# The Gateway

### The Basics

Find2Earn requires only two things:

1. Internet connection
2. Digital maps (we recommend Google Maps)

No wallet, no crypto knowledge, no downloads. If you can browse the web, you can compete.

### Why Google Maps?

**Google Street View is unmatched:**

* 10+ million miles of street-level imagery captured
* 100+ countries covered
* Billions of individual photographs (exact count unpublished, but estimated 220 billion images)
* Updated regularly with new coverage

**This database cannot be downloaded.** It's too massive for any bot to pre-process, and artistic redrawing means reverse image search fails. Human visual pattern recognition remains the only viable solution method.

### Game Flow

#### 1. Hunt Announcement (via X/Discord)

When a hunt goes live, you'll see:

* **Stylized clue image** (artistically redrawn map)
* **Prize amount** (typically memecoin)
* **Time limit** (3-10 minutes)
* **Starting coordinates** (narrows search to 2-5km radius)
* **Whitelist status** (open to all, or newcomers-only)

#### 2. Search Phase

**Step 1: Click "Start here" link** Opens Google Maps at approximate area (not exact location - that's what you're finding)

**Step 2: Analyze the clue image** Look for distinctive features:

* Building shapes and architecture (medieval tower, modern skyscraper, church dome)
* Terrain (hills, flat plains, coastline, river)
* Road patterns (grid, curved, dead-ends)
* Vegetation (palm trees = tropics, pine = temperate, sparse = arid)
* Infrastructure (bridges, walls, specific monuments)

**Step 3: Use Street View strategically**

* Don't explore every street randomly - too slow
* Identify likely zones based on clue (e.g., "hillside with old buildings" → check elevated areas in old town)
* Jump between locations quickly (don't walk the streets)
* Match angles and perspectives from clue

**Step 4: Verify** When you think you found it:

* Compare clue image to Street View from multiple angles
* Check that all major features match (buildings, roads, terrain)
* Copy exact coordinates or Google Maps share link

#### 3. Submission

**Reply to the hunt tweet with your answer:**

Valid formats:

```
27.9616462,-82.4983195
```

or

```
https://maps.app.goo.gl/[your-share-link]
```

**First valid timestamp wins.** Twitter shows submission time down to the second. Even if someone else posts the same answer, posting it 1 second later = you lose.

**This prevents copying.** You can't just wait for someone else's answer and paste it - by the time you see their reply and copy, they've already won.

### Whitelist System

Some hunts restrict participation to specific groups:

**"Open to all"** → anyone can submit **"Whitelist only"** → must be pre-approved (typically for newcomers, to give them fair shot vs experienced hunters)

Check hunt announcement for eligibility.