Find the Idol Sample Game
Monterey Bay Treasures
Mina has promised one photograph for the cover of Baylight Adventures’ next Monterey walking booklet. By this evening, ten waterfront neighbors will have brought her ten very different suggestions. The printer needs an answer, but each picture seems to leave something valuable outside its frame. Which view should welcome the next visitor? Mina takes the blank booklet with her to hear why each neighbor chose their picture.
Find These Idols
Explore each idol in this game to view its location, participating business, and current collection status.
Harbor Guardian
Mina holds Jo’s roof photograph against the blank booklet at Harbor Fold Studio. There is more sky than building. She asks whether Jo has a picture with a bigger landmark. Jo remembers arriving in Monterey with a heavy box of paper and resting it beneath that low roof. She points to the little strip of shade that Mina had barely noticed.
Wharf Wanderer
Luis’s photograph at Two Ways Wharf Walks follows the public walkway toward the boats. Mina recognizes a familiar visitor view. Luis points to the empty railing near the end. “That’s where I waited for my father’s boat after school,” he says. He used to arrive much too early and stay until he saw the boat coming in. Mina looks along the walkway again.
Plaza Explorer
Em brings a doorway photograph from the drying rack at Courtyard Page Press. Mina had expected a picture of the press itself. Em places a chair beside the open door. People stop here while their prints dry, and someone usually sits down to tell her about the picture they brought. She turns the chair so Mina can see the small space it leaves beside the table.
Tide Keeper
Nico at Harbor Lantern Coffee has submitted a photograph that is almost entirely water. Mina waits for him to point out a boat or a bird. Instead, he brings two cups to the window and watches a small wave spread into a thin wash. By the time she looks back at the photograph, the next wave has reached the same place.
Cannery Collector
Ada has photographed repeating metal edges for her entry at Row Works Lettershop. Beside the picture, she lays a proof made from three printing blocks. The pattern is similar, but one mark has barely taken. Mina watches Ada ink that block again, press the sheet and lift it carefully from the table. This time the missing line appears on the paper.
History Seeker
Ravi’s photograph shows the public steps near Colton Hall, where his reading group waits before walking to Open Table Editions. Last week two friends were still arguing about the last chapter when everyone else arrived. They sat on different steps, then left together for the reading room. Mina writes his story on the back of the print while Ravi points out the wide space between the shadows.
Seam Mender
A repaired canvas bag waits for its owner at Second Stitch Coastal. Bea shows Mina the photograph she took of its mended side against a plain wall. Mina had expected a coastline. Bea checks the new seam, then hands the bag back to its owner, who puts a loaf of bread inside. Mina moves the modest photograph closer to the center of the table.
Kelp Dancer
Sol has chosen a photograph of long leaves leaning in the wind for Driftline Movement Room. Mina lays a transparent sheet over it and draws a straight guide beside the stems. Sol lifts the sheet away, smiling. The long curves spread through the space Mina had tried to square. She holds the print at arm’s length before putting down the pencil.
Fog Listener
The far shore stays soft in June’s picture at Low Cloud Photo Room. Mina asks if a clearer day would have helped. June remembers waiting with a visitor who had only one afternoon in Monterey. They watched the near water sharpen while the distance stayed pale, and neither wanted to leave. “We saw the day we were given,” June says. Mina looks again at the part of the picture she had first called missing.
Common Horizon
Tess brings an empty bench photograph to Bay Bench Neighbors, along with her old walking booklet. Its loose pages are held by a little clip. She once spent an afternoon on that bench retrieving them from the wind. Mina unrolls the printer’s blank proof sheet, which is much too long for a coat pocket. Tess lays her small booklet on top and asks how the new pictures will stay together.
6 Points
Collect idols to earn points.
Reward
Sponsored by
Baylight Adventures
Baylight Adventures makes self-guided walking booklets with Monterey artists, makers and neighborhood guides. Its routes leave time for a conversation, an unexpected view and a place to sit. Mina edits each edition with people who know the bay in different ways.
Baylight Adventures is a fictional organization created for this sample. The website button opens example.com as a demonstration.
Game Info
Monterey, CA
November 1–30 · Sample season
Click the map to view idol locations.
Rules
How to Play Visit the ten sample stops in any order. Three idols and three approved example photos are already collected. Try the simulated check-in or QR scan to collect the others. All ten discoveries reveal the ending and a sample collector card. No account, travel, camera or location permission is needed. Refreshing restarts the preview. Scoring Exact-location idols earn 1 point and Cannery Collector’s illustrative search area earns 2. Every stop offers an optional photo suggestion. In a live game, staff approval earns 1 extra point for that photo. Photos are not required to collect idols or finish the story. You begin with 6 points and can reach 14 in this preview. New photo uploads are disabled. A live game with all ten approved photos could award up to 21 points. Repeated collections add nothing. Safety Use public paths and follow posted hours, closures and wildlife guidance during a real visit. Never play while driving. All hosts, sponsor, prizes and offers in this sample are fictional and no participating businesses, installed idols or QR codes are present at these pins. No purchase is needed, and prizes and offers cannot be redeemed. Dates November 1–30, 2026, America/Los_Angeles is the illustrative sample season. These dates do not announce a live Monterey game. Questions Review the full rules using the links below. All participants must follow the Find the Idol Game Policies and Terms of Service. Results remain provisional for at least seven days. Read the prize and tie rules.