OK, asking for any input here: When trying to solve a puzzle cache where you have NO CLUE on how to get started, where do you go? Do you have resources you use, or do you ask for hints from the owner, or what?
(IE: We're scratching our heads over Joe Smith here....we've tried country codes, time zones, and letters, but aren't getting anywhere, so now we're STUCK, and have no idea where to begin.)

Joe Smith might be a little easier if there weren't errors in the puzzle.

OK, so Joe Smith has errors? Then how do you solve it? Three of you have found this cache, and four of you have solved the puzzle...where do we begin?

(I just read the logs for Logically...Nylimb has me waaaay confused, and now I'm scared to attempt it!)

This may not help for Joe Smith, but it's a nice primer about puzzle caches.
Solving Puzzle Caches

What really gets me is how Nylimb figures out most puzzles at first glance. He should give a seminar on how to approach puzzle solving. It took me about two years just to understand the hints he gave me on mystery caches I sent him.

And don't forget to reference the

• Secret Code Breaker
• Cipher Tool
• Purple Hell
• Riddle Tools

Actually, "errors" may be too strong a word. I can see how sweetj might have gotten the numbers that he did; it's just not the way I'd do it. I would add 2 to all of his numbers in parentheses except 21 (and fix a couple of typos):

N40 (21,72) .5(103,103) W124 (125,21 .125,64,103)



Don't be scared, the puzzle is now correct. The only thing still missing from the description is that you should list the people in alphabetical order by first name. If you list them in some other order then the ROW numbers in the equations would be wrong.

And while we're discussing sweetj puzzles, can anyone explain to me (privately, so we don't spoil it for anyone else) how to decode the coordinates in SWEETJ'S WONDERFULL CACHEORIUM? I eventually came up with the right coords, but only after trying several random variations when the obvious method didn't work. Neither the enciphered text in the description nor the decrypted hint helped me. Are the apparent typos in the enciphered text really hints that I don't understand? Is there something in the movie which gives a clue?

I wish that were true! Usually my first few ideas turn out to be wrong. And there are many puzzle caches that I've never figured out. Luckily all but one of them (namely the archived and never-found Lumber Jack micro by sweetj) are too far away for me to visit anyway.



Don't anyone tell Hidegoseek this, but giving unhelpful hints is one of only two ways that I can find a cache before he does.

I'm interested in responses to this too. I finally went to bed last night after we worked on this one for a while. Once it became obvious we were going to have to try all the possible combinations of coordinates, my brain started to hurt, so we called it a night.

One of only two ways? What's the other way? Or is that yet another puzzle I have to lose sleep over?