Basic Rules in Hiding a Geocache

To make the Geocaching experience enjoyable to everyone, here are the basic rules that need to be followed:

1. Cachers are not allowed to move the location or placement of the cache. The Geocaching website provides a forum for you to share your Geocaching experience, so use it to your advantage. You can contact the cache owner if you see irregularities on the cache placement or if the location where the Geocache was placed is dangerous. The owner of the Geocache is the person responsible in maintaining the Geocache.

2. Do not take anything from the cache unless you intend to replace it. What is inside the cache is considered the "treasure" or the prize that a Geocacher receives for finding the cache. If you intend to take what is in it, you are obliged to replace it with something of equal or greater value so that the other cachers that are hunting for that cache have something in store for them.
Geocache

3. Placing food items like alcohol, drugs, explosives, knives and other harmful objects are prohibited. Food items are not allowed because there might be some animals that would destroy the cache to get the food inside it. Cache owners must bear in mind that Geocaching is a game that is played by people from almost all age range. Please help keep the game as wholesome as possible to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone.

4. As much as possible, avoid placing the cache in public places (ex. Schools, national parks, banks and buildings) and on privately own lots and residential houses. Public places must be avoided in hiding the caches because of security issues. Geocaches come in all kinds of shapes and sizes that can sometimes be suspicious. There are instances that Geocachers are interrogated by the police due to suspicion on their acts. Unless you secure a permit, avoid hiding caches on public places. Cemeteries and archeological sites are also included in this scope.

5. Minimize the impact on nature. There are places that are intended to protect and preserve wildlife. Avoid placing caches in these areas. You will be violating federal laws if you place caches on areas that are administered by the government such as national parks. Let us all respect the law.

When hiding caches, use your common sense and keep in mind the safety of other players. The Geocaching game was created to be an exciting and fun experience for everyone.

For a lively discussion of all things geocaching please visit: http://www.whatisgeocaching.com/

Want to get into geocaching? Learn from a recognised expert: http://www.getintogeocaching.com/

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The Keys to the Kingdom: Dominion Rules

There are a myriad of great board games out there, and most of them cater to party-goers that want a short and simple game, on the lighter side, or to hardcore fantasy fans that want a long and complex game, on the heavier side. But Dominion is a board-gamer's board game. It is all about strategy and the dynamics of play. Every game is challenging, and every game is fun. It is far and away the best-designed game that I've ever played.

The basic premise of the game is that you are building a kingdom, which is represented by your deck of cards. You start with a deck of some treasure (coppers) and some land (estates). You buy better treasure (silver or gold), actions, or better land (duchies and estates) with your treasure, then you discard everything and draw a new hand. When your deck runs out, you shuffle everything together and draw again. Treasures and actions have different costs based on how powerful they are, and land has a cost based on how many victory points it gives you. The point of the game is to build the best deck of treasures and actions you can so that you will then have the buying power to acquire the most land. The player with the most land (Victory Points) at the end of the game wins.

The game is highly strategic, addictive, and endlessly re-playable. There are several things about its design that make it a paragon of great game design:

The goal is deck-building.
The purpose of the game isn't to get to the finish line or to collect all the money or to kill all the other players. The goal is to build the best kingdom possible. This goal is flavor-appropriate and aesthetically-pleasing, and it makes for some phenomenal game play.

In other games you might get eliminated from a game early or your opponent might get such a phenomenal lead that you know your plight is hopeless. As a game progresses, many players often get bored, particularly the ones that are losing. You rarely see this problem with Dominion. Players are all working on their own strategies semi-independently, and each can experience varying levels of success. It is always fun to see your master plan coming to fruition, even if it isn't enough for you to end up "the" winner. When the game is going and everyone is accumulating victory points in their decks, it is often hard to keep track, and oftentimes people won't be sure who the winner is until the count at the end.

Probability

Because the prime mechanic of the game is shuffling a deck and drawing cards, the order that cards come to you is based completely on luck. This factor is important because it prevents a lot of the card interactions from being a lock. If you could engineer your deck so that you had access to certain actions and treasures every turn, some strategies would be blatantly better than others and everyone would use those strategies. The game would be quite predictable. But since there is a lot of probability, instead, strategies might succeed or fail based on luck. You might draw what you need to, and you might not. Your opponent might snatch up the last copy of a card before you can get it, or they might make you discard cards, or they might let you draw cards. There is a lot that you need to attempt to take into account, and therefore your choices are rarely black and white.

(Almost) Every game is different.

10 different cards are chosen at random for every game, and players then have to develop their strategies based on how these different cards interact with one another. The 10 cards are chosen from over 100 possible cards. This means that there is a finite-but-enormous number of possible different starting set-ups for the game.

Even when you are playing with a set of cards that is pretty familiar to you and you think you have the different strategies figured out, there usually isn't a "best" strategy that you decide on and stick with all game long. The best strategy has to adapt to what other players are doing, since they compete for the same resources as you and they can even attack you with cards. The strategy that works best will also depend on how your luck flows, like whether your opening hands are 4 and 3 copper or 5 and 2 copper, respectively.

Strategy and luck are balanced.

The game is primarily determined by the card interactions that happen, and therefore the player with the best strategy will usually win. But the game isn't completely disheartening for the new player, because there is also a lot of random factor with players constantly drawing from shuffled decks. An adequate strategist can occasionally beat an excellent strategist if the cards work out that way.

The only drawback of Dominion is that the base game costs about $45 and the expansions cost $30-$45, which means that it can be an expensive habit for a poor graduate student like myself who feels the compulsive need to have every expansion. Not as expensive as my former Magic: The Gathering or Warhammer addictions, but a bit pricey nonetheless.

The game and expansions can be affordable if you can find good deals on them online. If you play with a group you can also distribute the cost between you by taking turns buying expansions, which makes the game much cheaper than something like Magic where each player is expected to have their own set of cards. The absolute cheapest way to play Dominion, though, is online. The gameplay is fun and fast online, but I still prefer in-person games. I view the online game as more of a way to practice and hone my strategies.

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Rules for Using a Scrabble Helper

If you've ever played a computer game, you have probably encountered walkthroughs, tips, hints, and cheats online. More than likely, you have used one or more of these to help you get out of a tough spot in a game. There are also some who, though they refuse to use any of these aids, do use forums to find the answer to their problem. All in all, it would be safe to say that cheats, walkthroughs, and anything similar have helped someone at some point in their game, whatever that may be. So, it really isn't surprising that Scrabble, a former board game that is now online, has numerous cheats popping out all over the internet. But while other "aids" online have found acceptance, there are many who seem to view any kind of Scrabble helper with something akin to horror and abhorrence. Of course, in a Scrabble game, one usually plays against someone thus this type of cheat is deemed unfair and unsportsmanlike. And that is certainly true, to a point. Like many things in real life, not everything is black and white; some things have shades of grey in between. And when it comes to getting some Scrabble help, there are certain rules one must abide by to ensure no one gives you grief over it.

The first rule that you should never forget to follow should you deem it necessary to use a Scrabble helper is to ask your opponent for permission. No matter how irritating or tough your opponent may be, using such a tool behind his or her back can cause hurt. In some cases, it can even damage your relationship. If your opponent is merely an acquaintance, you still run the risk of losing his or her respect. And while that may not matter to you now, you may end up feeling guilty sometime later. So, save yourself some bad moments and just be honest. It really never hurts to ask.

Another rule you should keep in mind is moderation. While you may need some Scrabble help at certain points in the game, it doesn't mean that you will need it all the time. Obviously, there will be times when you can easily form the word yourself. You do have a vocabulary after all. It may be tempting to keep using the Scrabble helper just to get those high scoring words but greed is never good. Just think, if you still lost after using the tool throughout the entire game, how low would you feel? Plus, the send of achievement you get when you make that high scoring word on your own is something a Scrabble helper can't give you.

The third and last rule for using a Scrabble helper is to consider it a learning tool and nothing more. Like in any game, practice is key to improving your gameplay. When it comes to Scrabble, forming high scoring words out of your tiles is a skill that can be learned through constant practice. And with a Scrabble helper at your fingertips, you can slowly add new words to your vocabulary. Some of these tools can even help you learn how to recognize patterns on the board as well as the right letter combinations to help you strategize your way into victory.

Now, even with these rules, there will always be people who will view the use of Scrabble helpers negatively. But by following them, you at least keep a certain code of ethic that they cannot deny.

The author of this article is an avid word game player who has extensively researched the different online tools utilized by players to improve their game. While she mostly uses her own wits, she admits having used a Scrabble helper a time or two.

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