2019 mid year game suggestions

[caughtatwork]

Here at Geocaching Australia we are planning the games for 2019. We will be running a mid year game in the middle of winter and a game over the summer period. We run the games to highlight some of the things you can do at Geocaching Australia such as dragonZone, moveable caches, and many other things as well as provide additional entertainment to be had while you're out geocaching.

For 2019 we would like your suggestions for two games. An easy game set in winter where the light is short, the weather is cold and your ability to cache may be restricted. A more challenging game for summer which may be longer, have more hours of daylight and during holidays may allow you to challenge yourself a little more.

Games will only invoke Geocaching Australia caches, they will be physical caches only and any validation of requirement claims must be able to be done without any human intervention.

Working within those rules what sort of game would you like to see in 2019?

[rogerw3]

I was thinking that perhaps an 'Unloved Cache' game might be fun.
Points would be scored for say each week a cache has been unloved.
Of course the unloved length of time would have to be up to the start of the game so that all players can find such caches not just the first one to find it.

[Whheels]

Why only physical caches?

[Geocaching Australia]

Why only physical caches?

Physical caches are what we'd like to work with at the moment. By all means, if you want to come up with a game that includes non physical caches, please put it all down in writing, explaining how you think it will work and we'll look at it. For various reasons, we may use it.....or we may not.

As mentioned, our games are planned well in advanced and if there is an idea that is suggested and we think its's possible, well, we may just keep it as a game for the future.

Please don't let any of the above put you off. A good game can take up to 12 months or longer to plan, code and test. An idea listed today may be the big hit of 2019 or 2020.

[Whheels]

OK. Thanks for that.

I'd figured there was a fair bit of work involved in setting up the games, but that's given me a greater appreciation of just how much is involved.

I'll get my thinking cap on.

[budgietas]

I was thinking that perhaps an 'Unloved Cache' game might be fun.
Points would be scored for say each week a cache has been unloved.
Of course the unloved length of time would have to be up to the start of the game so that all players can find such caches not just the first one to find it.

Great Idea Roger - there are many unloved caches out there. Only concern is there maybe cachers that have found all the unloved caches a long time ago, so there may have very few within there state that they can find. Of course unloved caches also run the risk of not being there anymore!

Maybe rewarding people for hiding caches and the number of finds they get on that cache during the game period.

[Geocaching Australia]

I was thinking that perhaps an 'Unloved Cache' game might be fun.
Points would be scored for say each week a cache has been unloved.
Of course the unloved length of time would have to be up to the start of the game so that all players can find such caches not just the first one to find it.

Great Idea Roger - there are many unloved caches out there. Only concern is there maybe cachers that have found all the unloved caches a long time ago, so there may have very few within there state that they can find. Of course unloved caches also run the risk of not being there anymore!

Maybe rewarding people for hiding caches and the number of finds they get on that cache during the game period.

Thanks for the suggestion/s. Not sure how many unloved caches there would be and if there would be enough in most locations to make a game of it. Something to look at maybe.

A game where a CO is rewarded for the number of times their cache is found during a set/game period will simply see that cache found by the all CO mates. We've been down that path before and it's something we will stay away from in the future.

Good to see the suggestions though......keep them coming.

[MavEtJu]

As long as there is not a size limit on caches to be placed you can count me in.

Edwin

[budgietas]

I was thinking that perhaps an 'Unloved Cache' game might be fun.
Points would be scored for say each week a cache has been unloved.
Of course the unloved length of time would have to be up to the start of the game so that all players can find such caches not just the first one to find it.

Great Idea Roger - there are many unloved caches out there. Only concern is there maybe cachers that have found all the unloved caches a long time ago, so there may have very few within there state that they can find. Of course unloved caches also run the risk of not being there anymore!

Maybe rewarding people for hiding caches and the number of finds they get on that cache during the game period.

Thanks for the suggestion/s. Not sure how many unloved caches there would be and if there would be enough in most locations to make a game of it. Something to look at maybe.

A game where a CO is rewarded for the number of times their cache is found during a set/game period will simply see that cache found by the all CO mates. We've been down that path before and it's something we will stay away from in the future.

Good to see the suggestions though......keep them coming.

Fair Enough, Not fair if people game the competition. I could imagine all sorts of "Bogus" accounts being created just to help someone over the line. It shouldnt be about winning but taking part!

The other thing that came to my mind, and it might not work is the song "swallowed a fly song" Maybe something with different sizes needing to be found representing different animal - Fly = Nano, Spider = Small, so on. There you go, something from left field

[budgietas]

Any progress on a mid year game?

[caughtatwork]

There will be no mid-year game, sorry. Too much time was spent solving the funding issues with the site for me to dedicate any time to it.

[budgietas]

Hi CaughtatWork

I didn't understand until the Mega at Queanbeyan there was a funding issue. Happy to help with anything required to get the funding required. I know there was an idea raised at the Mega that could get some funding if it is still an issue?

Let me know if I can help

[caughtatwork]

Funding for the hosting bill for this year was in the hands of the Geocaching Australia Senate. You can read their accountabilities here: http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Senators

The senate did not undertake any substantial actions to get this funding to pay the hosting bill. This means we would have run short of the bill by about $800.00. We pay a third party for our server racking and hosting and if we can't pay the bill, the site shuts down when the third party pulls the server out of the rack.

My focus in the early part of this year was to find someone, a benefactor if you will, who would provide the funds to get through to the end of the bill period which is June. A benefactor was found and the money was provided to pay the bill for another year. Funding will always be an issue and it's never at the forefront of peoples minds which means when someone realises the bill is due, panic sets in as to how to get the money. I'd prefer y'all support the site (money, engagement, hides, finds) throughout tthe year rather than a panic buy / sale at the end of the year.

We have no funding source other than the shop. Donations, or preferably, items for sale, are the only way we can make money to cover the bills. We do not intend on having a "funding drive" or a "beg-a-thon". The community support the site. From the wiki

Future direction for the website will be set and guided by the community. Goals will be set by the community and actions to achieve the goals will be guided by the community. Funding for the website site will be generated from sales or donations via the Geocaching Australia shop.

If at the end of the day the community does not support the site, by way of directions, guidance, goals, actions, engagement and funding, then the community is, defacto, saying they no longer wish the site to exist. We are only here for the community and the community should be involved but if there is no community involvement, then there is no need for a site. No-one owns Geocaching Australia although I do act as the steward to keep us in line with the original mantra of "free and open", but I do not own or run the site.

This is not intended to shame anyone, to make anyone feel guilty, to pass judgement on what has gone before, it is a set of facts.

If you would like the site to continue (we are funded for the next 12 months), then make suggestions as to what direction we should go. What things you would like. Get community engagement in discussions. Promote the site to your non-GCA aligned friends. Buy some of our stuff (even if you don't want it, it's preferred over a straight donation and you can always leave it in a cache as a swap / trade). Help the site set some goals. Essentially, be involved and we'll all move forward.

[Nessell]

I wonder if the games are an opportunity to solve the funding issue?

I really enjoy the GCA games and am amazed that these are provided free of charge and with prizes. I realise the goal of GCA is free and open geocaching but I wonder if the games could be an opportunity to raise some funds? Perhaps via an entry fee or alternatively asking for a suitable donation at the conclusion of the games? Something along the lines of “If you enjoyed playing the games please consider donating $X to the GCA website”. This reminder would keep us aware that the GCA website does have bills to pay and costs to cover. I pay the other mob over $50 per year, so I would be very happy to pay $10-20 per game if it helps GCA.

All this could mean that the site remains free and open but those wanting to particpate in the games, which is an additional layer, provide some funds to cover the costs of running these.

Not sure what others think about this?

[budgietas]

Hi caught at work.

Thank you for the long post, and unfortunately my profession takes over now ... I’m an accountant (or bean counter to my boss). Is there a list of expenses for the gca site for the year? Obviously there is gc account fees, domain name fees, server fees and reward costs, but no doubt there is more. Maybe the community needs to know more about the costs and funding so we can contribute effective suggestions. I know in the past I have donated money to the site, but there seems (and this is not a compliant) no feedback on exactly the situation of gca. Maybe a yearly report (like an association would do). We received this much money and we spent it on the following. We have $x left in the bank. A open statement of the financial situation


Secondly, and this might be my mistake, I thought we could only have one senator from Tasmania. Everything I have met Think that stainless steel rat is a great person and would not wish to challenge him as our senator. But if we could have multiple senators I didn’t know this