In 1982, with literary treasure hunting books flying off shelves, Atari entered the game with an elaborate contest that could be solved by piecing together the clues included in Swordquest, a series of Atari 2600 video games.
The games were called Earthworld, Fireworld, Waterworld, and Skyworld, and solving the puzzle at the center of each would get you a prize and a chance to compete for the grand prize, The Sword of Ultimate Sorcery, a golden, bejeweled sword valued at around $50,000. Each of the first round prizes—a talisman, a goblet, a crown, and a stone made by The Franklin Mint—were valued at $25,000 in early ‘80s money.
Things went fine with the first two games. Atari received eight correct entries for the Earthworld contest, and the Talisman of Penultimate Truth was awarded to Stephen Bell. There were over 700 correct entries for Fireworld’s prize, and the Chalice of Light was awarded to Michael Rideout. But things went south from there.
The entire video game industry crashed in 1983, and Atari pulled the plug on the game series (truth be told, they were crappy games). But because the contest for Waterworld had already been advertised, Atari was obligated to give away the prize, so they offered the game to members of their mail order fan club only. According to Atari, either the Waterworld crown or its cash value was awarded to an unknown contest winner.
The final game in the series, Airworld, was not completed or released, and its grand prize, that amazing Franklin Mint sword, was never awarded. No one can say for sure what happened to the sword—some say it was kept by Atari’s president, Jack Tramiel, while others speculate that it was returned to Franklin Mint and melted down. But it could still be out there! (It isn’t, but it could be, dammit.)
Treasure status: Probably unfindable. (But you never know.)
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