What is Skydrop? The real treasure hunt focuses on mass.

Have you ever wanted to go in search of a secret treasure? Now you have a chance with Project Skydrop, a real treasure hunt. Fortune might even be in your own backyard.

A map on the game’s website shows a giant red circle just above northwest Massachusetts, in the Amherst, Greenfield and Ashfeild area. The circle, initially 500 miles in diameter, gets smaller and smaller every day. With 10 days to go before the challenge, time is running out to find the little golden statue somewhere in the woods.

All about the price

The physical treasure is a small gold statue about four inches tall made up of several rings engraved with cryptic carvings. According to Project Skydrop, the statue alone is valued at $26,347.50.

Half of each $20 entry fee also contributes to an ever-increasing premium. As of Monday evening, a live tally of the bounty placed the amount at $79,021. To access the bounty, a video on the website explains that the winner will need to own 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, states that the $20 entry allows participants to receive “secret aerial photographs” of the prize in their inbox every day, revealing more and more clues to its location.

Interested treasure hunters don’t have to pay, but the video promises that the photos will give those who register an advantage.

A condition of the winner: he must recover the treasure “peacefully, without shedding the blood of his fellow men”, indicates the video.

As stipulated on the website, the winner must record a first-person video of themselves walking towards 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 on October 10.

If you just want to sit back and watch the hunt, there is a live stream of the treasure on the website. Some four-legged friends have even visited the statue in recent weeks, such as a squirrel and an opossum, photos posted on the website show.

Clues so far

There aren’t many clues about who didn’t pay to officially participate in the hunt. However, the FAQ on the hunt’s website reveals a few things.

According to the FAQ, the treasure is on public land, not directly on a trail, requires a “moderate hike” to access, and is on the forest floor in plain sight.