In early 2009, we published the first of our special handmade puzzle caches; unfortunately, after less than a year, the puzzle was stolen from its hiding place, so I was forced to archive it; click here to learn more about that cache.
I wanted to create another interactive puzzle, and I wanted it to be more of a challenge than the last one. It took me over a year to come up with a new design, and then several months to make it, but it is now ready for primetime!
Not wanting the puzzle to again be stolen (especially considering how much time it took to make it), I struggled to find a business which would be willing to "host" the puzzle. Most businesses I could think of already had an existing cache located nearby. Finally, we located the perfect spot!
To determine the location of the interactive puzzle, you need to first solve the following puzzle:
This is a variation of a Hanjie puzzle. If you've never heard of this type of puzzle before, then I'd encourage you to Google it. They're not terribly difficult to solve, and they can be a lot of fun!
Once you've solved the Hanjie puzzle, you will see some numbers. Read the numbers from left-to-right, starting from the top row - this is the passcode; the passcode has no spaces in it. Now, to get the coordinates for the final cache, you need to goto here, where you will be prompted to enter in the passcode you just found. If you are correct, then you will be given the information you need, in order to locate the business hosting the puzzle.
When you've entered the correct passcode, you will also be presented with the hours for which the puzzle can be accessed; since it is located in a business, obviously the cache is not available 24x7! When you enter the business, identify yourself as a geocacher, and ask them for the geocache (it will either be behind the counter or in the back office).
Please heed the following advice, when you are trying to open the interactive puzzle: There are two handles on the puzzle - a white one and a wood one. You will want to completely open the white one first; this will make it much easier for you to tell when you have exposed the compartment holding the log!
We hope that you enjoy our 2-part puzzle, and when you log your find, please include a brief "ZSteve" story (assuming that you've met ZSteve)!
Even though this is a regular sized cache, you will still need to bring an extraction tool, in order to get the log out of the puzzle. Bringing your own pen/pencil would also be a good idea!
Lastly ... please, please, please be gentle with the puzzle! A lot of work went into creating it, and I'd hate to see it destroyed because someone tried to use "brute force" to open it. Thanks!!
Congratulations to ZSteve and Step2626 for joint FTF honors!
5/30/2013 update: the organization hosting this cache has moved, so if you solved this before 5/30/2013, you should re-visit the checker, to get the coordinates for the new final cache location.
7/1/2021 update: the organization hosting this cache has moved AGAIN, so if you solved this before 7/12/2021, you should re-visit the checker, to get the coordinates for the new final cache location.