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in the ice (pot)
256 patches of glacier, a shape under each. Stake one with $THAW. Every day at noon UTC the melt line climbs a band, and whatever thaws under your stake is yours. Fourteen days, then the ice is gone.
Any frozen patch nobody holds. One stake costs a fixed amount of $THAW: half burns, half goes into the ice as the pot.
Every patch shows a faint shape. Clear ice rarely holds much. A huge shadow often holds a tusk, and sometimes a whole mammoth. The odds are printed below.
One band a day, bottom first, at noon UTC. Each band releases the pot ÷ bands left, split by what came out. Finds under empty patches stay in the pot.
Rope your stake to someone else's (both of you confirm). A team of up to five shares every find, split equally.
| shape | patches | just ice | lost gear ×1 | old coins ×3 | a tusk ×10 | a mammoth ×30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| clear ice | 112 | 70% | 25% | 5% | — | — |
| small shadow | 80 | 30% | 45% | 20% | 5% | — |
| dark shape | 48 | 15% | 25% | 35% | 20% | 5% |
| huge shadow | 16 | 10% | 10% | 25% | 35% | 20% |
The ×1, ×3, ×10 and ×30 are each find's weight. When a band melts, it releases pot ÷ bands left, and each find gets release × weight ÷ the band's total weight. If the band came out poorer than its shapes promised, the expected total is used instead, so a lone bit of gear never takes the whole release. What isn't paid stays in the ice for later bands.