AMHERST – The Project Skydrop treasure hunt for a gold trophy and a massive prize has zeroed in on western Massachusetts. 

Jason Rohrer and Tom Bailey, video game developers from New Hampshire, hid a pure gold trophy valued at $26,000 somewhere in the woods. Whoever finds the trophy also gets the “prize bounty,” which is currently over $80,000, made up of entry fees from people joining the hunt.

Where is the Project Skydrop trophy?

When the search started on Sept. 19, a map showed that the trophy could be in a 500-mile radius that encompassed much of the northeast and areas as far south as Virginia. Now the circle’s diameter is only 35 miles within Massachusetts, stretching from South Hadley to the border of Vermont. 

Massachusetts communities inside the circle include Northampton, Amherst, Williamsburg, Easthampton, Deerfield, Montague, Greenfield, Ashfield, Shutesbury, Shelburne Falls and Charlemont.

The circle will continue shrinking until it’s only one foot in diameter on Oct. 10. By then, someone will have figured out where the treasure is hidden. 

Joining the Project Skydrop hunt

For $20, hunters get access to daily clues in the form of aerial photographs that show more of the surrounding landscape every day. They can also discuss the clues in a members-only chat group.

The Project Skydrop website has a live webcam view of the trophy location and screenshots of motion detected nearby. So far, cameras have only captured squirrels and other wildlife creatures checking out the treasure.

To claim the growing prize bounty, the winner must take a first-person video of themselves walking up to the trophy and upload it to YouTube.