Games Within The Game by Goldie Diggers
I am sure everybody has heard someone say how Geocaching is whatever you want it to be. That is so true. You can geocache just to get outside and enjoy nature. You can do it to get exercise. You can do it for the challenges of piling up numbers of finds. You can do it for the adventure. You can do it for the puzzle solving challenges. One the biggest part of geocaching for many people is the social aspect. The list goes on and on. Some people call geocaching a hobby and some call it a sport. In order for something to be a sport there has to be a competition aspect involved.
In 2008 I attended my first “Geocaching Event”. It was the Cache Bash in West Bend. It was fun to meet people who I only knew by team name. My son Josh and I challenged ourselves to find all 50 of the caches that were hidden for the event. The following year at the 2nd Annual Cache Bash there was an unofficial “game within the game” as several of us competed
“unofficially” against each other to find all the caches and return to Regner Park and turn in our stamped card before anyone else. This continued the next year as well, with some trash talking ahead of time and a friendly a fun competition ensued. When we received a few complaints about “racing” during the Cache Bash, somebody said to me; “If you want to compete, have your own event” That is where the seeds were planted for me to start thinking of how I could host some type of competitive geocaching event.
In January of 2012 youngins3 placed a cache called “Survivor SE Wisconsin”. This was the first competition-style event in SE Wisconsin. I was eager to participate and became one of the 12 players in the game. The experience was very fun and through it I met more people and more good friends. A secondary group of non-participants formed know as Team Sabotage, only added to the fun. Team Sabotage put out a series of decoy caches which led to an impromptu event/gathering of all of the players at a local restaurant. There were lots of fun meetings at guard rails in the dark. One particular night I searched for a cache with Hack 1 of 2 well into the night, involving some friendly police officers.
Participating in the Survivor game was the final push I needed and I teamed with Dr Dolittle to put together a summer-long event called “The Amazing Race”. Teams formed and signed up for a day to run the gauntlet of 30 or so caches which began at Dr Dolittle’s house and ended at mine, a 5-mile-long course. Each team was timed and rules included penalties for calling for a hint. Many new friendships were formed from The Amazing Race and many adventures are still talked about today.
Even though it was a competition it was the fun that really mattered in the end. We held a final event to crown the winners in both the biking and hiking categories. The winners actually completed the course in 105 degree temperatures. Many others experienced the hot weather as well as thunderstorms.
Perhaps the funnest competition type event I have attended is the “Road Rally” in Waukesha. This was an event dreamed up by “Chevyole and Wifeyole”. Instead of being stretched over several months; this was a one day event. Once again I got to establish some great friendships as I formed a team called “Gone in 60 Seconds” with Dr Dolittle, Bushwacking Queen and Waggintails. We had such a blast that day final caches and completing tasks. This competition was actually a geocaching/scavenger hunt hybrid. The fun began right from the start as strategies included, laying in the road to block competitors from leaving. One of the things we could do was eat some spicy wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. We did the hottest ones and ate them in record time!
This past summer Chevyole and Wifeyole hosted the 2nd annual Road Rally. The competition was fierce, but fun. Our team reunited as “The Dukes of Hazzard”, complete with costumes! We even had a decked out “General Lee” with horn sound effects. At one point I was running on a trail, dressed as Boss Hogg, holding on my white hat as, Justin (Mrs. Waggintails) dressed as Daisy Duke, complete with high heels was running next to me. We passed several joggers who looked a little shocked and are probably still talking about that weird sight. To top things off “Daisy” made the FTF after going through head high grass in high heels!
Everyone had a blast again and lots of stories of adventures including falling into a swamp! Our team vowed to have a good strategy after the first Road rally in which we all began shouting instructions in the first minute and we missed the first cache, all part of the fun and memories of competitive geocaching. I can honestly say I have made some of my best friendships because of these competitive events.
This past August was the 7th Annual Cache Bash in West Bend. I came up with an idea for something that was a game within the game, within the game. 7 people dressed up as “Where’s Waldo” characters roamed the West Bend area during the Bash. Geocachers attending the 2 day event were given a card with the characters on it. When they spotted a Waldo character they could get their card stamped for lottery tickets. It turned out to be a very popular game with the participants and another version may be utilized at the 2015 Bash.
In November of 2014 the latest competitive event has begun in SE Wisconsin. I am hosting the “Geo-Hunger Games”. I have learned a lot from previous competitive events and hope to make this one the funnest yet. People can get into a lottery by finding signup caches. Only 12 teams will be in the games, with 2 people on each team. This competition will different than the past ones, as part of the competition will involve hiding caches in addition to finding. Each month from May 2015 through September 2015 will be a new challenge for the teams. Everything will conclude with a scavenger hunt type finale in October.
If you haven’t ever been in one of these competitive type geocaching events, I would highly recommend it. It may start as a want to compete but just as geocaching as whole does, it becomes so much more.