BattleshipRGV Wherigo Cache

I love the game of Battleship! I’ve played it in many different forms and even used it to teach my middle school technology students how to identify cells in a spreadsheet. They would create a Battleship spreadsheet then we would hold a competition with them trying to sink their opponents’ ships. 

In March of 2018, I attended the Texas Challenge in Denton, Texas and completed my first ever Whereigo caches, several traditional find the answer to these questions and two Reverse ones. Then in April, I played the Battleship Whereigo GC5CMWX in Missouri which was an adaptation by Forest-Ghost of Rangerfox’s original Battleship WIG GC2NCZ5. Now my favorite outdoor sport and one of my favorite indoor games have come together! Both Geocachers have been extremely helpful in providing the necessary materials for HardyP3 and me to create this adaptation of the game in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) at Mission, TX. The following instructions are copied from Forest-Ghost’s Battleship WIG cache page with minor adaptations.

To play, you must have the Whereigo app on your GPS enabled device. If you’re using a Smart Device, you need to download the pocket pc version of the player. 

http://www.wherigo.com/player/ (you can also get some tutorials here)

Download the Whereigo Cartridge here. The listed coordinates take you to an open field area at Bentson Palm Community Park, although you can play the cartridge anywhere in the world. The final is located within 2 miles of the posted coordinates and you must go there to claim the smiley.

Starting the Game

When you arrive, stand at the posted coordinates and make sure you have a good GPS signal and run the cartridge. In your inventory screen, you will see an item called "Start Game". Select that. From there, you will see a button with the text "Start Game". Click that and you'll see a message the cartridge is building the game. On most Players, you will see the main game screen when it is finished building the cartridge. On others, you will have to dismiss the dialog. *NOTE* You can pause your game by closing the player and choosing "Resume" when you reopen it. HOWEVER, if you "Exit" the game, when you reopen the player you will begin a brand new game with a new ship layout.

Game Board Size

Technically, the game board's size is a circle with a radius of 125 feet, respective of where you were standing when you told the game to start. I equate this to a soccer field because it's easier to visualize. If you’re playing at the given location, be sure to watch out for natural landmines such as ant hills, uncovered water outlets and nature’s dips in the terrain as you focus on your GPS device. Actually this is good advice regardless of where you choose to play the game.

Ships

The ships are scattered around the field and hidden from your view. Each ship is composed of a certain number of zones that must all be hit for a ship to be sunk (exactly like the traditional game). Zones in a ship are spaced close to twenty feet from each other. Ships can be oriented in any direction. While the zones are, in fact, in a line, your GPS receiver's estimated position error (EPE) may, at times, make it seem otherwise. I have double-checked my math and operations in the code, so you may have to trust me on this. If you pause your game and return later, your ships will remain in their original position but if you end your game and start a new game, your ships will have a new playing arrangement as well.

Ammunition

You have a set amount of ammunition, also called shells, that include three calibers of shell. The larger the caliber, the wider the damage radius and the fewer you have. A shell's quantity and damage radius are displayed in the game. When you fire a shell at an area, it damages all battleships within its area of effect. Thus, it's possible to sink a destroyer or submarine with one 155mm shell.

Firing a Shell

To fire a shell, stand in the area you wish to hit, select your inventory screen, then the caliber shell you wish to use. The quantity you have left and that shell's damage area will be shown underneath a picture of that shell. At the bottom of the screen will be a button labeled "Fire!" If you wish to fire at the location you're standing, click the button. The result of this action will then be displayed.

Damaged Ships

When you damage a ship's zone, that zone will be displayed in your locations screen. Use this information to plan your next attack.

Task List

The list of ships you have left to destroy is shown in your task list, the fourth and bottom section of the main screen. This is just a list; you cannot do anything in that section (this is the nature of the tasks section).

The Win

To win, you must sink all the ships before your ammunition runs out. If you fail, you’ll be required to start a new game and the ships will be in a new pattern.  Once you have successfully sunk all of the ships, the coordinates for the cache container will display. Your last step is to find the cache, sign the logbook and post your story to the Geocache page. Good Luck and Have Fun – Challenge a friend to a game to see who can complete the game and sign the logbook first!

As in all cache hunts, be aware of your surroundings and pay close attention to the ground while playing this game. If you're at our location, we know the ground has some uneven places and some open holes.