One question, a few seconds, a geocoin at stake. Try it right now, no account needed.
Trial round
The answer : first to find
FTF is the first geocacher to sign a cache logbook after it goes live. No official reward comes with it. It is an unofficial race that some take very seriously, watching for notifications to set off within the hour. Runners-up settle for STF and TTF, second and third.
Twelve questions, each one explained
The answer : publication
A reviewer, a volunteer geocacher responsible for a region, checks the distance to neighbouring caches, the permissions and compliance with the guidelines. They then publish the listing or return it to its author with a reason. These volunteers are what keeps a worldwide map workable, and their name appears in the publish log.
The answer : answers
An EarthCache has no container and no logbook. You record it by observing the site, then messaging your answers to the listing owner. They can delete a log whose answers never arrive. The type is overseen by the Geological Society of America, which explains how serious the questions are.
The answer : free
A basic account costs nothing and opens the vast majority of caches. A premium membership additionally unlocks member-only caches, advanced searches and favourite points, but you can play for years without it. Gear is no barrier either: a phone is enough.
The answer : needs maintenance
You file one when the container is cracked, the logbook soaked or the cache barely findable. The owner gets an alert and the listing carries an icon until they declare the maintenance done. With no response, a reviewer eventually disables then archives the cache. That is what keeps the map roughly clean.
The answer : spoiler photo
Posting a picture where the stump, rock or signpost hiding the container is recognisable ruins the search for everyone who comes after. A cache owner can ask for such a photo to be removed, and logs rarely carry one out of consideration for the next finder. Some listings do offer one, but deliberately and folded behind a warning.
The answer : favourite point
Favourite points are earned at a rate of one per ten finds, and each can only be given once. That scarcity is what makes them worth something. The favourite percentage shown on a listing is the best public indicator of a cache's quality, far more reliable than its number of visits.
The answer : nothing
The coordinates of a mystery, also called a puzzle, are only a reference point, placed somewhere within two miles of the real cache. You must solve something to get the actual coordinates. It is the type that allows anything: cryptograms, maths, historical research, and the hardest caches in the game are almost always mysteries.
The answer : reflectors
A night cache is only findable by torchlight. Small reflectors, often drawing pins, mark the route and bounce light back only from a certain angle. By day the trail is perfectly invisible. There is no official type for it: these caches are published as mysteries, with an attribute warning that they are done after dark.
The answer : cartridge
A cartridge is a small program you load before setting off. It triggers dialogue, items and puzzles as you reach certain positions. The player follows a story instead of following coordinates. The platform dates from 2008 and never became widespread, which makes these caches all the more noticed.
The answer : selective availability
Until 2 May 2000 the US military deliberately scrambled the civilian GPS signal. Accuracy sat around a hundred metres, useless for finding a box. Switching it off brought the error below ten metres, and the first container was hidden three days later, in Oregon.
The answer : trackable
A geocoin is an engraved metal coin, minted by a geocacher or for an event, carrying a tracking code. It travels from cache to cache, each move logged online, and its journey can be read on a map. Many are limited runs, which makes them collectibles as well.