Mystery Treasure Hunt • November 2026
The Mystery Treasure Hunt 👻
Sixteen clues, one mysterious map pin, one mystery word! Start here at roadsidestrange.com, open the free Roadside Strange app, and look for the giant question-mark case submitted by RustyMcGhost off the coast of Long Island, New York. Read the clues in that case, use Google Street View to investigate the locations described by each clue, then return to this website to submit answers. No physical travel required. Free to enter; no purchase or Premium subscription necessary. Completing the puzzle does not guarantee a prize.
Scheduled start: November 15, 2026, at 12:00 noon Arizona time (MST). Planned end: December 15, 2026, at 11:59:59 PM MST. These rules may be updated before entries open. The entry form, clue release schedule, and final rules will be published here before the contest begins. Entries are not yet accepted.
1. Sponsor and contact
This competition is organized by Nathan Wood, an individual operating Roadside Strange in Arizona, USA. For competition questions contact nathan@roadsidestrange.com. No in-person visits or physical submissions are accepted.
2. Who may enter
Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older at the time of entry, where permitted by law. Void where prohibited. The Sponsor and their family members, household members, and personal friends are not eligible to enter or win. Employees, contractors, puzzle creators, and anyone involved in organizing, developing, administering, or testing the Treasure Hunt are also ineligible, regardless of whether they have prior knowledge of the clues, answers, or secret word.
3. Free entry
No purchase necessary. No Premium subscription required. The Roadside Strange app is free to download on iPhone and Android. The planned clue-discovery experience uses the app's existing map and a fictional RustyMcGhost case. Answer submission and competition administration happen only on roadsidestrange.com. No paid feature will confer an advantage. Any alternative-access arrangements, if required, will be described in the final rules before entry opens.
4. How the hunt works
Visit roadsidestrange.com for the daily instructions and official entry process. Open the free Roadside Strange app, navigate to the Atlantic Ocean just south of Long Island, New York, and open the giant question-mark case submitted by RustyMcGhost. The fictional case is the clue location; it is not a real-world destination to visit. Use Google Street View to investigate each daily clue and find its intended letter, then rearrange all sixteen collected letters into one English word, using every letter exactly once. The planned website checker will allow up to three guesses per letter; its operation and the final-answer entry limit will be finalized before launch. No physical travel, trespassing, or entry onto private property is necessary. The organizer will verify clues and document the intended solution before launch.
5. Entering
Once entries open, submit your final answer through the official form linked from this page. One entry per person. The form will request a name, email address, and answer. Social media messages, emails, and phone calls are not entries. Submissions must be received before the published deadline. Do not send an answer yet.
6. Winner selection
This is a skill-based puzzle contest, not a random drawing. After entries close, the organizer will verify eligible correct entries in the order received. The earliest eligible correct entry receives the first prize; the second-earliest eligible correct entry, from a different person, receives the second prize. Server-recorded receipt time determines order; if timestamps are identical, the submission system's unique sequential receipt order breaks the tie. The answer and judging criteria will be fixed before launch. If fewer than two eligible correct entries are received, any unawarded prize will not be awarded.
7. Prizes and notification
Exactly one first prize: $100 USD, awarded to the first eligible correct entry. Exactly one second prize: a free three-month Roadside Strange Premium subscription, awarded to the second eligible correct entry. Each prize is awarded to a different person. No fee is required to claim either prize. Both provisional winners will be contacted by email within seven days after the contest closes and must respond within seven days. If a provisional winner cannot be verified or does not respond, the next earliest eligible correct entry not already awarded a prize may be considered for that position.
The $100 first prize will ordinarily be delivered as a $100 USD Visa prepaid digital gift card to the first winner's verified email address within 30 days of verification. The Sponsor will cover purchase or activation fees so the winner receives the full advertised $100 value. The card is subject to the issuer's disclosed terms and restrictions. Alternative payment methods are subject to the Sponsor's agreement and lawful availability. The second prize provides three months of Roadside Strange Premium access at no charge; activation instructions will be provided after verification, subject to available platform redemption mechanisms. Winners are responsible for applicable taxes.
8. Fair play
Public research and collaboration are allowed. Multiple entries, false identities, automated mass submissions, interference with the entry system, and tampering with timestamps are prohibited. Any disqualification must be supported by documented evidence and applied consistently.
9. Clue corrections and outages
If a clue is materially wrong or unavailable, the organizer will publish a correction and make a fair adjustment if necessary. Significant entry-system outages may result in a publicly announced deadline extension. The organizer will not secretly change the solution or disadvantage eligible participants.
10. Privacy
Entry information will be used only to administer the competition, prevent fraud, verify eligibility, contact the winner, and deliver the prize. Entering does not enroll anyone in marketing. Only necessary information will be collected, retained for a limited period needed for administration and legal compliance, and handled under the Roadside Strange privacy policy and a contest-specific notice provided with the entry form. Winner photographs or testimonials will not be used without separate permission unless required by law.
11. Third-party services
This competition is independent of Google, Apple, and Google Play, and is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by them. The Roadside Strange app is used to access fictional puzzle clues, and Google Street View is used to solve them; all competition entries and prizes are handled on this website. Google Maps and Street View are third-party services subject to their own terms; imagery and availability may change.
12. General conditions
The organizer may address fraud, technical problems, or legal requirements through publicly announced, fair adjustments. Applicable federal and state laws govern. Nothing in these rules waives rights that cannot legally be waived.