Rules for this puzzle: No intentional red herrings, no oddball (fishiness) methods of presenting coordinates (UTM, for example, or also having coordinates read backwards), and no leaving off the N32 and W97 just to make it more difficult. There may be more than one layer on this puzzle. Collaboration is allowed and you may ask me for hints after there has been a FTF.
When working on a puzzle I recommend taking a logical, and structured, approach. Sure, sometimes you can quickly figure out the solution and simply jump right in to solving the puzzle; however, if after a few minutes, you are stumped, I suggest some of these steps:
- Copy and paste info from the cache page and throw it at Google to see what sticks.
- Look at the bogus coordinates - Are the dropped on a specific building or structure that might be a clue?
- Check the cache page HTML for any hidden comments, pictures, or links.
- Are any of the pictures linked to sites outside of Geocaching (all pictures on GC.com will have an "amazonaws" URL)? If a picture is linked externally it is possible the picture may have some hidden data in it (because the upload process to GC.com will sometimes strip out that data; however, it can also mean the CO was lazy and didn't bother uploading the picture directly to GC.COM and just linked to an external picture (shame shame).
- On older puzzles look for a related web page near the top of the cache page (this field doesn't exist on newer caches).
- Are there any additional waypoints? If so, where are they located? Any bookmarked lists? What was the first travel bug that visited the cache?
- What is the cache owners name? Did he or she change it to something different for this puzzle?
- Is there anything unusual in the cache description? An odd choice of words?
- On the puzzle itself, is there an easy way to chunk it into 14 or 15 elements (digits of coordinates)? Sometimes I also consider counting "N", "W", and symbols such as .(decimal) or °(degree) if you happen to see a few more than 15 elements.
- Enlist the help of your friends =)
Now, the above information is useful for logically approaching a puzzle; however, it probably won't help you with a pure logic puzzle. These are puzzles that are solved using your brain. Usually they involve following a series of steps in order to achieve a singular solution to a puzzle or riddle. Some good examples of logic puzzles are sudoku, kakuro, nonogram, kendoku, hidato, and a whole variety of really fun games that challenge your mind. In order to solve these puzzles you can dive in, rule out what doesn't work, and find the correct solution. Alternatively, you may find an automated solver online that will do the nitty-gritty work for you (I don't call that cheating - I call it being creative!).
1 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 1 0 1 1 2 2 3 2 1
1 1 3 2 3 1 3 2 4 3 3 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 2 0 0 2 2 4 2 2 0 2 1 4 2 4 2 2
1 3 6 4 5 4 7 4 5 3 3 5 3 7 3 6 3 7 3 3 0 0 3 4 8 4 3 0 3 2 6 4 8 4 3
0 1 3 3 5 2 4 2 3 2 2 3 2 5 3 5 2 5 3 4 2 2 3 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 5 2 5 3 3
1 3 6 4 6 4 7 4 2 0 0 1 2 5 3 4 2 5 3 5 3 3 3 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 4 2 5 3 3
1 1 3 2 4 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 4 3 3 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 2
2 4 6 4 4 4 6 4 3 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 2 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 2 4 3 3 2 4 3 2
2 2 4 2 3 1 3 2 4 3 3 3 1 3 2 4 2 4 2 2 0 0 2 2 4 2 3 1 3 2 4 2 4 2 2
3 4 8 4 4 2 5 3 5 3 3 4 4 7 4 6 3 7 3 3 0 0 3 4 8 4 4 2 5 3 6 3 7 3 3
2 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 4 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 4 2 2 3 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 6 2 6 2 3
1 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 3 0 0 3 4 7 4 5 3 7 3 5 3 3 3 2 5 3 3 0 3 2 6 3 7 3 3
0 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 2 2 3 1 3 2 4 2 4 3 3 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 4 2 4 2 2
0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 2 3 2 1
Puzzle Solving Tools - If I don't discuss a particular tool below in the paragraphs above, you may assume I did not use it for this puzzle; however, it may be useful for puzzles of similar style.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
A NOTE TO PUZZLE COs: Since we're asking our solvers to be logical about how they solve a puzzle, it is also important to make your puzzles solvable with logic and reasoning. Avoid the WIMP!