Spring TX Puzzle 101- Lesson #1 "The Basics" Mystery Cache

Welcome to the Spring Texas puzzle series.

I am not much of a puzzler but I did enjoy learning how to solve many different types of puzzles from some master puzzlers.  The goal in this series is to remove the fear of puzzles and introduce newer cachers to the fun of solving a puzzle without help.  Once you have cracked the code and have the ah-ha moment you may be hooked!

I attended a puzzle solving geocache event in November 2014 held by Baxter929.  The Coweta County Fair building was full with geocachers looking to unlock the key to solving puzzles.  Afterwards I was a bit overwhelmed so I decided to work on a few famous geo-puzzles and before I knew it I had finally understood what all the hype is about!

PREFACE:

Before we start.... please remember that the reason some cachers solve puzzles so quickly is because they have "seen" it before.  Some of the concepts and ciphers are very unique and once you have experience with one or two you can pick out the right one quickly.  In each lesson I will discuss the concept, give an example, and then allow you to solve the puzzle for a much deserved smiley! 

A good puzzle is one that is accurate, solvable, and fun!  Always remember that when solving or creating a puzzle.  In all my puzzles I put in something personal to make it more meaningful and unique. A special thanks to Epeterso2, Southernflip, KatelinH, Baxter929, and Waterfan5 for taking samples of their puzzles and for teaching me how to be a much better puzzler.

THE BASICS:

Ever try to cook a dinner for friends without knowing who will attend?  Do banks approve mortgages if they do not have your income information?  No!  The same goes for puzzles.  You cannot solve a puzzle unless you take stock and figure out "what" the cache owner wants you to look for.  Therefore- preparation is paramount in solving puzzles quickly.  Let's walk you through how I prepare for a puzzle.

STEP ONE- PREPARATION:

• Read the cache page and take notes.  I do this on a 5 x 7 note card or in MS Excel.
• Write down the GC #, posted coordinates, and any other pertinent information
• What is the CO asking for you to solve for?  Final coordinates or a keyword?
• Jot down any other first impressions of the puzzle or cache page

Note- Puzzle Difficulty & Terrain: It is a general rule of thumb that the difficulty rating on the puzzle is how difficult it is to solve the puzzle. The higher the difficulty the harder it is or the longer it will take to solve. The terrain rating should always be based on the the "actual hide." If the difficulty is based on a combination of the puzzle and hide it should be noted on the cache page.

STEP TWO- "ePeterso Tactics":  How to slowly work your way through a cache page to help determine the type of puzzle. 

Coordinates:  The typical solution to a puzzle cache is a set of coordinates. Sometimes the expected format is given in the description, but good puzzles often leave that up to you to figure out. So, to solve the puzzle, you have to have a good idea of what you’re looking for.

Cache coordinates, as you know, are typically listed in the following format:

N/S DDº MM.MMM’ E/W DDDº MM.MMM’

Where “N/S” is “north” or “south”, “E/W” is “east” or “west”, “DDº” is degrees and “MM.MMM’” minutes (rounded to the thousandths place).

Puzzle writers often often leave out things like punctuation and spacing as a means of obfuscating the answer. Typically, that means running all 14 digits (for longitudes of less than 100º) or 15 digits (for longitudes of more than 100º) of the solution together.

If I see or suspect that the solution has a pair of answers, that’s a good sign that it’s probably the pair of coordinates (one latitude and longitude).

Alternate Formats

Sometimes, puzzle cachers use alternate formats for their solutions, just to keep you guessing. The method of specifying a location on the globe is called a geographic coordinate system.  All of these formats are just different ways of saying the same thing in this system – they can all be used to reference the same location, just in different ways.

Instead of DD MM.MMM format, you might see a solution in DD.DDDDD format, which is in degree and fractions of a degree. Or DD MM SS format, for “degrees minutes seconds”. You may even see Universal Transvers Mercator or “UTM” coordinates used in the solution (cache coordinates are listed in UTM format on the cache page, just below the latitude/longitude).

Puzzle Cache Proximity (aka “The 2-Mile Limit”)

The cache placement guidelines require the final location of a puzzle cache to be less than ~2 miles from its posted coordinates (unless the cache page states otherwise). This limit naturally limits the possible solutions to your puzzle.

Example-  Depending on your position on the globe.... 1 nautical mile is approximately 1.1508 miles.  I try to do my 2 mile limit in nautical miles because it is quicker and easier when looking at a cache page.  Here is why.....

A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. If you were to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. You could divide that circle into 360 degrees. You could then divide a degree into 60 minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all nations for air and sea travel.

The posted coordinates on this cache page are N 30° 01.045 W 095° 31.190.

• Subtract and add two minutes to the latitude and longitude and you will have partial coordinates
• N 30 01.045 +/- 2 minutes = N 29 59.045 to N 30 03.045
• W95 31.190 +/- 2 minutes = W 95 29.190 to W 95 33.190

In this manner you have quickly determined the final coordinates within a 2.30 mile circle (radius)

• 1.1508 miles/minute x 2 minutes = 2.3016 miles

Imagine if the posted coordinates were N 30 15.000 and W 95 35.000. The final coordinates would be: N 30 1x.xxx and W 95 3y.yyy (you already solved for 6 of the 14 coordinate numbers!)

Cache Page Content

Any part of the cache page can be used to conceal information or provide hints to the puzzle solver. If you’re stuck on a puzzle, be sure to check out all of the possible hiding places on the page for clues.

The parts of the cache description page that can be modified by the owner include:

• Cache name
• Cache owner’s name (did you know you can modify that?)
• Related web page
• Background image URL
• Short description
• Long description
• Images and descriptions
• Hints
• Log entries
• travel bugs

Look Up Terms You Don’t Know

If you’re not familiar with a word in a cache description, look it up. Google and Wikipedia are two of the most powerful tools that a puzzle solver has at his or her disposal.

Be somewhat cautious about interpreting the results, though – especially from Wikipedia. Since anyone can publish anything they want on the Internet without checking its accuracy, you may run across incomplete or incorrect information in your results. If you can, cross check your information against a few other sources, just to be safe.

Images and Links

Many puzzles use images on the description pages. These images may contain the puzzle elements, but they may also be decoys – the real puzzle information might be contained in the properties of the image. To view an image’s properties, right click on the image, then click Properties. A dialog box will appear that has the URL of the image, its size, its title (which appears when you hover your mouse over the image), and its alternate text (which appears when the image doesn’t load for some reason). These might give you valuable clues to the solution.

Also, pay attention to links in the text as well as for clickable links on the page. An image normally has a border around it that changes color to indicate it’s a link, but the puzzle writer can turn that border off. Don’t be afraid to click on anything and everything you see.

Use the Source

Some puzzle cache descriptions are more than just plain text. They are written to appear nicely in your web browser and may include text in different colors and sizes, images, tables, and more. Sometimes, the page source may contain hints that can guide you to the puzzle's solution.

To view the page source, go to the cache description page in your web browser, right-click on the page, and select View Source (IE) or View Page Source (Firefox). Alternately, you can go to Main Menu > View > View Source. A window will appear that contains what may look like a bunch of strange computer instructions. Which, in fact, is exactly what it is. The language of those instructions is called HTML, and it is a digital description of how to draw the cache description page.

In addition to the human-readable text that appears on the description, you will also see computer instructions called “tags”. Each tag starts with a “<” character, followed by a word (the “type” of the tag), some other parameters for that tag, and ends with a “>” character. Firefox will color-code the tags and their values to make it easier to read.

Most of the cache description content is in a section of the "Long Description" section of the HTML source. You can find that section by looking for the string "LongDescription" on the source itself - use the Ctrl-F key in the page source window to bring up a search dialog box.

STEP THREE- SELECTION:  If possible, determine what type of puzzle you are solving?  Below is a list of puzzles we will solve together during our puzzling series.

• Quizzes or Trivia
• Common Cache page secrets
• Projections and Triangulation
• Mathematics, Number Strings, and, Distance Conversions
• Games: Crosswords, Sudoku, Bingo, Board games, etc...
• Image analysis
• Brute Force
• Text Analysis
• Number Systems
• Languages, Writing Systems, & Alphabets
• Bar codes, QR codes, Stereograms, and Optical illusions
• Unique data references (ISBN, phone numbers, years, zip codes, etc)
• Encryptions, Ciphers and Codes
• Stegnagraphy (hidden text and html)
• Logic
• Lateral Thinking and Misdirection
• Field Puzzles
• Robots and other non-common puzzles
• Multi-layer puzzles

PRACTICE:  No example required for this type of puzzle as it's self explanatory.

PUZZLE #1- QUIZZES & TRIVIA A type of puzzle which requires you to answer questions to find the answer. In most cases google will be your friend. This type of puzzle is more of a scavenger hunt and less of a knowledge test! Get familiar with other search engines as well because each uses a unique type of search engine and they prioritize results in a different way. Proper search engine use will help you on ALL types of puzzles. Search online using different word orders and similar topics as well if you are having difficulty finding an answer. The top three search engines I use are google, bing, and yahoo. One time I ran into a puzzle which referenced very specific local history which did not have a digital footprint so contacting the CO or others is always encouraged when "stuck." Puzzles can come in multiple choice, fill in the blank, or straight answer!

THIS PUZZLE:  Good luck!.

Final Location: N 30 0A.BCD W 095 3E.FGH

• If 10997 use 2
• If 55041 use 1
• If 60666 use 3

• If four pecks use 4
• If three pecks use 3
• If two pecks use 2

C- George Washington was our _______ president

D- Which one was one of the original seven wonders of the world?

• Great Pyramid of Cairo (1)
• Mausoleum at Euphrates (5)
• Lighthouse at Alexandria (8)
• Hanging Gardens of Rhodes (0)

• Between 500-1,000 (1)
• Between 1,000-2,000 (2)
• Between 2,001-5,000 (3)

• 1988 (3)
• 1989 (4)
• 1990 (1)
• 1991 (8)

G- My true love gave me geese a laying. Fire up the smoker!

H- Genesis is the _____ book of the bible

You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.