A Real-World Treasure Hunt Starts Today: Project Skydrop’s $25K Gold Prize and Hidden Bitcoin

Photo byProject Skydrop

Your moment has arrived if you've ever daydreamed about embarking on a treasure hunt straight out of a movie. Forget about dusty maps and ancient riddles—this is the 21st century, and the treasure is as real as it gets. Enter Project Skydrop, a bold new creation from Jason Rohrer, a renowned video game designer who has traded digital worlds for the natural wilderness. And what awaits the intrepid adventurer? A trove worth $25,000 in pure gold and a Bitcoin prize that can be unlocked by solving a hidden puzzle.

Sounds too good to be true? It's happening right now.

From Indie Games to Treasure Chests

Jason Rohrer isn't your typical game designer. Rohrer has spent years crafting digital worlds where players search for meaning and connection and is known for creating emotionally charged indie games like Passage and One Hour One Life. But with Project Skydrop, he's venturing beyond pixels and code into the unpredictable realm of the real world.

Rohrer's journey into treasure hunting began during the pandemic when he and his kids hauled an antique chest full of silver coins into a nearby park. It was a small-scale experiment—a virtual-meets-real-world treasure hunt that attracted gamers through a cryptic poem embedded in his One Hour One Life game. To his amazement, players banded together and cracked the puzzle in just eight hours, leaving Rohrer impressed and disappointed. Indeed, he thought, he could make the challenge a bit tougher—and more epic.

Thus, Project Skydrop was born.

A Game Like No Other

This isn't just a treasure hunt; it's an evolving puzzle designed to keep you on the edge of your seat for up to 21 days. The rules are simple but thrilling. A unique map will update with a shrinking circle each day, revealing more about the treasure's location. Alongside this, drone photos taken from progressively higher altitudes will offer clues, inching you closer to the prize.

At the start, the map spans 500 miles—wide enough to make the challenge feel nearly impossible. But as the days pass, the circle gets smaller and the clues sharper. It’s like Fortnite meets Indiana Jones, but instead of a victory royale, you could walk away with a chest full of gold and potentially a life-changing Bitcoin bonus.

What’s inside the treasure chest, you ask? Ten troy ounces of 24k gold crafted by Rohrer himself, alongside a puzzle engraved onto the chest’s lid. Crack this puzzle, and you unlock a Bitcoin wallet. The only catch: how much bitcoin will be in it depends on how many people join the hunt.

The treasure is located off a hiking trail in the northeastern United States.Photo byPeter Fisher

An Adventure for All

One of the most fascinating elements of Project Skydrop is that it’s not just for puzzle aficionados or seasoned adventurers. It’s for anyone with a thirst for excitement and a dash of curiosity. You don’t need to be a seasoned detective or a wilderness expert to play. Anyone can participate with the right combination of teamwork, patience, and observation.

There’s a $20 entry fee, half of which goes straight into the Bitcoin prize pool. The more people who sign up, the larger the reward grows—not just for the treasure hunter who finds the chest, but for Rohrer and his co-creator Bailey, who plan to split the rest.

The anticipation doesn’t end with finding the treasure. Once the chest is discovered, the real fun begins as hunters try to unlock the Bitcoin puzzle. Rohrer wanted the hunt to offer a sense of wonder, so he spent months designing a treasure that’s more than just a pile of gold—it’s a key to something even bigger.

Photo byProject Skydrop

A Modern Treasure Hunt with Old-School Charm

Rohrer took inspiration from historical treasure hunts like Kit Williams’ Masquerade from the 1970s, in which clues to a buried artifact were hidden in a book of beautiful illustrations. But Rohrer wasn’t satisfied with how traditional hunts often played out—either they were too easy or dragged on for years, with no one finding the prize.

With Project Skydrop, Rohrer has designed what he believes is a “better treasure hunt.” It’s challenging enough to feel rewarding but not so impossible that it turns into a years-long slog like the infamous Fenn Treasure, which took a decade to be discovered. He aims to strike a balance: a hunt that lasts just long enough to build excitement but wraps up before interest fades.

The use of modern technology, like drone footage and real-time maps, adds a fresh twist. Imagine waking up each morning to check a new update on the map, watching as the treasure’s hiding spot comes into focus. The tension builds daily, with the window narrowing until one lucky hunter finally reaches the finish line.

Photo byProject Skydrop

The Risk and Reward

Of course, no treasure hunt is complete without some nail-biting risks. Rohrer has been meticulous in avoiding pitfalls that could spoil the fun. Online sleuths, known as geopuzzlers, have a knack for solving riddles faster than anyone expects. Rohrer has taken precautions to keep these sleuths from ending the hunt too soon by avoiding landmarks like rivers or roads in the drone footage. They’ve also aimed the livestream cameras at the ground to prevent eagle-eyed players from using flight paths as clues.

Then there’s the matter of safety. Ever the game designer, Rohrer understands the delicate balance between pushing boundaries and ensuring participants stay safe. While the treasure is hidden in a forest, the creators stress that the hunt is designed for fun, not reckless danger.

Photo byProject Skydrop

Your Adventure Awaits

Today, Project Skydrop is live, and the hunt is on. Whether you love puzzles or just a curious adventurer, this is your chance to join a treasure hunt. The clues are out there, the treasure is accurate, and the possibilities are endless.

So, are you ready to step into the unknown and uncover a fortune? The hunt for Project Skydrop has officially begun.