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What is Skydrop? Real-life treasure hunt is narrowing in on Mass.
A treasure worth over $25,000 may be hiding in a forest near you.
Have you ever wanted to hunt for a secret treasure? You have a chance now with Project Skydrop, a real-life treasure hunt. The fortune might even be in your own backyard.
A map on the game’s website shows a giant red circle right over northwest Mass., in the area of Amherst, Greenfield, and Ashfield. The circle, originally 500 miles in diameter, gets smaller and smaller each day. With 10 days left in the challenge, the clock is ticking to find the tiny gold statue somewhere in the woods.
All about the prize
The physical treasure is a little gold statue about four inches tall composed of several rings engraved with cryptic carvings. According to Project Skydrop, the statue alone is valued at $26,347.50.
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Half of each $20 entry fee also contributes to an ever-growing bounty. As of Monday night, a live count of the bounty places the amount at $79,021. To access the bounty, a video on the website explains the winner will need to have the statue and flip it over to reveal the secret code to unlock a Bitcoin wallet to access the bounty.
Rules of the game
The video, posted by game co-creator Jason Rohrer, says the $20 entry gets participants “secret aerial photographs” of the prize in their inbox each day, revealing more and more clues on its whereabouts.
Interested treasure hunters don’t have to pay, but the video promised the photos will give an advantage to those entered.
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One condition of the winner — they must get the treasure “peacefully, without spilling the blood of their fellow man,” the video said.
As stipulated on the website, the winner must record a first-person video of themselves walking up to the treasure and retrieving it from the forest floor. Then, they have to post the video on YouTube with the title “Project Skydrop.”
The challenge ends Oct. 10.
If you just want to sit back and observe the hunt, a livestream of the treasure is broadcast on the website. Some furry friends have even visited the statue over the past few weeks, like a squirrel and a possum, photos on the website showed.
Clues so far
There aren’t many clues out there to people who have not paid to officially join the hunt. However, the FAQs on the hunt’s website give a few things away.
According to the FAQ’s, the treasure is on public land, not directly on a trail, requires a “moderate hike” to get to, and is sitting on the forest floor in plain view.
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