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Any good ideas for mystery caches


samuel123abc

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Hello guys,

 

I was just placing out a cache today and figured I would do something a little special, a mystery of some kind. Now, I need some help. Does any of you have any good ideas for a mystery?

 

Sincerely,

Samuel.

Find some mystery caches, and see what you like. Hide cache you would like to find.

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Ditto to what the others said.

 

One thing I would suggest...hide in a good spot, THEN develop a puzzle. Don't just create a puzzle and then throw out a crappy cache in a bad location. Depending on where you hide the cache, you can often create a puzzle based on a theme or idea you develop from the location. It can be loose, too. A few examples:

 

1. I hid a cache on "Pi Day" (3/14), made a pi-related puzzle and the cache was hidden near a restaurant that specializes in pies. I also located the marker for the posted coordinate in the center of a nearby circular roadway on the map.

 

2. I hid a cache in a small pocket park in my area with the word "Point" in the name. I then developed a puzzle using "pointers" in various forms (see here) and the posted coordinates are on a road named Pontiac (again...loose).

 

3. I hid a cache at a stairway, and while I was there I had the song "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears in my head (what goes up, must come down...). That led me to a puzzle that both graphically represented stairs and also used a system that loosely (and historically) reference a spinning wheel.

 

Of course, not all of my puzzle hides are that way...but I do it whenever I can. It's more fun when you have these things tie together and even better when other folks understand what you did.

 

So basically location first, puzzle second.

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One thing I would suggest...hide in a good spot, THEN develop a puzzle. Don't just create a puzzle and then throw out a crappy cache in a bad location.

 

You can't really win with this.

 

Hide it in a good location, and people who can't find it whine that the good location is taken up by a puzzle.

 

Hide it in a bad location, and people who find it whine that the location sucks.

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One thing I would suggest...hide in a good spot, THEN develop a puzzle. Don't just create a puzzle and then throw out a crappy cache in a bad location.

 

You can't really win with this.

 

Hide it in a good location, and people who can't find it whine that the good location is taken up by a puzzle.

 

Hide it in a bad location, and people who find it whine that the location sucks.

 

Well, the former is less likely because the kind of folks who would complain aren't the type who would solve it and therefore aren't likely to know where it's hidden. :laughing:

 

I'd rather hear that complaint anyway instead of the second one.

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According to your profile you've found precisely two mystery caches to date which - even if you solved them yourself - is very little experience, especially given that they are rather simple puzzles.

 

That's not a criticism - it's the basis of the following suggestion: Solve more puzzles before you try setting your own.

 

Why?

 

The more puzzles you solve, the more experience you will gain of different types of puzzles and the techniques used in them to 'hide' the coordinates.

 

During the solving process itself you will naturally come up with ideas for possible solutions / solving methods. Some of those ideas will bear fruit and lead you to the solution and other ideas will not.

 

Here's the kicker - those ideas that failed but _could_ have worked under the right circumstances _could_ form the basis of new puzzles which are your own invention :)

 

I've solved a few puzzles and in doing so come up with all sorts of ideas which weren't the correct solution for the puzzle I was working on at the time but were useful ideas that could be turned into new puzzles and, in some cases, I've gone on to use them for that very purpose - and so could you :)

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Ditto to what the others said.

 

1. I hid a cache on "Pi Day" (3/14), made a pi-related puzzle and the cache was hidden near a restaurant that specializes in pies. I also located the marker for the posted coordinate in the center of a nearby circular roadway on the map.

 

There is one just like that in my area. Despite what some feel about puzzle caches, some times using a puzzle lead to developing a them for the entire cache, including the puzzle, the location, choice of container, and even the name of the cache. IMHO, some of the best caches are those where the CO has tried to consider all aspects of the cache.

 

I agree with placing a traditional first. It allows you to gain some experience in what cache ownership is like, then decide if you want to add the complexity of a puzzle.

 

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The more puzzles you solve, the more experience you will gain of different types of puzzles and the techniques used in them to 'hide' the coordinates.

 

Not every mystery cache is of the type that coordinates are hidden in some way.

 

I have found two caches which now are labelled as mystery caches before I hid my A Walk to the Past cache which still exists. One of them involved a mathematical puzzle and the other

one was labeled as ? due to the catch all type and did not involve a puzzle at all.

 

I do not think that more experience would have had an essential effect on my cache. My first hidden cache has been a multi cache and also still exists.

 

During the solving process itself you will naturally come up with ideas for possible solutions / solving methods. Some of those ideas will bear fruit and lead you to the solution and other ideas will not.

 

Here's the kicker - those ideas that failed but _could_ have worked under the right circumstances _could_ form the basis of new puzzles which are your own invention :)

 

I agree that failures in solving other puzzles could lead to many ideas. This happened to me, but I never used any of those ideas as my ? caches are of a different type.

 

 

I own one ? cache where I started with the idea and then looked for suitable locations. For the other ones, I chose an area and/or route first and developed the cache around.

 

I think there do not exist any guidelines for setting up a puzzle cache that will work for everyone and in every case. I do think however that asking for puzzles for a cache in a

forum is indeed not a good idea.

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The more puzzles you solve, the more experience you will gain of different types of puzzles and the techniques used in them to 'hide' the coordinates.

 

Not every mystery cache is of the type that coordinates are hidden in some way.

 

I was using the term hidden coordinates in a loose sense - the basis that generally, a puzzle is merely a means of partially obscuring the final coordinates so that the seeker can enjoy the process of finding them.

 

I cannot fathom why you feel the need to minutely dissect almost every single post by every single poster here and I have to confess that I am finding it increasingly tedious.

 

I have found two caches which now are labelled as mystery caches before I hid my A Walk to the Past cache which still exists. One of them involved a mathematical puzzle and the other

one was labeled as ? due to the catch all type and did not involve a puzzle at all.

 

That's great - I can't see how it helps the OP at all but at least, once again, you've told everybody here exactly how you do things.

 

I do not think that more experience would have had an essential effect on my cache. My first hidden cache has been a multi cache and also still exists.

 

And again - the OP asked for good ideas for mystery caches - so the above is irrelevant.

 

I agree that failures in solving other puzzles could lead to many ideas. This happened to me, but I never used any of those ideas as my ? caches are of a different type.

 

More irrelevant information.

 

I own one ? cache where I started with the idea and then looked for suitable locations. For the other ones, I chose an area and/or route first and developed the cache around.

 

Something at least relevant to the thread rather than just another opportunity to condradict in miniscule detail another poster - things are looking up...

 

I think there do not exist any guidelines for setting up a puzzle cache that will work for everyone and in every case. I do think however that asking for puzzles for a cache in a

forum is indeed not a good idea.

 

And we're back to square one.

 

If you've nothing but criticism and irrelevant contradiction to contribute to this thread then I would respectfully suggest that you just leave it alone and let those who have contributions which fit with the OP's request make them without suffering the scrutiny of your critical microscopic analysis.

 

Thanks :)

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Ditto to what the others said.

 

One thing I would suggest...hide in a good spot, THEN develop a puzzle. Don't just create a puzzle and then throw out a crappy cache in a bad location. Depending on where you hide the cache, you can often create a puzzle based on a theme or idea you develop from the location. It can be loose, too. A few examples:

 

Very much this. Don't create a really intricate and interesting puzzle and then take people into the middle of nowhere to find a film pot under a pile of garbage.

 

1. I hid a cache on "Pi Day" (3/14), made a pi-related puzzle and the cache was hidden near a restaurant that specializes in pies. I also located the marker for the posted coordinate in the center of a nearby circular roadway on the map.

 

2. I hid a cache in a small pocket park in my area with the word "Point" in the name. I then developed a puzzle using "pointers" in various forms (see here) and the posted coordinates are on a road named Pontiac (again...loose).

 

3. I hid a cache at a stairway, and while I was there I had the song "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears in my head (what goes up, must come down...). That led me to a puzzle that both graphically represented stairs and also used a system that loosely (and historically) reference a spinning wheel.

 

I remember a puzzle I solved that used particular sequence of letters in the name, which related to the method that was needed to solve it. Having solved it and got the coordinates, it turned out the final location was outside a building that used the same sequence of letters in its name. I'm being deliberately vague there so as not to give too much away.

 

Another cache had a name that appeared totally random, but when reaching the final stage the name of the cache had a very specific relevance, and if you didn't realise what it was there was no way you could get to the container. You could see it but not reach it. Again, being a bit vague so as not to give the game away...

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I was using the term hidden coordinates in a loose sense - the basis that generally, a puzzle is merely a means of partially obscuring the final coordinates so that the seeker can enjoy the process of finding them.

 

My point was that there are many different kind of puzzles. It could well be something that finally leads to a place/object/person etc and not leading to any coordinates - coordinates can come into play at later stages. A lot of puzzle cache are multi stage caches and the puzzle does not hide the final coordinates, but just provides a start.

 

That's great - I can't see how it helps the OP at all but at least, once again, you've told everybody here exactly how you do things.

 

The fact that I had only 2 ? caches found when I hid my cache with the most FPs was meant to say that it can be enough in my opinion to have found two mystery caches before hiding one

while you recommended to find more puzzle caches first.

 

I agree that failures in solving other puzzles could lead to many ideas. This happened to me, but I never used any of those ideas as my ? caches are of a different type.

 

More irrelevant information.

 

I do not think that what you wrote is more relevant.

 

If you've nothing but criticism and irrelevant contradiction to contribute to this thread then I would respectfully suggest that you just leave it alone and let those who have contributions which fit with the OP's request make them without suffering the scrutiny of your critical microscopic analysis.

 

I can leave it alone if it makes you happy. I did not criticize anything, but just do not share your opinions and have a completely different approach to geocaching (and probably to almost everything in life) which is of course also reflected in what I write here and how (what you call microscopic analysis is my approach to the world).

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A few I've found quite interesting:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCJTAW_crossword-crosswalk

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1HP37_east-meets-west <--- this one only works if you're a reasonably long way away from the Prime Meridian.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC15FEX_duct-tape

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC42BWG_get-cracking <--- this one gets bonus points for the final being in a lovely location despite being in London.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCTWWA_half-powered

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I was just placing out a cache today and figured I would do something a little special, a mystery of some kind. Now, I need some help. Does any of you have any good ideas for a mystery?

 

Mystery caches are fun. I have one guideline for myself when hiding a new mystery cache:

 

A new puzzle should be something I haven't seen before.

 

I don't always follow my own guideline: a few times I have seen a mystery cache elsewhere that I liked so much I copied it (with permission!) for my local area. But the main idea is to be creative and to do something new.

 

In my area, for example, one particular puzzle type is horribly overused: the "15 items or pictures each of which gives you a digit and you have to guess how" cache. Yuck. I think I enjoyed the first 10 of those I did, but then they became tedious and boring and I mostly ignore them now.

 

On the other hand, every once in a while a brilliant puzzle shows up and I feel inspired and excited by the creativity that went into it. A great recent example in my area is this cache. It's not easy, but it all fits together beautifully and there is a good logical path from the cache page to the solution.

 

In my opinion, here are the factors that make a great puzzle for a cache:

  • The puzzle needs to be original and creative (at least new to your area).
  • There must be a logical trail of hints and clues from the cache page to the solution. "Moon logic" puzzles that require reading the creator's mind are bad puzzles, period. The very best puzzles allow solvers to feel a sense of progress through the entire solving process; puzzles that require just one insight and then are over are not very satisfying.
  • Solving the puzzle should be fun, not tedious. A particular bad thing many puzzle creators do is to put text as an image on the cache page, so the solver must transcribe the text by hand to even start the puzzle. yuck.
  • The puzzle should teach something new. Not necessarily to everyone, but for most people.
  • There should be a theme tying the puzzle, the solution, and the final location together, if possible.

 

I have a list of things that make for bad puzzles, which I would be delighted to post if anyone wants to see it.

Edited by fizzymagic
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A new puzzle should be something I haven't seen before.

 

I don't always follow my own guideline: a few times I have seen a mystery cache elsewhere that I liked so much I copied it (with permission!) for my local area. But the main idea is to be creative and to do something new.

 

In my area, for example, one particular puzzle type is horribly overused: the "15 items or pictures each of which gives you a digit and you have to guess how" cache. Yuck. I think I enjoyed the first 10 of those I did, but then they became tedious and boring and I mostly ignore them now.

 

On the other hand, every once in a while a brilliant puzzle shows up and I feel inspired and excited by the creativity that went into it. A great recent example in my area is this cache. It's not easy, but it all fits together beautifully and there is a good logical path from the cache page to the solution.

 

In my opinion, here are the factors that make a great puzzle for a cache:

  • The puzzle needs to be original and creative (at least new to your area).
  • There must be a logical trail of hints and clues from the cache page to the solution. "Moon logic" puzzles that require reading the creator's mind are bad puzzles, period. The very best puzzles allow solvers to feel a sense of progress through the entire solving process; puzzles that require just one insight and then are over are not very satisfying.
  • Solving the puzzle should be fun, not tedious. A particular bad thing many puzzle creators do is to put text as an image on the cache page, so the solver must transcribe the text by hand to even start the puzzle. yuck.
  • The puzzle should teach something new. Not necessarily to everyone, but for most people.
  • There should be a theme tying the puzzle, the solution, and the final location together, if possible.

 

 

I couldn't have put it any better myself - excellent advice B)

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