You know how, with some caches, you don't really know what to expect but when you figure it out you grin with delight at the cleverness of the experience? 

Puzzles can give you that same delight in the comfort of your home.

Plus, you get the second delight at finding the cache!

00 - Slider

Slider

Reason #1 to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches: 

Some are fun challenges, like this one.  Be sure to post a note on the cache page before you begin this one.  

01 - The "COOPERATION CHALLENGE"

The "COOPERATION CHALLENGE"

Reason #2 to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches: 

Some are ridiculously easy, clever, and entertaining.  Can you figure out where the coordinates are?

This is a fun, clever, easy puzzle that's been out about 6 years with only 126 finders.  That's an average of only 21 finders a year.  

There's a traditional in the same park, a half mile away, that has 342 finders in less than 4 years; that's about 85 finders a year - 4 times the amount of finders on the puzzle.  That's a lot of people who ignored the nearby "mystery".

02 - JP048 - Puzzle Solving 101 for Dummies - FTF #24

JP048 - Puzzle Solving 101 for Dummies - FTF #24

Reason #2, continued, to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches: 

Another fun, simple, and interesting puzzle. Can you figure out the coordinates?


03 - First and Last

First and Last

Reason #3 to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches: 

Some are fun, easy, clever solve-on-site "mystery" caches, like this one.

04 - Pipe Dream

Pipe Dream

Reason #4 to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches:

Some are more like muti-caches that you solve on-site, and learn some interesting things about an interesting spot, like this one.

05 - Tauchman House Once Again

Tauchman House Once Again

Reason #5 to not ignore outright all "mystery" caches:

Some are fun, easy ones to do in the comfort of your home on a cold, rainy winter night.  This is one the kids can help with.  

06 - Movie Mania - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Movie Mania - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

So where do you start?  

You wouldn't start a beginning cacher with this cache.  It's the same idea with puzzles - start with the easier ones.

07 - Earth's Roof - Mount Everest Peak

Earth's Roof - Mount Everest Peak

Where do you start? 

1. Start with the description.  Anything awkward or out of place?  Ask "Why is it done that way?"
2. Look for patterns.
3. Title is a hint.

08a - The Space Between Us

The Space Between Us

Where do you start?  

1.  Start with the description.
2.  Look for patterns.
3.  Look at "Additional Hints" - Google is your friend.  

08b - Trees

Trees

Where do you start?

1.  Start with the description.
2.  Google is your friend.
3.  Title is a hint.

09 - According to Moh

According to Moh

Where do you start?

1. Start with the description.
2. Google is your friend.
3. Some logs have hints.
4. Think like a puzzle creator:  How could I make a puzzle using this?

10 - A Year of Travel

A Year of Travel

Where else can you look?  Anything that an owner can influence:

Listed owners name is different from their profile, and is a hint.

12 - No remorse: Leonardo's cache

No remorse: Leonardo's cache

Where else can you look? Anything that an owner can influence:

1.  Owner's profile has a hint.
2.  Images: look for links just above the "Logged Visits", or in the gallery.

13 - Time To Go Caching!

Time To Go Caching!

Where else can you look? Anything that an owner can influence:

This clever cache page describes several ways to hide info within images.

14 - Puzzle #2: Picture Perfect Pie

Puzzle #2: Picture Perfect Pie

Where else can you look? Anything that an owner can influence:

Where is the puzzle?!!  Look at the image link just above logged visits.
The "Related Web Page" link above the page coordinates will help.

15 - Weeds of Queen Anne

Weeds of Queen Anne

Where else can you look? Anything that an owner can influence:

1.  White writing.  Highlight the page (one way is press Ctrl-a; you can also hold down the left mouse button and drag it over the page) and look for newly revealed info.

2.  Source code.  
     - In Chrome, right click mouse and click on "View page source"
     - In Internet Explorer, right click mouse and click on "View source"
     - In Firefox, right click mouse and click on "View Page Source"
     Ctrl-f (brings up Find box); type in: 
        users (finds "UserSuppliedContent") and start looking for green writing      
        backg (finds "body background" for background image link); copy image link into browser address bar and see if there's anything else to that image.

16 - Puzzles 101 - A Class for Beginners

Puzzles 101 - A Class for Beginners

Where else can you look? Anything that an owner can influence:

Waypoints and title are hints.

17 - Boardwalk in a Park

Boardwalk in a Park

Still not getting it?  Think outside the box.  There's something missing on this cache page that is on most puzzle cache pages.

Think you know the answer?  How can you verify it without a checker?
    - Look on Google Maps - does it seem plausible?
    - Look on the "... all nearby caches" link on the cache page - are there any other caches within 528 feet?
    - Go out and look for it!

18 - The World's Second-Dumbest Cache

The World's Second-Dumbest Cache

Another example of thinking outside the box.  (... Or, rather, thinking outside the triangle.)

19 - The Pyramid of Manure

The Pyramid of Manure

Active puzzle caches are all used with permission.

Examples for Puzzles 101 - a Beginners Class.list-details-1wr9x6v{text-transform:uppercase;font-size:12px;}@media screen and (min-width: 600px){.list-details-1wr9x6v{font-size:1.25rem;}}.list-details-1wr9x6v.shareable{color:#87705a;}.list-details-1wr9x6v.public{color:#00b265;}Public

Examples for Puzzles 101 - a Beginners ClassPublic