Game rules

Geocoins is a free collecting game inspired by geocaching. Every geocoin pays tribute to a real geocache: its code, its type, the person who hid it.

At regular intervals a geocoin is put up for grabs and a question appears. Everyone online answers at the same time, and the fastest players win it.

Your collection is saved to your account and follows you across all your devices. Nothing expires, nothing is ever lost.

At the bottom of the screen, a countdown announces the next geocoin — along with its rarity, so you know whether it is worth getting ready. When it reaches zero the question appears: tap Join and type your answer.

• Answers are forgiving: accents, capitals and punctuation make no difference. Answers in French, German and Spanish are accepted too.
• The number of words and letters expected is shown — treat it as a hint.
• You can get it wrong and try again. A long burst of rapid attempts triggers a short wait, to discourage brute-forcing.
• Once at least 10 players are online, 2 identical geocoins are up for grabs instead of one — and the more players, the more geocoins. After the first winner, the others get 20 seconds to claim the next one.

The more players are online, the faster rounds follow one another. The game livens up on its own when you are many.

Every geocoin belongs to one of four rarities. The rarer it is, the harder it is to come across:

• Common — 69.9 % of rounds
• Rare — 25 %
• Epic — 5 %
• Legendary — 0.1 %

Rarity also sets how many points a geocoin adds to your score, what it is worth on the market, and what it costs at the forge.

About 10 % of rounds put up a shiny version of the geocoin. Same object, in a glittering and far more prestigious form — and it counts separately in your collection: you can own both.

A shiny is worth twice the points of a normal geocoin. You can also craft one at the forge, but you must own the normal version first.

Worth knowing: winning a shiny uses up one of your geocoins for the day, just like a normal one. It is not a bonus on top.

So the game stays a daily pleasure rather than an endurance race, your gains are capped:

• 25 geocoins per day, and at most 12 per hour
• 3 shinies per day
• 250 gold coins per day
• Per week: 80 rares, 20 epics and 1 legendary

Everything resets at midnight, Paris time — and the weekly counters on Monday.

These limits can be raised: see “Expanding your bag” below.

A correct answer is never wasted, even once your limits are reached. Depending on the situation, one of three things happens:

• Glory — you are shown as a winner and you collect your gold along with 1 forge point, but the geocoin stays in play for the others. This is the most common case.
• The holding deposit — for a precious geocoin (epic, legendary or shiny), you are offered to set it aside and claim it the next day, rather than letting it slip away.
• Patronage — if you have reached your weekly cap for a rarity, you can gift the geocoin to another player. You pick a criterion (a newcomer, a loyal player, a small collection…), the game designates the recipient, and you receive forge points.

The deposit offers permanent slots to buy (1,000, then 5,000 gold) or a one-off rental at 200 gold.

Forge points are the game's second currency. You earn them by playing: 1 point for every win beyond your limits (up to 120 per day), by completing quests, by gifting geocoins, and above all by melting your duplicates.

Melting a duplicate geocoin yields 1 for a common, 3 for a rare, 10 for an epic, 100 for a legendary forge points. A shiny duplicate yields 2 for a common, 6 for a rare, 20 for an epic, 200 for a legendary.

Those points are spent on:

• Making a geocoin shiny — 60 for a common, 180 for a rare, 600 for an epic, 1,800 for a legendary points
• Forging an exclusive geocoin — some geocoins are only obtained this way, never from a quiz: 60 for a common, 180 for a rare, 600 for an epic, 1,800 for a legendary points
• Buying off-season geocoins, and expanding your shiny bag

The market lets you trade geocoins with other players. You may only list your duplicates: your collection is never touched.

• Posting a listing costs 4 gold, and a sale is taxed at 12 %.
• You can have up to 40 listings online.
• Prices are free, between a floor and a ceiling computed from recent sales — enough to keep absurd prices out.
• A listing that finds no buyer is returned to you after a few days.

An off-season market also offers geocoins from past seasons, sold by the game for gold and forge points.

The daily treasure: one geocoin offered every day, the same for everyone, plus 5 gold. One claim per day.

Quests: three goals per day and three per week, drawn at random — win rounds, sell, melt, log in… They pay gold and forge points. If one does not suit you, you can swap one per day.

Seasons: some geocoins are only put in play during their season. Outside that window they remain available on the off-season market.

Two different streaks are tracked:

• Being “on fire” — chaining rounds while being among the first to answer correctly. From 3 rounds in a row, a flame appears next to your name. In return, a slight delay is applied to you at the start of the following rounds: a gift to the other players. It never applies to a geocoin you do not own yet.
• Loyalty — the number of consecutive days on which you won at least one geocoin. Your record is kept, even once the streak ends.

Your daily limits are not set in stone. With gold and forge points you can raise them for good:

• Bag slots — +1 geocoin per day each, for 500, then 1,000, then 1,000, then 1,000, then 1,000 gold
• Shiny bag — +1 shiny per day each, for 200, then 500, then 1,000 forge points
• Bigger pockets — +5 geocoins per hour until midnight, for 50 gold, stackable within the day

Alongside the regular rounds, a Training track runs permanently. Rounds last 1 minute and, crucially, everyone can win: there is no race, every correct answer counts.

Only common geocoins are put in play there, and the five fastest receive a little gold. The answer is revealed at the end of each round: it is the best place to learn.

Note: winning on one track briefly pauses you on the other. The two tracks are not played at exactly the same time.

Your score is the sum of the points of every different geocoin you own — duplicates do not count. The rarer a geocoin, the more it is worth, and a shiny version counts double the normal one.

Your score sets your rank, from the humblest to the most prestigious, and your place on the leaderboard.

Invite your friends: share your personal link. As soon as a referee reaches 80 different geocoins, they count towards your referral reward. The link only works for brand-new players.

Verify your geocaching.com profile: paste your referral link into the “About” section of your profile and the game will confirm it belongs to you. You get your profile picture back and a verified badge. Your username must match on both sides — and it will then be locked.

• Do not rush at everything. Your geocoins for the day are counted: better to save them for the rarities and let through the commons you already own.
• Melt your duplicates. It is the main source of forge points, and it has no cap.
• Or sell them. A duplicate sold pays for a geocoin you actually need.
• Use Training to learn the answers without pressure: the same questions come back in the regular rounds.
• Think of the deposit before letting an epic or a legendary slip away past your limit. A purchased slot pays for itself quickly.
• Shinies are a long game, not a box to tick in your first week. Pick the geocoins you truly care about.