This is a Puzzle Club with an added dimension. As well as helping each other SOLVE puzzles this morning, I should like to join the MAKER MAGIC season, in order to highlight some top tips for CREATING your own quality puzzle cache. Let's all share the kind of puzzle we like to solve and what helps turn a good puzzle in to a GREAT one!
Attending this event will earn you the Maker Magic souvenir. Let me know in advance, if you'd like to leave the event with your puzzle cache page created and together, we can make that happen.
Topics for discussion will include:
Choosing your subject.
Do you have a side-hustle, another hobby you're passionate about, a sport that you enjoy, a TV show which has you gripped or just know some amazing trivia which made you gasp or giggle? All of these are great subjects for setting your own puzzle. What else can you think of?Removing ambiguities.
Have you checked the internet sources that your solvers will likely use? Do they differ in their answers? Try to avoid questions which produce more than one possible answer.Staying timeless.
Try to avoid any answers which will be out of date in a few weeks, months or even years. Such as world-record distances or times in sports, or anything which asks for the CURRENT holder of any title. Even the order of succession for minor royals changes frequently. You don't want to be checking your info (and potentially updating your puzzle) every day until you archive it!Setting the rating.
Don't forget, not everyone will know as much about your specialist subject as you; your puzzle could actually be more difficult that you think. Don't forget to add the solving time to the finding time, for the total difficulty rating. The pitfalls of relying on just one website.
If the info you need to solve your puzzle is only available in one place, it will be a much harder research job for your finders and you run the very real risk, that when (not, if) that one website goes down, your puzzle will be unsolvable. Giving hints on your cache page.
The title of your cache, the background image, a synonym or well-known jargon term from your subject in the text... all of these can be used to point solvers in the right direction, with a gentle nudge. What other methods can you share? Don't be the geocacher who doesn't give any hints and expects solvers to guess what they're thinking!Some basic high-tech tips.
Do you know how to include white text - or hidden notes in the source code? With use of some easy html code, you can also add sneaky labels which appear only when you hover your mouse over a picture, or perhpas a hyperlink which is only available when you click on a well-disguised full stop! Share any other easy tech tips with everyone. Ironing out the glitches.
Do you have a family member or a friend (not necessarily a geocacher) who can proof-read your questions and answers? Before publication, ask them to work through the puzzle, by themselves, noting any discrepancies which crop up between their solution and your final location and see how long it takes them, to help you gauge a D rating. If your friends or family don't like puzzling, then try asking any puzzle-happy geocacher who's willing to take themselves out of the running for the FTF. This event organisier is always happy to help on that score - just ask me!Including a solution checker.
Geocachers often travel great distances to find a puzzle cache they've solved, so imagine how disappointing it would be, to do that only to realise you're probably in the wrong place. You do your solvers a disservice if you decline to provide one.
For all of the above, puzzle solving and more, I hope to see you at:
Costa Coffee, Leigh Park, Havant
The venue has public transport links and free wifi. The address is 55-57 Greywell Shopping Centre, Leigh Park, Havant and the postcode for your satnav is PO9 5AH. We will meet from
10:00 am to 12:00 noon on Sunday 19th April
As well as picking the brains of any puzzle COs who come along (or indeed anyone who's ever solved a puzzle!) for tips and tricks to help you get to started, I encourage you to discuss any of the puzzle creation topics highlighted above, with me and others.
What to bring with you
A mobile internet device, a pen and some paper.
Handy to know
There are no specific kids' play areas so this may not be a suitable event for children unless you are able to keep them entertained, yourself. There will be the usual opportunities to swap and discover trackables.
While no purchase is required, usual café etiquette applies; please consume only food and drink purchased from the café on the premises.
Getting there
The postcode for your satnav is PO9 5AH. The numbers 23, 21 and 39 Stagecoach buses stop at the indicated waypoint, a few minutes walk from the venue. If coming by train, alight at Havant Station before walking to Havant Bus Station and taking the bus.