How do 'Whereigo' caches work?

Question

Recently I see a lot of 'Whereigo' caches appear in my region, but I can not figure out how to go and find one.

Can somebody help me Pls?

Answer 1

You can go to the website http://www.wherigo.com/ and login with your geocaching.com data.

You have to have a wherigo compatoble GPS (some Garmins (eg. Oregon 450) are) or get an app for your smartphone (Android: Wheryougo (free))

Then you have to download the "cartridge". That is the code, that tells you, where you have to go and what to do when  you are there..

After you successfully played the Wherigo, you get a code that you have to enter on the website wherigo.com. That is to prove, that you played the cartridge successfully. After that, you can log the wherigo on geocaching.com.

Comments

The whole code thing is optional. In order to log the find on geocaching.com you need to play the wherigo and sign the log. Using the code to log the find on wherigo.com as well is not necessary in order to get a smiley.

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That's true. But some owners require the "prove" that you finished the wherigo by uploading the  code to the wherigo.com site..

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Wherigo cache owners don't have the option of requiring such proof. Signing the paper log is enough. Anything else would be considered an ALR and thus be optional.

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Agreed. Let's say: they wish to have the WiG to be logged on the WiG website, too.. But there is no need to do that. If you want the smiley on geocaching.com you can just log it when you signed the real logbook.

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I've been fortunate enough to have an Oregon 450T and to have several fellow cachers who are wherigo savvy and helpful.  This thread has answered more questions regarding the wherigo application than I have been able to find anywhere else.  Thanks NoobNader for your patience in sharing with people like me who are less computer and technology savvy!

Answer 2

On a side note: be prepared that Wherigo cartridges may not always work as hoped. I've had cartridges crash on me while in the middle of playing them. The reasons for that may not be obvious, and sometimes it's not even possible to recover from the crash (meaning you have to start over completely or abandon the whole thing). I've been able to save the day sometime by doing a Wherigo with a fellow cacher that has a different GPS device altogether (like one running on IOS, the other on Android or a dedicated GPS), so that if one cardridge crashes, we're able to continue on the still running Wherigo of the other cacher on a different device. Just some advice from the field . . .

Comments

Good point, it can be maddening when a cartridge doesn't work well or crashes constantly. Save the game often and have it going on more than one device. There are a lot of "reverse" Wherigo's coming out now, seems to be getting more popular. A well done cartridge can be a lot of fun, read the comments/logs and be prepared for ones that have issues.

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Yes i always play a cartridge with two devices: Android Smartphone running WhereYouGo and Garmin Oregon 450 T as backup.

And like Mike Fitz said: often save the game.

Answer 3

There is a Wherigo app you must purchase. Once this is downloaded you complete a mission by running around in the real world.

Comments

Well you don't have to pay for an app, there are free ones (at least for Android) or if you have the proper GPS receiver, you don't need anything on your smartphone.

And its not that simple, that you can just download the app and then go out  and play a wherigo.. It's a bit more complicated. See my answer..

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This Wherigo App for IOS is also free: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wherigo/id385035547?mt=8 .