Hi everyone! I’ll let you into a secret. When I’m not busy in my role as President of Worldwide Studios I live a secret double life! I’m a pro treasure hunter and was even at one point ranked number one in the world. My specialist field is an app only available on PS Vita called Treasure Park (although I can also be found searching for Drake’s Fortune in the Golden Abyss).

I’m always on the lookout for new challengers, so today I’d like to share some of my experience with fledgling treasure hunters around the globe so that one day, you too might become a world-class pro.

Step 1:

When hunting for treasure, it’s very important to bear in mind the concept of pieces. There are four different pieces hidden on a sheet; at the start, you’re told the colors of where some parts of these pieces lie. This information is very important!

Let’s focus on the bombs. In this example shown above, blue and yellow are risky colors.

Step 2:

There are two bombs lurking somewhere among the blue squares and one bomb somewhere in the yellow squares. Let’s plot these out – a true pro never rushes in blindly.

Okay, now let’s try tapping on a square we’re sure won’t contain a bomb.

Step 3:

Here I’ve tapped on a red square and revealed some medals. I’m also given some information about the surrounding squares – if something is hidden there, a treasure chest icon appears. We know what’s on the right won’t be a bomb, but as the square on the left is yellow there’s a chance a bomb could be hiding there…

I need some more clues, so I’m going to tap another color I know is safe.

Step 4:

This time, there’s nothing to be found in the orange square I’ve tapped but I can see there’s something hidden in the square directly to the right. Taking note of squares where nothing is hidden is just as crucial to unravelling the puzzle.

From the clues I have now, I’ve deduced the whereabouts of the L-shaped piece. Can you work it out too?

But let’s get back to tracking down the all-important treasure…

Step 5:

I know that the treasure is diagonally opposite an orange square, so let’s work out the potential candidates.

Step 6:

Now to narrow it down further…

The square I’ve just tapped on has revealed more medals. There are also three medal squares contained within the treasure piece. So my next tip is to remember that where there are lots of medals there’s bound to be treasure!

Step 7:

Okay, so now I’ve worked out the location of the 2×2 piece. However, you only get five guesses on each sheet and it’s my last chance. In this case, I need to go with my gut instinct.

Step 8:

Great – I got the treasure! Once you’ve run out of turns you’re able to see where all the pieces were hidden. Looks like my analysis was spot on!

If you’ve been able to keep up with me so far, you’ll have the tools you need to graduate from treasure hunter beginner’s school. But don’t stop there! There are hundreds of skilled treasure hunters around the globe, and you can use group messaging or “near” to swap sheets with other hunters around you and hone your skills.

If you need any further sheet-building tips to help you progress to the next rank just let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do!

I should also mention that since system software version 1.80, Wi-Fi PS Vita systems can determine your location by scanning nearby Wi-Fi access points – so whether you’ve got the 3G or Wi-Fi flavor of PS Vita you can embark on a truly global treasure hunt!