{"id":55786,"date":"2018-03-21T15:18:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/?p=55786"},"modified":"2018-03-21T16:39:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T23:39:23","slug":"how-to-solve-mystery-caches-also-known-as-puzzle-caches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/how-to-solve-mystery-caches-also-known-as-puzzle-caches\/","title":{"rendered":"How to solve Mystery Caches (also known as Puzzle Caches)"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_55806\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55806\" style=\"width: 656px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55806\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-Cache-Geocaching-656x439.jpg\" alt=\"Puzzle Cache Geocaching\" width=\"656\" height=\"439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-Cache-Geocaching-656x439.jpg 656w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-Cache-Geocaching-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-Cache-Geocaching.jpg 860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keep calm and go Puzzle (Mystery) Caching<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>This article was written by Geocaching superstar and Geocaching HQ employee, Cathy (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/p\/default.aspx?guid=54af08d1-7178-44e4-a966-f5e972067a3b\">Prying Pandora<\/a>). <\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you look at Mystery Caches, also known as Puzzle Caches, and have no idea where to start? You\u2019re not the only one. Many geocachers feel overwhelmed by Mystery\/Puzzle Caches, but they\u2019re not as scary as they appear. You just need to begin collecting your own \u201cpuzzling bag of tricks\u201d to help you solve them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What should you keep in your puzzling bag of tricks? Think of the \u201ctricks\u201d as what you learn from each puzzle you solve. Many puzzles use the same ideas, so if you solve one, you can often pull that same trick out again and solve another similar puzzle. The more tricks you put in your bag, the easier Mystery\/Puzzle Caches will be to solve. You will never stop finding new tricks to put in your bag, no matter how long you\u2019ve been solving puzzles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55802\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55802\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55802\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-to-solve.jpg\" alt=\"This Mystery\/Puzzle makes you put together a puzzle\" width=\"640\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-to-solve.jpg 640w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-to-solve-300x270.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-to-solve-80x72.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55802\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This Mystery\/Puzzle makes you literally put together a puzzle (GC3K2AZ)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some helpful tips to get started:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/play\/search?ot=4&amp;types=8&amp;t=1-2&amp;d=1-2&amp;e=1\">Mystery\/Puzzle Caches with low difficulty ratings<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solve puzzles based on something you\u2019re familiar with. For example, if you know a lot about history, you might be able to solve a history puzzle more easily than a complicated math puzzle.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find a partner who is good at things you struggle with. Together, you can fill in each other\u2019s gaps.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analytical\/methodical + creative\/artistic = wide range of puzzle types.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each can see and work through things the other can\u2019t.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use a PC or laptop rather than your phone. There are some puzzles you cannot solve with a phone alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/\">Google<\/a> and other search engines are your friend.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attend geocaching events and ask more experienced geocachers for help. Geocachers enjoy helping other geocachers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55798\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55798\" style=\"width: 656px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55798\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Friends-puzzle-cache-656x492.jpg\" alt=\"Geocachers helping geocachers solve Mystery\/Puzzle Caches\" width=\"656\" height=\"492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Friends-puzzle-cache-656x492.jpg 656w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Friends-puzzle-cache-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Friends-puzzle-cache.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55798\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Geocachers helping geocachers solve Mystery\/Puzzle Caches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some basic tricks to start filling your bag: <\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Highlighted text. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some Mystery\/Puzzle Caches use white font on the page that can only be seen when highlighted. Run your computer mouse along the entire cache page including text and images. If your cursor changes from an arrow to a pointed finger, you\u2019ll know you passed over a hidden link.*<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Source code.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Many times clues are hidden in the coding for a cache page. <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on your browser, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/228076\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">view the source code<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for that cache page. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To find possible clues, choose a word\/phrase from the description and use the <\/span><b>Ctrl+F<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> function. This will point you to the areas where a message may be hiding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Other languages. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some Mystery\/Puzzle caches want you to \u201cdecode\u201d other languages. Pasting the text into an online translator and converting it to your language often does the trick.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Binary numbers and other bases.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Use an online reference such as <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.purplemath.com\/modules\/numbbase.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purple Math<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that may help you with these types of mathematical stumpers. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Local latitude and longitude.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> For example, Seattle, Washington, is at 47\u00b0 North and 122\u00b0 West. If you solve puzzles in Seattle and something you try makes a 47 or 122, keep going and it will likely give you the rest of the coordinates.<\/span>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_55796\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55796\" style=\"width: 636px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-55796 size-full\" style=\"font-weight: 600; color: #9b9b9b; font-size: 0.933em;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/highlighted-text.jpg\" alt=\"Highlighted text\" width=\"636\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/highlighted-text.jpg 636w, https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/highlighted-text-300x163.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55796\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This blog about Mystery\/Puzzle Caches may also have hidden white text&#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some online resources which may give you more tricks to try: \u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geocachingtoolbox.com\/index.php?lang=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geocaching Toolbox<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mygeocachingprofile.com\/extras.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My Geocaching Profile<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many more! Do an online search for \u201cgeocaching puzzle solving tools\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Now that you are armed with some basic tricks, go forth, and happy puzzling!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: white;\">Congratulations! You found the hidden white text! You&#8217;re on your way!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was written by Geocaching superstar and Geocaching HQ employee, Cathy (Prying Pandora). Do you look at Mystery Caches, also known as Puzzle Caches, and have no idea where to start? You\u2019re not the only one. Many geocachers feel overwhelmed by Mystery\/Puzzle Caches, but they\u2019re not as scary as they appear. You just need&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":55806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[291,285,314,313],"series":[],"class_list":["post-55786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn","tag-geocache","tag-geocaching","tag-mystery","tag-mystery-cache"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/d3mo08i005h0zn.cloudfront.net\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Puzzle-Cache-Geocaching.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/inside-geocaching-hq-podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"dxOAzyJ8hT\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/how-to-solve-mystery-caches-also-known-as-puzzle-caches\/\">How to solve Mystery Caches (also known as Puzzle Caches)<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geocaching.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/how-to-solve-mystery-caches-also-known-as-puzzle-caches\/embed\/#?secret=dxOAzyJ8hT\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;How to solve Mystery Caches (also known as Puzzle Caches)&#8221; &#8212; Official Blog\" data-secret=\"dxOAzyJ8hT\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! 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