Puzzle Creator Workshop – That’s Just Bogus!

Most puzzle caches contain some sort of note at the top of the page resembling: “THE CACHE IS NOT LOCATED AT THE ABOVE LISTED COORDINATES.” (this is the exact message I have borrowed and use on each of mine). Unless you have placed a puzzle cache before, you might not know that picking those “bogus” or “dummy” coordinates as we affectionately call them is not as easy as it first seems but it can also be a lot of fun.

First off, cache placement guidelines require us to choose coordinates that are within 2 miles of the actual cache coordinates.

Secondly, the reviewers will often require that the location of the dummy coordinates be “unsearchable locations”. Handy unsearchable locations might include: Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, Middle of Major Highways, Middle of Garbage Dumps, Waste Treatment Plants, Quarry’s, you get the idea. Many cache owners will joke about the location in the cache listing, like “Don’t go there, unless you want to go for a swim!”

Also, note that dummy puzzle cache coordinates do not have to abide by the .10mi proximity rule. They CAN be within .10 of another physical cache, way point of a multi, other bogus coordinates, etc. In fact, they can and sometimes are placed right on top of other bogus cache locations. This has been referred to as “stacking” in the forums and you can visit that thread if you would like to express your opinions on this practice. I
would stay away from “stacking” on other actual known caches and this may not even be allowed anyway.

TIP: You can also think of bogus coordinates as one more way to be creative with the cache listing. Maybe the location can fit into the theme of the puzzle! Maybe the puzzle will involve using the bougs coordinates in some way. Maybe you will have to measure distances based on the bogus coordinates. Maybe the bogus spot will be a starting point or a vantage point for viewing something. Be creative!

Some examples of creatively using bogus coords:
– I’m in a Rut – FINAL (GC1DAJ5) is a final to a “6-pack” like cache final where each of the parts is on a walking trail that surrounds a city park. The coords point directly at the park. The final isn’t in that park but the park is right in the middle of a semi-circle of caches needed to find it.
– Historic Neenah – Old Council Tree (GC1GJ3B) – Bogus coords are actually an approximate location of where the subject tree used to stand based on information from the historical plaque. To find the plaque you use the bogus coords and a measurement and direction from the cache description (thus reversing the information on the plaque).

You can also actually post the “real coordinates” instead of bogus coords 😉 This is normally done with caches that have ‘ALR’s’ (or additional logging requirements) like the Delorme Challenge caches and Marc’s Cemetery photo cache series. In fact with ALR’s that do not also contain puzzles, most cacher’s actually like to know where the final is, especially on the “challenge” type caches.

With so many choices, what is a puzzle cache creator to do?