzzles...but This cache has eluded all the locals so far.

[+New England n00b]

I don't mind puzzle caches as long as they are labeled correctly. When I get a rare moment to go spontaneous caching, I hate going to an area and finding out I should have done prior research. I guess I'm more of a 'Hey look, I'm breathing fresh air' kinda guy. I really hate it when multi's are actually puzzles, too. The kind of multi I like is 'go here, find teh hidden waypoint, go there, repeat as needed. I think a puzzle multi cache type would be great to separate the styles.

 

Having said that, there are several puzzles I am itching to do, and I will be working them 'offline' and persuing them physically when I get the opportunity.

[AJK]

I don't mind puzzle caches as long as they are labeled correctly. When I get a rare moment to go spontaneous caching, I hate going to an area and finding out I should have done prior research. I guess I'm more of a 'Hey look, I'm breathing fresh air' kinda guy. I really hate it when multi's are actually puzzles, too. The kind of multi I like is 'go here, find teh hidden waypoint, go there, repeat as needed. I think a puzzle multi cache type would be great to separate the styles.

 

Ditto, I am going to take to emailing admin in our area to try and get some of them changed.

[+Boot Group]

In our first year of geocaching, we didn't attempt the puzzle caches in the area. Now that we are over 100 finds, and in our second year, we've found two. I can't say that the year or the the 100 finds helped. It just added another dimension to our geocaching experiences. I guess I prefer regular caches, which in this area, usually require at least a 1/4 mile hike one way. Luckily, the 1/4 mile (or more) generally rewards us locals with a nice size container like an ammo box or a "decent" sized tupperware container.