Der 2. Mai steht für den 15. Jahrestag, an dem Geocaching begann. Geh raus am 2. oder 3. Mai, und finde irgendeinen Geocache, um das spezielle 15-Jahre-Geocaching-Souvenir zu erhalten. Außerdem finde heraus, was Deine Geocaching-Mission für den Sommer sein wird.
Mit der neuen Suchroutine haben wir drei bisherige Funktionen zusammengefasst, um die Suche nach dem Geocache, den Du finden willst und mit dem Du ein Souvenir erhalten kannst, mit einem Klick zu vereinfachen. Klick einfach die Box, um ein Event in der Nähe zu finden, den ältesten Geocache in Deiner Nähe oder die Geocaches mit den meisten Favoritenpunkte im Umkreis.
I love watching non-geocachers (aka muggles) try to absorb the concept of geocaching. I’m sure you’ve all heard this same reaction before: Wait. You find boxes in the woods? Well that’s just irrational.
It’s true. The things we do as geocachers may seem a little crazy at times. But good news! This Pi Day (March 14, 2015), we’re introducing a dose of rational to the irrational—all thanks to a team of designers here at Geocaching HQ.
Earlier this year, we shared an inside look at how we collect feedback from the community and how that feedback influences the tools that we make. The next step in developing a new geocaching tool is design. A team of User Experience (UX) experts at Geocaching HQ are responsible for taking the community’s feedback and thinking through everything from how the new tool will work to how the design of an emoji will help bring delight to your next geocache find.
Left: UI Designer Abby Right: Mobile UX Designer Michelle
This team was recently tasked with making the experience of finding a Mystery Cache a bit more, well, rational—and all in time for you to earn the 3.14.15 Pi Day souvenir. I sat down with Mobile UX Designer Michelle Li (Username: BlueSpaceMonkey) and UI Designer Abby Deering (Username: Abbydeer) to learn how they took the mystery out of Mystery Caches in the Geocaching Intro app.
What was the biggest challenge in designing Mystery Caches for the free Geocaching app?
Mystery Caches are a complex type of geocache. One of the biggest changes we were faced with was making Mystery Caches easy to use for geocachers and coming up with a design solution that works with all the different types of Mystery Caches.
The new Waypoint Manager in the Geocaching Intro app makes it easier than ever to add and keep track of coordinates to a geocache.
What about the new design are you most excited to share with the community?
We are really excited that we’ve found a design solution that works with all the different types of Mystery Caches (there are so many different versions!). We feel like we were able to eliminate a barrier that previously made it difficult to enter your answer. We’re excited that we removed a challenge in the tool, leaving the challenge where it should be: in solving the Mystery. And we hope this means more geocachers will now give Mystery Caches a try!
How have your designs made finding Mystery Caches easier?
We’ve made the ability to add Solved coordinates and edit waypoints easier and more manageable for all different kinds of Mystery Caches.
Editor’s Note: You’ll see in the app that “Corrected Coordinates” are now referred to as “Solved”. This decision was made by surveying the geocaching community.
How did feedback and insight from the geocaching community enter into the design?
We brought in both potential players and experienced geocachers to our office to look at our Mystery Cache design. We had them walk through a series of tasks and even took them outside to watch them geocache with the new design. We revised our design based on their feedback.
Anything else you want geocachers to know?
We’re so excited that Mystery Caches are now available in the free app and we love making products that make geocaching easier for our community!
Unlock this latest and greatest tool for discovering Mystery Caches with Premium membership in the free Geocaching Intro app for iOS and Android. And don’t miss out on your chance to earn one of two Pi Day souvenirs by logging a “Found It” on a Mystery Cache this Saturday!
Earn one out of two souvenirs on Saturday, March 14 Pi Day by finding a Mystery Cache.
(Earn the other souvenir by attending any Geocaching event on March 14)
Does the thought of having to decode encrypted messages make you break out in hives? If yes, then take a deep breath and find your happy place because we have just the tips to sooth your Mystery Cache anxiety and prepare you for March 14th, 2015.
About to sing an “Ode to the Golgafrinchan Phone Workers”…GC32A0H
Mystery Caches (also known as Puzzle caches or Unknown caches) are a type of geocache for those who enjoy an extra challenge.
They require geocachers to solve complicated puzzles in order to decode the correct cache coordinates or crack secret clues to unlock a cache’s stash. If you haven’t encountered this kind of cache before the prospect may seem daunting, but have no fear! Mystery Caches are fun way to spice up any geocaching adventure while flexing your beefy brain muscles.
Working on the solution for GC2400Z “Truncated Icosahedron,” a puzzle cache by PhilNi
So don your trenchcoat and channel your inner Sherlock.
(‘Cause who wouldn’t want to be Benedict Cumberbatch?). Here are Geocaching HQ’s top tips for Mystery Caches:
Practice Makes Perfect. Start easy by tackling Mystery Caches that have a one or two star difficulty rating. The more caches you conquer over time the more tricks of the trade you’ll pick up and the easier it’ll become.
Check what type of puzzle needs to be solved. There are different kinds of Mystery Caches that call for different strategies, so before you head out check to see what the requirements entail. Some caches are in-the-field, meaning you have to use visual clues from the surrounding location to decipher the coordinates or unlock the cache. Other caches can be solved before you even step out the door! These ask you to solve a particular puzzle off of the geocache’s webpage or lookup information on the internet.
Gather the Mystery Gang. Two heads are better than one! Bring your geocaching pals along, not only is geocaching more fun when you have your buddies but they can help you brainstorm through those extra tricky questions.
It’s all in the name. A hint to the cache’s location may be located in the cache’s or cache owner’s name or give you an idea of where the cache may be or what it may look like.
When in doubt use Google. Search engines may not have the answer to everything, but they have the answer for a lot of things. So if you’re truly stuck, look to the internet to give you a helping hand. Some cache pages may even include answer checkers to see if you guessed the correct coordinates.
Check for invisible ink. Sometimes cache owners will hide clues on a geocache’s webpage in white font. Highlight the page to reveal the secrets that were right in front of your nose the whole time. Bonus points if you caught this one! You’re a Puzzler already!
The source code isn’t just a movie. Cache owners may add comments with hints in the cache’s html source code. To find this open the source code on your browser’s menu selection and search for comments.
Stumped? Don’t hesitate to send a message to the cache owner. There’s no shame in asking for help…and a small hint might just be what you need to get started.
Mystery caches are an excellent way to sharpen the geocaching saw. If you’re looking for a little cache-speration check out our Mystery Cache Pinterest board. Want to take all this info (and more) with you? The Geocaching Shop has just the right book for you: How To Puzzle Cache.
Do you love a good Mystery? Tell us about your puzzling geocaching experiences or share your favorite puzzle tips! Be careful not to reveal any cache spoilers.
Editor’s note: Geocaching HQ staff are attending dozens of Mega-Events around the world, shaking hands, sharing stories of adventure, and of course, geocaching. Each person at Geocaching HQ brings their own unique talent to advancing the adventure. Some write code for the website, others design images for the apps, and some shoot videos explaining it all. Justin Dover or dova dov is part of the IT team at Geocaching HQ. This is his Mega-Event experience.
Mega-Event and Soccer
By Justin:
As someone with very little world traveling experience, I was somewhat intimidated when I discovered that I had been selected to attend GC4MEGA Big Äppel. My foreign language is limited to rusty high school spanish and innumerable programming languages that I’ve supported over the years. However, any discomfort I had was quickly put at ease when I started communicating with Robert Fitzsch, my contact and one of the passionate members of the Big Äppel Orga-Team. He reminded me that we all share the common language of geocaching.
Justin and Hailee
Traveling with my wife Hailee, we arrived in Frankfurt on Thursday and had an opportunity to see the old town area known as Alt-Sachsenhausen. It’s a quaint outdoor setting with lots of bars and restaraunts. This would be the first of many times that we were asked if we had tried der Apfelwein (the apple wine). Consumed during all seasons, applewine is an acquired taste not appreciated by all. I found it palatable, but much prefered the local pilsners.
The event was scheduled over two days at Commerze Bank Arena with a conclusion event Sunday aboard The Applewine Express. The main venue was most notably remodeled to support the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Friday night hosted the GC4MEET Meet&Greet. As attendees got a lay of the land and greeted one another, they also had the opportunity to observe two influential geocachers share their craft. Enno Seifried, producer of a film roughly translated as “Stories Behind Forgotten Walls – The Lost Places”, hosted a viewing which detailed the abandoned locations in eastern Germany that host a treasure of extreme caches. Bernhard Hoeker, a comedian, actor and geocaching author, performed a book reading and signing.
Bernhard, Justin and Enno participating in book signing/picture/autograph session
The band Dangerous Comfort was scheduled to perform indoors in the VIP area during the event, however, a popular German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz (Evil Uncles) stole the attention with televised public viewing of their reunion concert in the center of the arena. The concert was taking place an hour south at a racetrack in Hockenheimring, but they sold so many tickets that some of the fans were diverted to Commerze Bank Arena for safety reasons. As a result, cachers were treated to a free suite-level show.
Fans starting to arrive for the Böhse Onkelz
Saturday brought lots of activities, with the central geocaching goal of completing the event’s Lab Cache adventure. This incorporated the use of augmented reality, a code emitting wireless access point and deciphering a passphrase on a telephone booth nearby. The Labs series also incorporated published traditional and multi-cache hides to complete the Adventure. This experience was a wonderful example of how Labs provide the geocaching experience in a small area bending traditional rules and only available for a limited time.
Lab Cache
When Hailee and I weren’t helping English speaking visitors at the welcome booth, we had an opportunity to walk around to visit with the vendors and presenters. We discovered some unique and clever geocache containers, but we were most impressed with the folks using laser technology to create duplicate low-cost trackables to share. There were also panel discussions and workshops on using GSAK, OpenStreetMaps and Wherigo–as well as a Q&A hosted by yours truly.
Once the event started nearing the end of the day, the excitement for geocaching began to shift toward pride of country. As fans began filing into the area wearing black, red and gold, it became quite clear that Germany was about to play Ghana in the World Cup and the venue was host to another public viewing. Over 30,000 fans came together to watch Germany on what was advertised as the largest canvas.
The event officially culminated on Sunday at the Frankfurt Main Train Station with GC4M3ET Big Äppel Bye Bye. It was a trolley tour around Frankfurt aboard the Applewine Express. We had an opportunity to take in the notable sites around the city while enjoying der Apfelwein one last time.
For our final experience of the visit, Robert and Annika of the Orga-Team arranged a tour of Castle Eppstein and dinner in the surrounding town.
Castle Eppstein
This was a small event for 20 or so cachers entitled GC4M3GA Meet a Lackey. We had an incredible time touring the ruins, learning of the lineage and counting the steps all the way to the top of the tower. Dinner provided the best meal of our visit and a relaxed atmosphere to discuss common interests inside and outside of geocaching. It was a great chance to make new friends and we even learned a new game.
It’s a little like Jenga, a lot more difficult, and I have no idea what it’s calledNicolas, Laporca, takes a break from checking in on exhibitors and vendors to have a beer with Hailee and Justin.Touring Alt-Sachscenhausen with our gracious guide Pier, Napoleone1972, and his wonderful familyRobert Fitzsch, reality666, considered the rock of the orga-team and responsible for finance
I can’t see my friend’s/spounse’s/brother’s/pet’s 7 Souvenirs of August Trophy Case. What’s up with that?
You can see all of the souvenirs that you friend/spouse/brother/pet has earned on their Public Profile under the Souvenirs tab. You can find their Public Profile using this tool.
How do I delete these souvenirs?
You can hide a souvenir from your Public Profile on Geocaching.com by selecting the “Hide This” button below the souvenir you would like to remove on your Private Profile. Please note that this will not remove the souvenir from your Private Profile or the mobile app. You can make the souvenir visible again at any time by selecting “Show This”, underneath the souvenir in your Private Profile.
Oh no, it’s the end of August and I just signed up. Will there be another opportunity to earn the 7 Souvenirs of August?
Well, well… we have no plans now, but who knows? This challenge might come around again.
There’s no way I can find them all. Can I have an exemption for X souvenir?
Geocaching is about exploration and discovery. Unfortunately, exemptions are not being issued.
I have the Geocaching Intro app and I can only see traditional geocache types. How can I participate?
You can earn the Explorer souvenir by logging a Traditional geocache in the Intro app. You’ll then be able to see this souvenir in your Trophy Case, which is mobile-friendly. To earn the other souvenirs and unlock the special 7th one, you can use the website or upgrade to the Geocaching Pro app.
I found all the souvenirs in August, but I didn’t log my geocache finds until September. Do I still earn the souvenirs?
You’ll be able to receive the first 6 souvenirs by back-dating your logs to the correct date. However, the Achiever souvenir will only be issued to those who have earned all 6 souvenirs and then visit their Trophy Case during the month of August.
Break it down for me. How do I earn each souvenir again?
The Nature Lover = Log a Found It on an EarthCache or an Attended for a CITO event.
The Explorer = Log a Found It on a Traditional geocache.
The Sightseer = Log a Found It on a Multi-Cache.
The Puzzler = Log a Fount It on a Mystery Cache.
The Socializer = Log an Attended for an Event Cache, Mega-Event, or Giga-Event.
The Collector = Log a Found It on a Virtual Cache, Whereigo, Letterbox Hybrid, or Webcam Cache.
The Achiever = Visit your Trophy Case after earning the 6 other souvenirs. To learn more about geocache types, go here.
What’s a souvenir, and why do I want one?
Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art displayed on your profile page that you can earn for various geocaching achievements, like finding a geocache in a new country. The 7 Souvenirs of August are extra special, as they only available during the month of August. To learn more about souvenirs, visit our Help Center.
Do I need to find the souvenirs in a specific order?
Nope! Bonus points if you do though! (Just kidding. There are no bonus points for earning the souvenirs in any particular order.)
I’ve heard rumors that Geocaching HQ has developed a very scientific quiz to reveal my geocaching alter-ego. Can you confirm these rumors?
Yes! The rumors are absolutely true. (Well, not the *very scientific* part.) Discover what type of geocacher you are: http://bit.ly/1z8vjKz.
When exactly will I be able to start earning the souvenirs?
