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Do You do Sudoku? Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

chaosmanor: Since so few people found this in its original location, and as we have been having difficulty finding a good, new place to put it, we are going to archive this one. When we find a new spot, we'll just make a new cache listing, which gives everyone another cache (or five) to look for [:)]

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Hidden : 11/7/2005
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

What do you mean, you've never heard of Sudoku?!?

First off, as you will have guessed, the co-ordinates given are *not* where the box is. OK, now that *that's* out of the way...

The grid you see here is an original Sudoku puzzle.

These apparently first showed up in Japan 15-20 years ago; no one is certain exactly when, but they are all the rage there now, and they have developed a very strong following in the U.S. over the past couple of years, as well in Europe. On our trip to Italy and Switzerland in September, 2005, the newsstands were full of magazines and books of these "number place" puzzles.

Solving a sudoku puzzle is pretty straight-forward. Notice that the puzzle is a 9x9 grid. When completed, every row (a, b, c, etc.) will have the numbers 1 through 9, one number per box, in some order, with no repetitions; likewise for every column A, B, C, etc. In addition, every 3x3 box (with slightly thicker borders) also has one each of the numbers 1 through 9, one in each small box. Your task is to take the information already given, and fill in the rest of the grid. This is a fairly easy sudoku, and even a novice at these should be able to solve it in ten minutes or less. Here's a hint of where to start: Look at the lower-left 3x3 box. See what column the 7 is in? Now look at the 3x3 grid in the middle-left; see where the 7 is there? Now look at the upper left 3x3; there's no 7 in it. There is only one small square into which a 7 can go, based on the rules and the info given. Once you figure this out, you've gone a long way to Sudoku mastery

Once you have the grid completely filled out, you will need the numbers in four of the small boxes to find the cache. This is where things get a bit difficult. You will have to find four other caches to find out which small squares you need. Each of these has a two-letter "key". An example would be Ee (which is *not* one of the correct combinations); if Ee was one of the keys, you would look at the corresponding square in the finished grid, to find the number 4.

Here are the final coordinates:

N 34º 15.W2T' by W 119º 03.M0R'

Each of the bold-face letters refers to a micro cache hidden somewhere in Camarillo. Each of those caches has one "key". Here is a list of those four caches:

The Sudoku Waltz (GCR6C8)
The New Sudoku Tango (GCX8FG)
The Sudoku Minuet (GCR6C9)
The Sudoku Rumba (GCR6CC)

When you have all four keys, substitute the number referenced in the puzzle grid into the appropriate bold-faced letter in the final co-ordinates, and then go find that cache! Feel free to e-mail us before heading out, to verify your final co-ordinates, if you like.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Arne, ohg abg haqre, n Fpuvahf zbyyr. Rawbl gur avpr ivrjf. Cnexvat vf na nsgregubhtug ;-)

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)