- Cache Name - This is nearly always a hint, so look for odd spelling, capitalization, or use of strange words and Google or look them up in a thesarus and/or dictionary
- Placed By - It always links to the CO's profile, but the text can be anything
- Date Placed - This can be any date the CO wants... as long as it is in the past
- Published Coordinates - These are usually fake, but they may have plenty to do with the real coordinates. The solution to the puzzle may be simply adding or subtracting some number(s) from the published coords. Or, the published coords might be for a real location that has some real hints about the puzzle. Also, the final coords are nealy always going to be within 2 miles of the published location. So you can draw a 2-mile circle on the map and the solution will reside somewhere in there. More often than not, the solution will be much closer to the published coords.
- Related Web Page Link - The text doesn't tell you where this link leads, so check it out
- Background Image - Can be set by the CO to any image file on the internet
- Bookmark Lists - The CO or other cachers can put this puzzle on a shared bookmark list and there may be comments about the puzzle in that bookmark's descriptor field next to the cache's listing
- Trackables - Any past or current trackables may have log entries related to this puzzle
- Short & Long Descriptions - Naturally, this is where the bulk of the CO's text about the puzzle is going to be. They may put nearly anything in here from text to images to links. Very, very thoroughly read through EVERYTHING in the cache description before you even begin to work on solving the puzzle.
- Hint Text - This is the ROT-13 Ceasar Shift encoded hint built into every cache page. Many puzzles have a cache hunting hint to help with the final cache hunt as well as a hint or two about solving the puzzle. Note that the text put into this field can actually be encoded before it is ROT-13 shifted by the cache listing. So you might have a code within a code written in here.
- Additional Waypoints - Take a very close look at any Child Waypoints! They may be more than they seem.
- Image Gallery - Look very closely for any extra images that might be hidden down there in the image gallery. This area is a little bit removed from the description stuff, so it is often missed. Sometimes images are placed in the gallery and then the description uses them within the listing as full size images. Other times the images in the gallery may not be shown elsewhere in the description, so take a close look at them. Note that the CO has NO control over how the GC.com site names the images in the gallery. There will be a jumbled bunch of numbers and letters in the image file name (they are always a .jpg file type, also) and that naming is done by the host. The CO does have the ability to enter the image title and description information.
- Owner Logs - Always look down at the previous logs. While we hope that finders do NOT put any hints in their logs about the puzzle, sometimes the Owner will intentionally add hints by means of a Note or Owner Maintenance log. So take a look.
- HTML Source - Finally, take a look at the HTML source code and locate the "UserSuppliedContent" section (about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down the listing). Hidden comments can be placed in remarks lines and you may find other comments or information embedded within the descrpition areas and image links. There are a number of things the CO can hide in the HTML source that will not be visible on the listing page.
Not until you've looked at each and every element of the Cache Listing can you really start to actually solve the Puzzle at hand. Make carefull note of any oddities you find along the way and look for related terms that may clue you into a particular style of puzzle. As they say, the devil is in the details!
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