GC7TVNW The Zero SUM Game
Type: Multi | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Team Grubb @ | Hide Date: 07/19/2018 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 30.714 W105° 01.096 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0

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McChristensenson and Snardley are back!  Their arch-adversaries, the Secret Underground Mob, have a new and even more diabolical plan in place, and this time, it's personal!

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As with The Butterfly Heist, this is a walking multi-cache along wide, comfortable trails. You don't need to drive anywhere to complete the cache, but expect to do a reasonable amount of walking.

You will be guided to different points along the path as a mystery unfolds. The clues to each step of the cache are entirely within the story at each location. These clues are not extraordinarily difficult, but they are probably a little more challenging than The Butterfly Heist, which is why we bumped up the star rating. And the clues will require you to do some thinking in order to move to the next location. Only one of the clues may depend on information you might not have with you, but it's only a short Google search away if you happen to need it.

There is only ONE copy of the story/clue at each location! Please leave it behind when you move on to the next clue location. We would suggest bringing a camera-phone so you can take a picture of the clue for reference.

Terrain ratings are based on good weather. The cache may be difficult or impossible to complete in the winter, depending on snowfall.

There is no need to destroy or rearrange any of the foliage in the vicinity of the caches, but the clue containers may be well-hidden. Please return them to their previous state when you've finished. Try to keep them as concealed as possible because they are all somewhat out in the open.

None of the clue locations are on Fossil Ridge High School property.  You should not need to visit the school at all.  And watch out for bees.  We saw some nests near our clue locations.  As always, be careful when searching for and replacing the clue containers.  This is a very nice and popular new park, so muggles abound.  Good luck, and have fun!

Additional Waypoints

05/12/2019 By dzadventurers
Cool

04/21/2019 By Denali41
A little more than 6 years ago The Butterfly Heist was published. I hurried out to work my way through the stage puzzles and successfully picked up the FTF on that great multi-cache. I've thought about it several times over the years: it has remained one of my favorite multi-caches. With that as background, how is it that only today I'm logging a find on this fantastic sequel? Well, for some reason I overlooked its publication and have been unaware of it. Recently I've been finishing up some puzzles south of Harmony Road that are near the interstate. When I was logging finds on a couple of them the other day I looked at the map and wondered what that multi-cache in the new park was, so clicked on it. Enthusiasm surged through me as I read the cache description. Another "detective" one by Team Grubb!! WOW!

So today I convinced my puppies Orizaba and Chimborazo to come on another geocaching adventure. Convinced them? Heck, when they see me messing with my GPSr they plaster themselves to me, hoping that they will be invited to come too. We arrived and quickly found the first stage; while I deciphered the first puzzle they stayed patient, expecting more walking activity. At the second stage they started getting a little bored. That one took me awhile to hit on the correct approach. They were happy when we finally set off again for another walk. Luckily, there were tables/benches near the third stage, because I needed to do more internet research to come up with appropriate match-ups of the stuff I was looking at. Then it was off to the next search, which was easy.

What an enjoyable, creative, skillfully constructed multi-cache! Thanks for the entertainment, Team Grubb. And please don't wait another 5 or 6 years before you give us another in this series. It of course earns a Favorite Point.

04/15/2019 By icezebra11
I wanted to make it back sooner than today but the snow, cold temps, and then later mud, caused a bit of delay. Today it was a really nice morning so my puppy and I went for a walk around the park and I was able to complete this adventure. As I mentioned in my previous note, I was able to get through three stages before I ran out of time. Also, as I noted, a good part of the reason I ran out of time was due to my ineptitude in finding Stage 3 efficiently. Thanks Team Grubb for confirming I had correct coordinates for that stage, it sure helped my confidence to know I was at least in the right location. After finding that stage and reading the clue/puzzle, I was able to solve for the next stage coordinates that day before I had to leave.

Today, I picked up where I had left off. My puppy and I headed to the next stage and didn't have any more trouble completing the cache. After working through everything I found the final container nicely hidden and it was in good condition. So I signed the log, re-hid the cache, and continued enjoying the nice weather with some more walking around the park. Angel really enjoyed all the new things to sniff while we were on our walk.

I will say I needed to use my friend Google for each of the cache's puzzles as none made much sense when I first read the clues. The Zero SUM Game is well laid out, the puzzles are challenging but definitely solvable in the field if you have a capable device, and it is a nice tour of this neat park. Thanks Team Grubb for creating it!!!

04/07/2019 By icezebra11
This is a different kind of DNF, a Did Not Finish. I was able to get through three stages before I ran out of time and had to head home. I could have gotten further had I not been blind at stage 3 and taken so long to locate it. Oh well, I'll be back soon.

02/03/2019 By Team Grubb
Checked up on it today, and everything is fine. Game on!

07/25/2018 By CoBiker
We solved stage 1. Found the container at stage 2. Now we will go think for bit to solve stage 2 and then return.

07/23/2018 By Sam_I_AM
Found with Cache U and HelloKitty. We really enjoyed this one, and appreciate all the work that went into this one. Thank you for a very nice cache!

07/23/2018 By Cache U
Found with Sam_I_AM. We returned the next day with a more powerful TOTT for stage 3 and spotted it. From there it was smooth sailing. We really enjoy well-planned caches like this one, and the little one had a blast checking out a new playground. Nicely done, thanks!

07/23/2018 By rangerhal
FTF: 1:00pm. Happy to see a blank log to sign when I finally spotted the final stage. All the stages except the 1st are well hidden. I will say that the 3rd stage hide is certainly very sneaky. The final coordinates were right on. Took me about an hour and a half between rain sprinkles. Someone better with puzzles would likely be faster. Thanks for the fun and challenging multi. Gets a favorite point.

07/22/2018 By Cache U
Attempted this one with Sam_I_AM. We enjoyed the story and the well-written clues, as well as exploring a park we hadn't visited yet. Unfortunately we were stymied at the location for stage 3. We got a hint from the CO at that point, but either we're overlooking it or it's been muggled...Hopefully we'll get back to this delightful geocache soon!