This puzzle cache is for all those cachers out there that have
been wondering how to solve some different types of puzzle caches.
More experienced puzzle cachers may find this really boring - sorry
in advance.
For a much more extensive lesson on puzzle caches, I would
recommend the
Puzzle Solving 101
series, although you have to travel to Florida to actually find the
caches (which might be a good excuse for a trip next
February).
Hidden Coordinates
Most puzzle cachers probably have their own strategies regarding
how they attack a puzzle cache. For us, the very first thing we do
when we open up a puzzle is look for hidden coordinates or other
hidden information in the form of messages or hints.
There are actually lots of places on a cache page to hide
information, with one of the most common hiding spots being in the
html source code. This is most simply done by including a comment
line when preparing the cache page writeup, but there are also
other sneaky ways to hide information in the coding for those who
are more experienced with html, so always look at all of the user
created coding, including any links (some may not be apparent on
the cache page) and the names and locations of any images.
To view the source code for a cache page in Firefox, select View
--> Page Source. For other browsers, there are similar menu
selections available to view the source code. When the source code
comes up in a new window, scroll about half way down until you see
a line that delineates the user supplied content.
The information directly below that line is the content supplied
by the cache owner, where you are likely to find hidden
information, if it is there. Often, answers appear in a different
colour. On my browser it is green. Give it a try and see what you
find in the source code for this cache page.
Another common way to hide information on the cache page Is to
put some information in a white font, so that it can only be seen
when highlighted or cut and pasted to another document. I have
hidden something below this paragraph. Highlight the area below
that appears to be blank, and see what you find.
Congratulations, you found the hidden
text! B=4
Another way to hide information is right in the text by having
certain words or letters in bold or italics or in a different font
size, etc. Some of these little changes can be very hard to see on
the cache page, but become obvious when looking at the source
code.
Here is some sample text:
Hidden in this text is a little message for you. It is
not easy to see, but it is there if you know where to
look. It is right there, right in front of
your eyes. Can you find it.
Other less common places to hide information include in the
background image for the cache page (hint - be sure to check the
background image for this cache page), any images on the cache
page, other images available in the gallery, in the cache title,
the listed cache owner's name, in the hint area, or in the listed
waypoints. Theoretically, even the attributes could be used to
communicate information since the attributes are entered by the
owner. Any place on the cache page where cache owners can enter
information, they can hide information.
Also be sure to look at things like TBs and geocoins that are
listed as being in the cache, but may actually part of the puzzle,
and also look at the profile of the cache owner. In either
location, puzzle information can be hidden in plain sight, or could
also be hidden in the source code of owner supplied areas of the TB
page or the cache owner's profile page or by using white text,
etc.
Some puzzle cache owners are very tricky!
Speaking of tricky, if the cache does not specifically say that
the cache is NOT located at the posted coordinates, then we always
try the posted coordinates in the geochecker, because the whole
puzzle could just be a decoy. Also, some cache owners will place a
clue at the posted coordinates, or put the posted coordinates at a
sign or object that is actually a hint for the puzzle, so if you
live nearby the posted coordinates, it may be worth stopping by to
see what is there (assuming that it is safe to do so).
Codes and Ciphers
Lots of puzzle caches use various forms of codes and ciphers. A
code can be something like Morse Code, Binary, or Braille. Foreign
languages are often seen as well. The ciphers can range in
difficulty from cryptograms to much more sophisticated ciphers that
use keys. Many of the ciphers utilize symbols, often utilizing the
wide variety of symbolic fonts currently available.
You would be amazed at what some puzzle cache owners use as
decoders. Some of them are very simple tools that people use every
day. For example, pull out your cell phone or any phone key pad,
and you can decipher the fake north coordinates for this cache:
GC HF.AEI
Or, just use the top row of your keyboard to decipher the fake
west coordinates for this cache:
*$ @%.@!!
Things like Morse Code can fairly easily be decoded by hand if
you know them or have decoders available to you. On the Internet,
not only can you find the decoding tables you need, but also online
decoders, where you just have to hand enter or cut and paste
the
code and the site does all of the work for you.
Here is a Morse Code
Decoder
To decode this Morse Code:
- .... . .-.. . - - . .-. -.. .. ... . --.- ..- .- .-.. - ---
..-. .. ...- .
Here is a site for decoding
Braille
Here is a
binary to text converter that will allow you to convert the
following to text. See what you find.
010101000110100001100101
011011000110010101110100011101000110010101110010
01000101001000000110100101110011
0110010101110001011101010110000101101100
01110100011011110010000000111001
Here is a site for converting hexidecimal to
text.
Here is a site for converting from binary, octal, hexidecimal
and other bases to decimal numbers
base conversions.
We have also encountered puzzle caches that utilize barcodes and
even more sophisticated matrix 2D barcodes. Barcodes can be used to
code either numbers or text. Here is a link to Wikipedia that
covers the basics of barcodes.
Many barcodes can be decoded using sophisticated cell phones, if
they are Internet compatible and/or have the necessary apps.
Basically ANYTHING that has either number or text equivalents
can be used as code in a puzzle cache, so there are many more
options out there than what I have listed here.
The use of foreign languages to hide information and coordinates
is similar to coding. I like to use babelfish for puzzle cache
translations. Try using the site to translate the following from
Italian to English:
La lettera F è uguale a due.
There are lots of choices out on the Internet for language
translations. Sometimes it takes more than one site to get all the
information you need from a foreign language translation based on
often wide variations in language usage.
The most common cipher used in puzzle caches is probably just
the ordinary substitution cipher or cryptogram, where one letter
(or symbol) actually represents another letter, and that holds true
throughout the cipher. Sometimes the location of spaces is given
(which makes solving a lot easier) but sometimes the spaces are not
known.
Here is my favorite cryptogram
solver.
If the cryptogram you are solving uses symbols, the symbols will
have to be converted to letters first. If you find that there are
more than 26 different symbols, some symbols may represent capitol
letters or punctuation, in which case the on-line solver I gave you
above will not be able to handle it, and you will have to find a
more sophisticated solver or you will have to tackle the
transformation by hand.
Try using the site above to solve the following cryptogram (or
try solving this cryptogram by hand if you are brave!):
Mehs ump xsn nfs omwpnkme nm nfko hcuqnmxcit, ump lkww veml nfin
nfs wsnnsc x ko sbpiw nm jscm.
One specific form of a substitution cipher is called ROT13. Here
is a ROT13
transformation site.
ROT13 is actually the way that hints are scrambled on
geocaching.com.
Similar to ROT13 is ROT47, which works the same way, but
includes all ASCII symbols (not just letters). Here is a ROT13 and
ROT47 conversion site.
Try using the site to decode the following:
%96 =6EE6C y :D 6BF2= E@ K6C@]
Some ciphers require a key word to solve them. The key will
often be hidden in the text somewhere. There may be a seemingly
innocent comment in the description such as “patience is the
key to solving this puzzle” where what they are really
telling you is that the word patience is the key word needed to
solve the cipher. Other times, the key may be the title of the
cache or some other item on the cache page such as the name of the
park where the cache is hidden.
The most common keyed cipher that we have encountered in puzzle
caches is the Vigenère Cipher. Here is a solver that we use for
Vigenère Ciphers.
Try solving the following cipher using the above site, and
remember “patience is the key” on this one.
Xf rwy huis tam vvili kxg abth, non emyn jxnw blnv xwe emxggv X
il muhcp io yqzr.
Some other ciphers that we have encountered in puzzle caches
include Atbash, Ceasar, Bacon, and Playfair. Here is a site with a
whole variety of cipher tools to play
with.
There are many more ciphers out in the world than are listed
above, and some are very complicated and will require more in depth
study regarding how ciphers work. Unfortunately, not all ciphers
will be able to be simply inserted into a solver, and some may
actually require multiple transformations.
An early puzzle cache hide, which has since been archived, was
actually a cipher
Haslett Cypher
All they did was type out the message in MS Word and then
convert the font to Wingdings. Lots of cipher puzzle caches out
there just use symbolic fonts, which can often be downloaded for
free from the Internet. Fonts can be found that are comprised of
holiday symbols, ancient writing, and we even completed one puzzle
cache that used a font made up of ink blots.
Of course, the easiest way to solve puzzles that simply use a
symbolic font is to find the font on the Internet and download it.
However, beware that the original text may have first been
scrambled before the font was converted.
Lists
Another very common type of puzzle cache is the list. Most cache
coordinates will be made up of 14 numbers, 15 if the leading zero
in the west coordinate is included. So, if you see a list of 14 or
15 items, it is very likely that each item can be associated with a
single digit number.
Say I had a puzzle cache called “INXS Kick” and the
puzzle was a list as follows:
Need You Tonight
New Sensation
Need You Tonight
Devil Inside
New Sensation
Devil Inside
Need You Tonight
Never Tear Us Apart
Need You Tonight
New Sensation
Mediate
New Sensation
Guns in the Sky
Guns in the Sky
The letter K equals Devil Inside
If you were to go to the following Wikipedia link
for the album and looked at the track listing, you would find that,
using the number for each track in the list, that the above list
would reveal the fake coordinates for this puzzle cache.
The key to solving this type of list puzzle is finding the
pattern among the items listed. One thing you have to go on to
start your search for the necessary pattern is that, in this area,
the first item is likely going to be a 4. So, if the first item on
the list is a person’s name, and among all the info you
gather about this person you find that the person died in 1984 (a
year ending in 4), then it might be worth checking to see when the
other folks on the list all died. Or if the first person on the
list had four kids, etc.
The puzzle list can contain less than 14 items, if some of the
items in the list could be a multiple-digit number.
Say that I had a puzzle cache titled “I grew up near
M-104” and the list of only 8 items was as follows:
Manton
Sunfield
Ironwood
Hudson
Saginaw
Caseville
Manistique
Evart
Using a map of the State of Michigan (here is a link to the
state map if you don’t have one) you would be able to
find that a route running through each city on the list would give
you the fake coordinates for this cache.
Sometimes the list puzzle is a list of pictures instead of a
list of words, but finding the pattern is still the way to solve
the puzzle. If the list involves photos, be sure to take a look at
the names of the jpg images for possible clues or additional
information. Also, be sure to see if the photos have links to other
websites, which may contain additional information.
Some very tricky lists require you to find more than one
pattern, or require you to use more than one attribute for each
item.
Word Puzzles
Most word puzzles, such as crosswords, word searches, anagrams,
etc. are usually pretty straight forward as far as the rules, but
that does not mean that they are all easy. Here are a few websites
that may help you when trying to solve these types of puzzles:
Word Search Strategies
Crossword
Puzzle Help
Anagram Solver
For word searches, there is often a hidden message in the
letters that remain behind after the list of words are all found.
That hidden message may not necessarily start at the beginning, and
it may not read left to right.
Many word puzzles depend on converting the numerical value of a
letter to a number (i.e. a=1 and z=26). If the first two letters on
a puzzle in the Lansing area are DB (equivalent to 42), then you
may be on to something.
The letter H = F
Here are links to an online dictionary, an online
thesaurus, and
Wikipedia,
which can all be very helpful with word puzzles.
Math Puzzles
Most math puzzles are also straight forward, but as with word
puzzles, that does not mean that they are easy. Here are a few
websites that contain a lot of common equations that may come in
handy when trying to solve math puzzles.
Triangles
Circles
Area
Calculations
Unit
Conversions
The letter L is equal to the radius of the
circle X^2 + y^2 = 9
Keeping track of your units is very important in puzzle caches.
The given information may be in different units than the answer,
requiring conversion.
M is the number of miles that equals 5280
feet
For story problems, start by writing down everything that is
given, and then look for formulas that you can use to calculate the
things that you need to know from the given information. Just take
the whole thing one step at a time.
Logic puzzles
Logic puzzles come in a wide variety of forms. Some common
puzzle types falling in this category are Sudoku (in all its
various forms), Kakuro, Nonograms, Hidato, and
others. Then you have the old-fashioned story problem type of
logic puzzle.
Here is a link to my favorite on-line Sudoku solver. It solves
traditional Sudokus as well as several other variations.
The key to solving the old-fashioned story problem type of logic
puzzle is to make an appropriate grid, as shown at logic-puzzles.org. Without
using the grid, these puzzles can be very difficult to solve.
N equals the number of letters in the word
Logic, plus 4
So, let’s see what you learned. This puzzle cache can be
found at:
N AB CD.EFG
W HI JK.LMN
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.