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Love Games Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

jennyanykind: Container is missing (last finder logged with permission). As I am leaving Phoenix in a few months at least temporarily, I am letting this one die a natural death to free up the area.

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Hidden : 2/20/2014
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Valentine's Day made me think of all the ways we try to find out if someone loves us.  Sometimes these take the form of games, often silly games no one puts any stock in, but all with a very serious purpose.  This cache is an easy multi-/puzzle cache in which you play some of those games to find the cache.  There are a total of three puzzles involved; only the last should present any difficulty (but then it is also the hardest one in real life).


STEP ONE.  LOVE TRIANGLE.

The cache is not at the listed coordinates.  At the listed coordinates is a big sign, so big that you can read it while driving by.  There are multiple copies of this sign in the area, and the locations of the others are under “Additional Waypoints.”  If you miss the first sign, following the waypoints will take you in a roughly clockwise circle until you return to the original coordinates.

Write down the words on the sign.  You’ll be playing a little love game with them.

Got too many suitors?  Can’t decide between them?  Do the name test!  Write down your first name and theirs and see how many letters you have in common.  The more letters shared, the more likely you are to be soulmates.  So Princess LEIA is perfect for ELIA Kazan, because their first names are anagrams.  Poor Romeo and Juliet, they were doomed from the get-go.

You’re playing a modified version of that game with these words.  Cross out any letters that recur, but you can only cross out pairs.  In other words, if there are three identical letters, you can only eliminate two.

STEP TWO.  LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT.

Now do the simplest code in existence (told you it was an easy puzzle!).  Assign to the letters you have left over from Step One a number, their numerical place in the alphabet.  A=1, etc.

Replace the letters in parentheses below with their numerical equivalents, and do any math required:

N 33° (T-S) (N-F) . (I) 0 (I-F)                                          W 111° (E) (N)  . (D) (O-L) (N-E)

But…there’s a problem, isn’t there?  You can’t fill in one letter because the numeric value is two digits itself.  What to do?

Well, does he love me or not?  Pretend each of the two letters you can’t replace with a number in the coordinates is a daisy.  The numeric value of the letter is the number of petals on the daisy.  Start pulling them off.  Loves me…loves me not…loves me…loves me not.

If your last petal ends on “not” broken heart, subtract the lesser number from the greater number in your two-digit numerical value.  If your last petal is “loves me” heart, add the two numbers together.  Do not do this for any letters in equations!

STEP THREE.  FINDING “THE ONE.”

Q: What do love and geocaching have in common?

A: It’s all about finding “the one,” whether it’s a soulmate or a cache.

Proceed to the coordinates you reached (about a mile from the initial coordinates).  You can park at a large shopping center to the north or a large park to the south (shorter walk).  Neighborhood parking is also available, but to park nearest Ground Zero you will have to feel comfortable blocking the bike lane.

At the final coordinates, face back in the general direction of the initial coordinates.  You’ll see a line of possible hiding places (five individual places or types of places by my count) running east to west.  After all, it takes most people a while of looking in different places to find “the one,” right?  School, work, church, bars, the gym, online...

Somewhere in that area is “the one” cache for you.  Inside is a very small prize for the FTF…the heart of “the one.”

"The One" is shy and coy, so you may need to get creative in your courtship.  You may also need a TOTT, and you will need to bring your own writing instrument.  "The One" has room for the geocaching information sheet, the log, and very small, flat trade items.

Ratings:

Difficulty: the puzzles are easy, but do pay attention to the directions lest you misread something.  “The One” should not be that hard to locate.  The hint will leave you in no doubt - if you know your stories of famous lovers.  If you don’t, and if you can find it, there is something in the description that might help you out.

Terrain: the first part can be done from a car driving by.  At the final stage, there will be a short walk from wherever you parked, mostly along sidewalk, and then grass/dirt the rest of the time.  Ground may be somewhat uneven, but nothing too bothersome.  Strollers should be able to handle it.

**Cache has been placed in accordance with the City of Chandler guidelines for geocaches.  Please observe all city ordinances, signs, and posted rules during your hunt, or risk the removal of the cache.**

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Clenzhf naq Guvfor

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)