That’s frustrating.

Looking at the app, there are a few new ones out now. They’re all rated 5 star 

Now that I’ve actually completed some Adventure Labs (four at Aberdeen and one at GCF) I’ve got some more comments.

I actually quite liked them - it’s great how they can lead you on a tour around somewhere. The app works very well. I really like the sense of achievement after completing each one (e.g. the stars displaying on the screen, which is a nice touch).

They seem to have really caught on - in Aberdeenshire, people (including myself) were spending an afternoon completing them rather than finding a ‘proper’ series of caches elsewhere. There are lots more on the app now, and people are travelling to complete them just as they’d travel to find a ‘proper’ cache.

So, I do think they have a place in geocaching.

But Lab caches still need to be taken more seriously if this is going to work long-term.

I spoke to several others at GCF who agreed that Adventure Labs should have D/T ratings, size, and integration with the geocaching website and app (i.e. the starting Lab appearing on the map). Project-GC don’t include Lab caches where they would be appropriate (e.g. number of finds per month, per year, etc.) which is really annoying as GC.com says August 2019 was my best month but Project-GC doesn’t. Apparently Project-GC do include Labs if you’re a paying member... but with Adventure Labs possibly being permanent, and lots more around, people’s Lab cache counts are increasing fast and I really think they should be included on Project-GC just like any other cache type... they’re no longer one-off caches available for Mega and Giga events.

It's been one year since the last post on this thread, and I've actually grown to really like Adventure Labs

I've been awarded one, but have no idea where to put it - most interesting towns/villages already have one! Roman Cirencester came to mind, but a new one appeared there a couple of days ago... so it's back to the drawing board

Still don't like how they are treated differently to other caches and now no GPX file either

HQ have said that they’ll be on the main geocaching map by the end of this year. They also said that it’ll be easier to find caches and complete ALs at the same time - so I assume that the Lab app will show caches, and vice versa (maybe tapping on a cache in the lab app will switch you to the geocaching app).

But I agree - even if they do that, there’s still a long way to go. Why can’t their name be listed on the GC website leaderboard (it just says “Adventure Lab cache” for each stage)? Why can’t they show up in your list of finds (clicking on the name could just send you to the app download page)? Why can’t their size be listed as ‘virtual’, or simply ‘other’? Why can’t the CO give a D/T rating for each stage?

I personally don’t mind the requirement to use the app... it’s just one of many cache types.

One thing that also annoys me, which isn’t HQ’s fault, is that Project-GC doesn’t count labs (unless you pay). I understood this when they were exclusive to big events, but there are thousands of permanent Adventure Lab stages across the world now. So, surely they should treat them as a normal cache type?

I agree that a GPX download should be an option for those who want it.

I was looking at the 'logs' for the new Labs in Painswick, and people are reporting poor phone signal there

I guess that's why most Labs are tours of larger towns and cities, rather than more rural areas.

That sounds very annoying.

I saw a new AL pop up yesterday that covered 3 of the 5 stages of another (still active) AL in the same town - before too long, most towns/villages of interest will have one, and then what?

It was inevitable, but several of my ideas have now been taken, and the way things are going, I don't know whether I'll manage to set one up before the deadline I don't really understand why there are deadlines, and why they are so close... Virtual rewards had to be placed within 12 months, not 2 months! 

And now its been reactivated 

Because I published mine before the deadline, I've now been awarded another set of 5, to be published by the 15th Dec - this could be tricky and if I want a Bonus cache, it'll have to be right to the wire now GC England have decided to suspend new caches during lockdown