The BarterDash Returns! Five days of geocaching, clue-hunting, and high-stakes haggling kicks off at The Thirsty Robot Brewing Company in Fitchburg, MA on October 7, 2025 at 6PM.
Back by popular demand and bigger than ever, The BarterDash is an immersive geocaching game like no other—now expanded to a five-day adventure culminating at the Johnny Appleseed GeoFest!
🎲 How to Play The BarterDash
🔍 Find Clues
Brand new geocaches will be released on Wednesday, October 8, and linked to this event with an Official List. Inside select caches, you’ll find hidden clues—each one reveals part of the secret rule set that determines how your final card hand will be scored.
🃏 Attend Events, Earn Cards
During the four days leading up to GeoFest, several geocaching events will be hosted. Attending these events to earn game cards—the building blocks of your final hand. You can start the game any day before the GeoFest, but the more events you attend, the more cards you'll collect.
🔄 Barter with Other Players
Discovered rules and card collections vary by team, so bartering becomes key. At any of the week's events, players can trade cards and information to complete their collections and uncover more of the rule set. Collaboration, bluffing, and strategy are all fair game!
🏁 Submit Your Final Hand at GeoFest
At the Johnny Appleseed GeoFest, submit your final high-scoring card hand. Once the full list of rules is revealed, hands are scored and prizes are awarded to the top players or teams. It's the ultimate test of your planning, puzzling, and people skills.
🚀 Kick-Off Event Highlights
At this event...
📚 Review the Game That Started It All
New to The BarterDash or need a refresher? We’ll walk through the rules and scoring system used in the original BarterDash event (GC8HMQN). Learn from real examples—what worked, what didn’t, and how some teams soared while others stumbled. It’s the perfect primer for what’s to come.
🧭 Form Your Team
Team up or go solo—it’s up to you! The Kick-Off is a great opportunity to meet other cachers, swap stories, and form alliances. Whether you’re a puzzle whiz, a trading shark, or a trailblazing navigator, there’s a place for you in The BarterDash mix.
🗺️ Plan Your Week
With dozens of new caches and clues hidden in only some of them, strategy is key. Use this time to study the area, plan your routes, and coordinate your schedule to attend the lead-up events where you’ll earn game cards and barter with others.
🧑🏽🤝🧑🏽 Socialize and Strategize
Mingle with cachers from near and far, trade geocaching tales, and start making deals. The bartering might not be official yet—but the friendships and rivalries begin here!
💬 What Past Players Had to Say:
The first edition of The BarterDash was run in 2022. Here's what geocachers had to say:
-
I had no idea how much fun it was going to be. What an incredible adventure today was.
-
This was an amazing game and event—let’s do this yearly!
-
What a great culmination to a fun (but hectic) day of caching! It's too bad you can't give favorite points to events.
-
I'm very happy we made the drive. Two thumbs up for the creativity and execution.
-
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the game, but it was so well put together and a blast to play.
-
The strategy, the clues, the chaos—it was everything I love about geocaching and more.
Appleseed Events
The BarterDash Rally Puzzle Game
Each event you attend leading up to the Johnny Appleseed GeoFest earns you another game card for The BarterDash — the ultimate geocaching rally puzzle game! Some events will also feature bonus challenges where you can earn extra cards! Plus, if you haven’t joined the fun yet, you can create a brand-new BarterDash team at any event leading up to the big Johnny Appleseed celebration. The more events you attend, the more cards you'll earn for your hand to turn in on Saturday at 1 PM. Look for the BarterDash sign at each event.
Community Celebration Events - 2025
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 25 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.