This topic contains 13 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by 
BigJim 11 months, 1 week ago.
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The WGA Lonely Cache Game (LCG) and Cache Rescue will be put on pause after we wrap up the 2023 game year. The number of active players in both games has been declining and the age of the caches on the lonely cache list has been increasing. The WGA will be brainstorming ideas to refresh the games to engage more geocachers to find the more out of the way and challenging caches, as well as cleaning up the gameboard of caches that are no longer being maintained. If you have suggestions or would want to play a role in a committee to revamp the games, please reach out to the WGA board. The plan is to restart the game on March 1.
Removing ones that have been revisited but not “found” would help clear some from the lists.
The best sig is no sig.
This problem arose from changing the number of Lonelies from 500 to 1000. The change kept more players in the southern half of the state playing until THAT well ran practically dry. Now, the majority of Lonely Caches are puzzles or are in the northern half of the state…once again. I suppose you could have 2 separate contests, North and South. Confirming finds would take more time, plus the North List wouldn’t change at all…for awhile.
Running the Game from March 1st to December 31st might be a good permanent change, as there are less cachers out hunting in the snowy months.
The most important input should come from the volunteers that tally the submissions, both current and previous. They know the system from start to finish, as well as relying on outside sources for List compiling.
Just some thoughts that definitely need tweaking.
Another thought would be a kickoff LCG Event in Spring rather than in the Fall, to get the ball rolling.
Running the Game from March 1st to December 31st might be a good permanent change, as there are less cachers out hunting in the snowy months.
Not having a boat, walking on hard water is the only way I have to find T5s that involve water. Taking out those months would take that possibility away.
The best sig is no sig.
Another “game-within-the-game” option could be prizes at different point levels, rather than just the end. Examples; $5 credit toward WGA merch at 500 points, $10 gas card at $1000 points, etc.
The nice thing about having a Scoreboard that chronicles all Cache Rescues and Lonelies for 10+ years is that you can go back and look at how new rules would affect the players that find fault in new ideas. Last year, a total of 41 reports were submitted in the first 3 months, with only 2 in March. The previous 2 years before that, there were many more tallies. I hope the LCG folks that are doing the modifications have actually played the game.
Thanks for the feedback coming in! 4 of us on the committee are current lonely cache game and cache rescue participants – myself, Lacknothing, chevyole, and BigJim60. We’re compiling the feedback from here, Facebook, and those that have directly messaged us and evaluating a lot of ideas to find ways the games can continue to be successful moving forward.
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board
well, I havent looked into geocaching in the last 2 plus years, but I was just looking to restart back into the LCG. What its paused and being taken away? I guess I can save my money on gas and time searching for tupperwear. I think the BOD should re-evaluate the choice to stopping the LCG. IMO.
It is not stopped. It is in a paused state for the time being.
WGA is looking for your input on lonely cache game and cache rescue game. Complete survey at https://us5.list-manage.com/survey?u=a0bfee91a511e1b020c343e27&id=bf89fce7b6 As part of a possible website remodel, the games are still being evaluated and programming options continue to be looked into to improve participation and make it easier to maintain by the board. Survey responses appreciated by Monday, July 8. Thank you!
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board
After a pause in the long standing game at the beginning of 2024, the WGA Lonely Cache Game (LCG) is ready to hit play at http://www.wi-geocaching.com/lonely-cache-game The game has been relaunched in a new format as of October 1. Long term plans are to further streamline the entry form as part of an overall website revamp. For now, the game will be utilizing a Google form to submit your lonely cache entries. Any Wisconsin cache last found over a year ago is eligible to earn points, so head out and search out some lonelies!
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board
My guess is no bookmark list.
-The Happy Hodag!
The buck stops here. . .and gets entered into Where's George.
Where's George? Stimulating the economy one EMS'ed dollar at a time.
My guess is no bookmark list. -The Happy Hodag!
That is correct. Every cache in Wisconsin that has not been found in over 1 year is considered a “Lonely Cache.”
All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.
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