3 Easy Tips to Get the Most of Geocaching Friend League

So Geocaching.com has been successful in launching the 2017 Summer challenges; the Mary Hyde Pirate-themed adventure, and leveraging that to move their game platform to an increased state of social media impact. 

That's where Friend League comes into play. By now I'll assume everyone has heard of Friend League, but perhaps we don't all know how to get the most from it. So let me provide you with 3 quick and easy tips to help you get the most out of it this summer.


Tip 1 - Get Rewarded Quickly 
It is apparent that the goals for achieving points in Friend League will likely change weekly, much like they have for past summer souvenir earning programs. 

But right now, the best strategy seems to be to build a team of at least 10 friends and monitor social media for early posts from Geocaching.com, Geocaching bloggers, or podcasters for early tips on what the following weeks' point strategy will be. 



 
It does seem that the points earning period will always include a weekend so that is also helpful to make sure you can earn the minimum points required. 



Tip 2 - Make Friends Responsibly
Since you really shouldn't need more than 10 active geocaching friends to gain your souvenirs there's no need to reach out to people you don't know with undefined friend requests. So what am I asking you to do here?

When you send your friend request, by default it will say "I'd like to become friends on Geocaching.com." 

Consider adding a bit of your own text here, ideally how do you know the person? When did you last meet? Why do you want to be Geocaching.com friends?

In a recent Twitter survey I conducted, about 70% of Geocachers asked said they would not accept a friend request from someone they don't know. So let's respect each other and take the extra two minutes when sending a friend request to make it meaningful.


Tip 3 - Everything is Awesome When You're Part of a Team 
Remember that officially the only thing you are working towards as a League is to earn the souvenirs. Unlike "Clans" in other geolocation gaming, you aren't competing against each other within the group or against other groups for redeemable prizes. 

One of the things I think Geocaching.com is trying to avoid is the aggressiveness that comes into play due to competitiveness to earn in-game credits. This is not the case in Friend Leagues; you are only collaborating within your league so that you all get the souvenir available that period. And that souvenir is available to each as long as you gain the minimum points required.


So tune in to the bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters for fast updates, focus on building a team of friends you know, and leverage teamwork, collaboration, and fun, rather than competing against each other to get the most out of this summer's Mary Hyde geocaching adventure.

But most importantly remember to cache safely, and cache often! 
The LANMonkeys.