The muddy trail levels out and we stop to catch our breath. Which is good, because hiking with my eyes covered has been a pain in the ass. A voice says: “You can take your blindfold off now.
” I squint as I get my bearings. Then, after a bit more hiking and some bushwhacking, I finally see it. The prize.
The thing no one is supposed to know the location of, at least for another few weeks. A golden treasure. I have to fight a lizard-brain instinct to reach for it.
No. If all goes to plan, the treasure will soon belong to someone else—to the winner of a wild treasure hunt dreamed up by two of the guys leading me through this remote wilderness. One is a musician named Tom Bailey.
The other is Jason Rohrer, the mastermind. Rohrer has designed some of the brainiest, highest-concept video games of the 21st century. Now there’s this: not a video game, but Rohrer’s first game set in the real world.
This is the real Project Skydrop trophy. This is not its real location. Rohrer calls it Project Skydrop , and he’s been working on it, mostly in secret, since 2021.
He is 46 years old and tall. Like NBA-power-forward tall. And skinny.
His blond hair, which once hung down his back, is now cut short. Today, he’s in boots, cargo pants, black aviator glasses, and a bucket hat. (Think: Vietnam War chic, save for an extremely Gen X wallet chain.
) His 21-year-old son is also here, similarly tall, hair youthfully flowing. He’d drawn the short straw and had to be my personal guide. A.