I need some ideas

[+EJKPBR]

I want to place a cache which is a giant padlock with a 4 digit combination. It's the kind of padlock that can hold keys or other small objects which in this case will hold a bison tube.

But I need a way/puzzle for the cacher to acquire the combination without me providing it in the description of the cache.

I've done this sort of thing before with a padlock on an ammo box. But in that instance it was a 5 stage multi and I provided 1 digit at each stage.

Any ideas?

[+kunarion]

Write or paint the numbers or clues on the box, in a cryptic way. An example of a way to have mysterious clues is to write them with UV ink, although if you plan to do exactly that, you should test it first to be sure it doesn't fade nor become “visible” over time, reacting with the writing surface in the weather.

 

There's a cache where I live, that has mysterious items and clues hidden near the cache box. And the 3-number combination is solved when the clue is a single digit. Quite a head-scratcher, and it's possible that it may take a couple of trips, while you consider the puzzle. In that instance, I noticed that the box itself was very flexible plastic, so the log could be accessed and signed without completely solving everything.

Edited January 16, 2016 by kunarion

[+MartyBartfast]

Is there anything near the site which has numbers? A phone number or zip code? Even in the countryside (in the UK) there will often be a farm gate which usually has a manufacturers plate with their phone number. All telegraph poles have numbers on them..... If not then if it's a rural location then count something - trees, boulders, etc.

[+FlyingDuc]

You could make a board with embedded magnets and write numbers all over the board. The combination numbers could be placed over the magnets. Have the cacher use a metal object to wave over the board so the object reveals the combination.

[+EJKPBR]

I'm liking these ideas so far. Keep them coming.

[+niraD]

Another possibility would be to include the combination in the name of the cache, such as "Atomic Numbers of Mg & Cd" for the combination 1248, or "A Dozen Cubed" for the combination of 1728.

[+vw_k]

Is there anything near the site which has numbers? A phone number or zip code? Even in the countryside (in the UK) there will often be a farm gate which usually has a manufacturers plate with their phone number. All telegraph poles have numbers on them..... If not then if it's a rural location then count something - trees, boulders, etc.

 

I was also going to suggest something like this. I've found caches where the combination for the lock is taken from the speed limits on nearby street signs, or the phone number or date on a sign somewhere. Perhaps there is something that can be counted at the nearest parking area to the cache? Cachers could then work out the number they need at the trailhead before walking to the cache location.

 

You could also mention on the cache page that the combination for the lock can be found somewhere on your profile page, then maybe wear a badge with the code on in your profile pic that can only be read when someone clicks on it to enlarge it.

[Luckless]

There are plenty of cache ideas you could use where you have to solve a puzzle. Any puzzle using numbers that needs to be solved like a sudoku would work. For example take the sudoku and circle the blank areas in the puzzle that contain numbers to your cache coordinates. Number or letter these circled spots. Then as the cachers solve the sudoku they would put the numbers that are in the circled spots into the cooresponding numbered/lettered spots in the coordinates. (N A B.C D. E F G W H I J.K L. M N O)

[+EJKPBR]

Thanks everyone! I'm sure with all these great ideas I'll come up with something. Once it's no longer below zero I'll get outside and place the cache. And I'll post what I come up with here.

[+EJKPBR]

So this is what I came up with. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6A8FN_pink-gold

[Keystone]

Wow, nice job. You're getting great reviews in the early logs. People WILL do a multicache if it's not overly complex, and there's a point to it. By tying the combination lock solution to the learning information, you went beyond just finding some random numbers in the surrounding environment.