It's a Classic - 4/30/16

It's funny how a scent, a snippet of music or a glimpse of an image can trigger memories from our past.  Today's puzzle is one from a Minnesota series celebrating "classic" pop culture ... among the themes covered are TV shows, board games, and this one:

#10 Classic Cereal

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

In the Place Where I Live - 4/29/16

With the advent of Spring, Ithaca has seen a flurry of new caches popping up.  Today's featured puzzle is one of them that I enjoyed:

STAND

Tomorrow we'll ...

Cache or Credit? - 4/28/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Canada's province of Prince Edward Island for a little different twist on the question:

Will that be "Cache" or Credit Card?

Tomorrow we'll be back in Central New York.

Your Choice - 4/27/16

Today's California puzzle offers you a choice:

To Count or Not to Count

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Sidewalk Friends - 4/26/16

Today's enjoyable New York puzzle is one I enjoyed a few months ago and saved, seeing as how it tells a story that would have taken place 174 years ago today.  Take a little trip back in time to: 

There! The Sidewalk Friends!

Tomorrow we'll ...

"Geo-cache your way across campus." - 4/25/16

I love making trips devoted to puzzle caching, and I also love it when people come caching here to Ithaca, NY, the site of today's featured puzzle.  When I hear about anyone making plans to come and do some of my caches, I try to be sure they have my cell number in case they need a PAF or TAF, and if I can arrange to meet them for a snack, meal, or drink while they're here, all the better.  If I have the time and can fit all of them in the car, I've even been known to drive them around to maximize their caching time.  So, if you find yourself in this neck of the woods visiting Ithaca or Cornell University, I hope you'll let me know.  I'll do what I can to help you:

"Geo-cache your way across campus."

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Clarity - 4/24/16

Today's puzzle from California just requires a bit of:

Clarity

Tomorrow we'll be in New York.

It's Still Beginning - 4/23/16

I'm planning to be in the Big Apple today, but don't know how much caching we'll try to do.  Even so, in honor of the occasion I thought it might be fun to take you there along with me today.   One of the series I featured early in the blog and have returned to repeatedly is the Central Park "Gates" series.  On three dedicated caching days during two previous trips to "the" city I've been able to log them all, and am awaiting what I believe will be the final installment, whenever that may be. CO Cully Long has kept very busy promoting his How to Puzzle Cache book and Puzzle Cache Practice blog, but somehow he's also found time for a new project, which I haven't yet seen. Meanwhile, enjoy his puzzle:

It Begins at the Artisan's Gate

Tomorrow we'll ...

MOGA Puzzle Competition: Day 3 - 4/22/16

I saved what I deemed the hardest of the MOGA Puzzle Competition puzzles for today (*see below for a description of the event if you missed the other posts this week).  One of them is a format I was familiar with, but doing it longhand provided something of a challenge.  The other one (#3) was new to me, and I admit struggling mightily with it (note that the requirement that columns are unique and rows are unique does not mean that you can't have the same pattern in both a row and a column).  Enjoy the challenge of:

MOGA 2016 - Biathlon (p03)

MOGA 2016 - Speed Skating (p10)

Tomorrow, we'll be in New York City

*Over the course of 2.5 hours, teams of two people would work on them using only their writing implements and scratch paper ... no phones, computers, tablets, calculators, or tools of any kind.  The puzzles would be stapled together and could not be separated (although some creativity and careful manipulation of the pages would allow two puzzles to be worked on at the same time).  The puzzles had a wide range of types and difficulties, but in order to challenge the strongest solvers, the overall difficulty level was purposely set such that none of the teams were really expected to finish all of them in the time allotted. Twenty-two teams ended up competing, and I think they had a lot of fun. 

MOGA Puzzle Competition: Day 2 - 4/21/16

Today we have more of the caches hidden using puzzles prepared for a puzzle competition during an Ohio Mega event.  A description of the event is below*, for anyone who missed it yesterday.  Try your luck with:

 MOGA 2016 - Ice Hockey (p06)

MOGA 2016 - Luge (p07)

MOGA 2016 - Skeleton (p08)

MOGA 2016 - Snowboard



 Tomorrow we'll wrap up with the two toughest MOGA puzzles.



*Over the course of 2.5 hours, teams of two people would work on them using only their writing implements and scratch paper ... no phones, computers, tablets, calculators, or tools of any kind.  The puzzles would be stapled together and could not be separated (although some creativity and careful manipulation of the pages would allow two puzzles to be worked on at the same time).  The puzzles had a wide range of types and difficulties, but in order to challenge the strongest solvers, the overall difficulty level was purposely set such that none of the teams were really expected to finish all of them in the time allotted. Twenty-two teams ended up competing, and I think they had a lot of fun. 

MOGA Puzzle Competition: Day 1 - 4/20/16

I recently was asked to test a set of ten puzzles that were being prepared for a puzzle competition during an Ohio Mega event.  Over the course of 2.5 hours, teams of two people would work on them using only their writing implements and scratch paper ... no phones, computers, tablets, calculators, or tools of any kind.  The puzzles would be stapled together and could not be separated (although some creativity and careful manipulation of the pages would allow two puzzles to be worked on at the same time).  The puzzles had a wide range of types and difficulties, but in order to challenge the strongest solvers, the overall difficulty level was purposely set such that none of the teams were really expected to finish all of them in the time allotted. Twenty-two teams ended up competing, and I think they had a lot of fun.  Over the next three days I'll be sharing the caches that were hidden to go along with these puzzles from the competition (you can find the complete list on the bookmark from any one of them).   Today, let's get warmed up with:

MOGA 2016 - Bobsleigh (p01)

MOGA 2016 - Curling (p02)

MOGA 2016 - Nordic Combined (p04)

MOGA 2016 - Figure Skating (p05)

Tomorrow, more from MOGA.

Piano Practice Nightmare - 4/19/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Ohio, where the CO apparently has a lot of trouble sleeping (he seems to have a lot of nightmares, two of which I've featured here before).  This one brought back memories of me sitting at the old upright piano with a pink kitchen timer ticking away the 30 minutes I was supposed to spend practicing.  I couldn't wait for that little "ding" to announce that I was through, and I remember that on more than one occasion I couldn't resist helping it along just a bit.  I have always enjoyed making music, but I enjoy it much more in the company of others.  Practicing the piano, or any of the other instruments I played in school, was not my favorite chore, although I don't think I ever had a:

Piano Practice Nightmare

Tomorrow we'll be in Ohio again.

Income Tax - 4/18/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Colorado, but all over the U.S. the deadline is today!  If you haven't already, you'd better complete your:

Income Tax

Tomorrow we'll be in Ohio.

Galaxy Caches - 4/17/16

Today's puzzle takes us to Washington state ... sort of.  It was part of a large project of temporary Galaxy Caches that were recently put out by Groundspeak.  The finds have all been converted to notes and the souvenirs have disappeared*, but a lot of people found it kind of fun while it lasted, and the clever listings remain for our viewing pleasure.  There are lots to choose from, but I picked:

Explorers on the Moon

*(Shhh ... don't tell, but it looks like the favorite points I earned are still there, though ...)

Not just a slew ... a ton! - 4/16/16

Today's California puzzle is a sequel to one I featured back in 2013.  This one requires:

Not a SLEW o' vowels, a TON!

Zapped! - 4/15/16

In the course of a conversation with California CO turuthok, he mentioned a particular one of his puzzles that he'd enjoyed creating and suggested it one I might like to try.  It turned out to be a sequel to one of his other puzzles which I hadn't yet done.  Since I enjoyed them both, I figured I'd present you with the pair today.  If you've been following the blog for long, you may remember me mentioning that spatial relations are one of my weaker skills as a puzzler.  You can bet I got quite a workout with:

Zap! and Zap! The Sequel

Tomorrow we'll ... 

Flower Power - 4/14/16

I recently collaborated with a friend who was placing a golden ammo can cache for another friend of ours, using the dahlia flower as our inspiration.  She did a gorgeous job with the container and log book, and I created a puzzle that we hoped would be fun and accessible for everyone.  After creating the puzzle I found myself looking for another geocaching puzzle constructed in a similar way.  I didn't have to look too hard to find this one, from Minnesota:

Flower Power

Tomorrow we'll be back in California.

Lucky Man - 4/13/16

A puzzle CO recently pointed out that the very useful site "project-gc.com" could provide a list of the top hiders of "unknown" caches in a country, or state.  I checked it out and was pleased to see this feature is available even to non-premium visitors to the site.  The list I generated was very interesting, and I recognized a lot of the CO names.   Do keep in mind that the totals include easy geo-art puzzles, field puzzles, challenge caches and night caches along with the "solve at your desk" type puzzles featured here.  Coming in at #10 on the list when I looked at it was a name I recognized from California and now Idaho caches, so I thought I'd present you with one of his recent ones today.  It's about a:

Lucky Man

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Hugh? - 4/12/16

Today's California puzzle will have you pondering:

Hue. Who? Huh!

Tomorrow we'll ...

Build Your Own - 4/11/16

Let's kick off the week with a Minnesota puzzle in which you'll create:

"A" Build Your Own Sudoku

Tomorrow we'll ...

Not Still Yet Another Puzzle - 4/10/16

It's been a while since we paid a visit to Minnesota, so let's go there today for:

Not Still Yet Another Music Puzzle

Tomorrow we'll ...

Choose Your Own Adventure - 4/9/16

Today's we travel back to California.  One of the great things about geocaching is that there are so many ways to play the game ... you can plan your fun around gaining high numbers with quick grabs, visiting favorited locations, seeing and learning new things, taking amazing hikes, climbing trees, kayaking or canoeing, or traveling the world through puzzle caching, to name a few.  Whatever your pleasure, in geocaching you can:

Choose Your Own Adventure

Tomorrow we'll ...

A Little Game of Cards - 4/8/16

Today we travel to downstate New York for a little game of:

134 Card Pick-Up

Tomorrow we'll be in ...

Constants - 4/7/16

Today's puzzle is part of a series in Canada's Ontario province that I stumbled across recently.  With all of life's ups and downs it's hard to know what will be around the corner.  I find it reassuring that there are at least some constants I can depend on.  For example:

Constants: Catalan's

Tomorrow we'll be in New York.

Just Verbal Coordinates? - 4/6/16

Today we travel to California for a puzzle that represents the CO's 333rd hide (more than 2/3 of them puzzle caches!).  That's a lot of caches, representing a huge amount of work ... if you've ever hidden even one cache, you know that just getting the container together, finding a location, and preparing the cache page takes some effort, let alone creating a fun puzzle to go with it.  I've said it before, but one of the things I love most about caching is that it's an experience we create for each other.  A lot of work goes into creating fun and interesting hides which take us places we never would go otherwise (even if we are only able to visit there virtually).  I love being able to shine a spotlight on creative puzzles caches and get them a little more exposure than they might otherwise receive. Why not take a little time to make a puzzle CO's day today by posting a note or sending a message or e-mail to acknowledge someone whose work you have enjoyed?  Then you can come back and enjoy today's puzzle.  How will you tackle a puzzle with:

Just.verbal.coordinates?   

Tomorrow we'll ...

Ship Shape - 4/5/16

Today's Pennsylvania puzzle is one from a series that landed in my inbox recently.  I'm looking forward to trying the rest of them, but this one caught my eye first, due to its subject matter.  I think I first encountered Mahjong tiles in a video solitaire game involving pulling them off in matching pairs.  I gave the different tiles little names in my head that bore no resemblance to what they actually were supposed to be called.  I've never tried learning the actual game itself, but it was fun learning a little more about it in:

SHiP-shape #5; Mahjong 麻将

Tomorrow we'll be back in California.

Square Day! - 4/4/16

As a bit of a math geek, I thought today's puzzle was a good one to feature for "square day".  It involves tracing paths along a route made up of squares ... that doesn't make it a square root puzzle, though. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)  Can you figure out:

How Many Shortest Paths?

Tomorrow we'll ...

5 Easy Steps - 4/3/16

Today's California puzzle isn't so bad ... you can get through it in:

5 Easy Steps

Tomorrow, one last turuthok puzzle.

A Strong Man - 4/2/16

There was a period of time when my daughter was fascinated with the televised contests to find the "World's Strongest Man."  Need a truck pulled?  Large stones lifted and carried?  They've got you covered.   I couldn't help thinking about those guys while looking at today's California puzzle about:

A Strong Man's Toil

Tomorrow, another from this CO.

April Fool - 4/1/16

Happy April Fools Day!  I just had to break away from my week of turuthok puzzles take you to Delaware for this one in honor of:

April Fools

Tomorrow, back to California.