A mega-puzzle of many parts Mystery Cache
A mega-puzzle of many parts
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Not at the published coordinates, of course.
My 98th puzzle cache and part of my
last series of puzzle
caches.
Here, I try to explore the various types of puzzle caches by
setting one mega-puzzle which involves most of the major types.
Here are some types I have come across (and even set) before:
1) Cache page puzzles: Ones
which use a standard feature of the GC cache page for the puzzle.
It must be a standard feature i.e. one that is present on every
cache page (or one of the associated pages in the GC website). The
feature can be used to present the coordinates, or offer a means to
decode the puzzle. An example from my "oeuvre": Terse Puzzle
2 (GCYEAN).
2) Bonus puzzles: Ones where
you have to get the components of a formula from other caches in a
series, or even from stages within the same cache. Some would argue
that these aren't really puzzles. Typically a single number, needed
for the formula, is collected from each stage or cache. There are
thousands of examples of such caches.
3) Notable people puzzles: Ones
where you have to do some (google) research into
famous/local/historical people. Examples from my oeuvre: Surrey has
the well known "X Marks the Spot" series (to which I have
contributed along with several other contributors).
X Marks Bookmark List
4) Puzzles for nerds: Ones
where you have to use some knowledge or information from
mathematics, computing or physics to generate the coordinates.
Arguably my A Hard Puzzle (GC13JEW) is of this type but it
fits another type as well. My set of 3 Two Hans caches are
easy examples of this type.
5) Commemorating achievement
puzzles: Ones which are published on or close to the
date or anniversary of some notable achievement (eg in sports etc).
An example from my oeuvre: Look Disconsolate
(GC16X1C).
6) List puzzles: Ones where you
use or link the clues to find a (web-)published list of people or
things; the coordinates may be generated from (stable) features of
the list. An example from my oeuvre would be Three (fictitious)
weddings and a funeral(GC1830W), although this is also a text
puzzle.
7) Standard puzzles: Ones which
use a well-known puzzle type to generate the coordinates. A typical
example are the Sudoku caches that are out there, local excellent
examples being set by Ian Too. An example from my oeuvre: Screen
Stars 9 (GC1JJCG).
8) Image puzzles: Ones in which
an image or images on the cache page give(s) the coordinates in
some way. Often, the images each directly provides a number in the
coordinate formula. An example from my oeuvre: Dorking by
Pictures (GCTGBY). Sometimes, however, the puzzle requires you
to identify the images and gives explicit instructions in how to
use the identity of the pictures to generate coordinates. An
example from my oeuvre would be: The Puzzle Cachers' Last
Stand (GC1A5C1).
9) Text puzzles: Ones which
present some text on the cache page, and this more or less
cunningly conceals the coordinates or the means for finding them.
This is more than just dropping the odd clue in the text on the
cache page as this is a common feature of many puzzles. Examples of
the sort of text might be a specially constructed story or poem. An
example from my oeuvre would be "Enough to send you .... "
(GCVYBT).
10) Cipher puzzles: Ones which
encode the coordinates using a "standard" cipher (eg Vigenere
cipher). An example from my oeuvre: Gary Honey is a Streaker
(GC14ADB).
11) Hobby puzzles: Ones which
require the solver to find information relevant to a particular
hobby, pastime or sport in order to generate the coordinates. An
example from my oeuvre: Double Entendre (GC188NJ).
12) Interactive puzzles: Ones
in which geocachers have to post logs on the cache page, or
contribute in some other way, to generate the solution of the
puzzle interactively. An example from my oeuvre (and the original
one of this type): A cooperative geocache (GC11NG5).
13) Standard number system
puzzles: Ones which use a familar or standard numbering
system to encode coordinates (e.g. book ISBN numbers, the mobile
phone SMS code; electrical resistor colour codes). Obviously the
number system might be familiar only to those who use it regularly.
An example from my oeuvre: Terse 10 (GCYWAK).
14) "Link the clues" puzzles:
Ones which require the solver to form a link between the various
seemingly unrelated clues on the cache page. When you have the link
the method of decoding becomes (fairly) obvious, and without the
link you (probably) couldn't interpret any of the parts.
Croquetmike, in my view, has set some classic examples of these
puzzles. An example from my oeuvre: Can you chase the train of
thought? (GC19XTW).
I am sure this list is not exhaustive but it covers most types of
puzzles I have encountered.
This current puzzle will also evolve in stages. I will add a new
stage from time to time, and each new stage will involve a
different kind of puzzle from the previous ones.
Naturally, you will not be able to progress
to a subsequent stage and solve it, without having solved the
preceding stage. If anyone posts a good example of a common
type of puzzle that I have missed, then I may be able to add a
stage of that kind to this puzzle.
Stage One As part of stage one, you **must** solve the word
puzzle below, of a kind which appears in the pages of certain
newspapers. Using each letter from the alphabet (except J) once
only, you have to complete the grid below so that you can read the
following geocaching words from the grid:
tracks; box; map; query; view; cito; charts; finds; log; size;
web
To read words from the grid you must trace from letter to letter
starting at any square and moving in any direction (horizontally,
vertically or diagonally) to any touching square. There is a unique
solution. Click the link below to see the puzzle (also in the gallery)
Word puzzle image
The second bit of stage one, requires that you have solved the
relatively easy puzzle of mine called "Stepping Down from the
Shoulders of Giants". Find the name of the relative nonentity
depicted on that cache page. This will be the password (first name
second name, no spaces) that is needed at the link below, in order
to gain access to the stage 2 puzzle clue:
Get password-protected page
here
I hope this will be a lot of fun....
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
gerr