Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold. Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC. # Golden Idol From the spelunky.ai wiki: . Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 27 October 2026. *For the Jungle graveyard's idol, see [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull).* The Golden Idol is a treasure in Spelunky Classic worth $5,000 in the Mines, more deeper down, carried to the exit; lifting it sets off a trap. ![A squat golden idol with a round head](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/sprites/sGoldIdol/frames/0%404x.png) | Golden Idol | | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Value | $5,000[^1] | | Object | `oGoldIdol` | | Found in | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines), [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle), [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves), [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple), Sacrifice pit | Unlike gold and gems, it isn't collected by touch: the player picks it up and has to carry it to the exit, and it's worth more the deeper the area, from $5,000 in [the Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines) to $20,000 in [the Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple). Each area's idol room is built around a trap that lifting it sets off, from the Mines' rolling [Boulder](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/boulder) to the Temple's falling [ceiling](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ceiling-trap). A level has one at most. ## Value The idol's base value is $5,000, multiplied by the area's number: twice that in the Jungle, three times in the Ice Caves, four times in the Temple[^2]. | Area | Value | | --------------------------------------------------- | ------- | | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines) | $5,000 | | [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle) | $10,000 | | [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves) | $15,000 | | [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple) | $20,000 | ## Locations Level generation builds an idol room in one of a level's side rooms, the rooms off the path from the entrance to the exit, at most once a level: | Area | Chance | The room | | | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---- | | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines) | 1 in 10 for each side room off the bottom row, once the roll for an altar (from level 2, 1 in 16) fails | The idol on an altar, a giant tiki head high above it | [^3] | | [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle) | 1 in 9 for two side rooms in three, once the altar's 1 in 12 fails | The idol on a floor of six trap blocks over a pool of water; on a graveyard level, the [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull) instead | [^4] | | [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves) | 1 in 9 for half the side rooms, once the altar's 1 in 12 fails | The idol on a ledge of thin ice | [^5] | | [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple) | 1 in 12 for three side rooms in four, once the altar's 1 in 12 fails; never in the City of Gold | The idol under a row of ceiling traps, between two doors | [^6] | The Sacrifice Pit, a Temple level, has its own: an idol beside a Damsel, the two of them on four trap blocks at the top of the pit, and no idol room[^7][^8][^9]. In custom levels, it's the level editor's `#` tile[^10]. Level generation keeps the loose Rocks, Jars and treasure it scatters 64 pixels away from an idol[^11]. ## Collecting ### Lifting it **Clip: Golden idol's boulder.** In the Mines, the player picks up a golden idol from under a giant tiki head. The head opens, a boulder drops out onto him and crushes him, and it rolls on to the wall. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/clips/golden-idol/boulder/clip.mp4)) The player picks it up as any item, crouching over it and pressing the attack key. It's heavy: he carries it level with himself, can't swap it for a bomb or a rope, and throws it at 4 pixels a step plus his own speed[^12][^13][^14]. The first time it's lifted, it sets off the trap of its area[^15], unless it has already left the ground, knocked off its perch by an explosion, say: its own code then turns the trap off, and lifting it sets off nothing[^16]. The traps: | Area | What happens | | | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines) | 100 steps (3.33 seconds) later, with the screen shaking all the while, the giant tiki head above it opens and drops a [Boulder](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/boulder) | [^17][^18] | | [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle) | The trap blocks within 90 pixels of the player crumble from the outside in: the outer two at once, the two under the idol 32 steps later. The player drops toward the water below | [^19][^20] | | [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves) | Nothing | [^15] | | [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple) | Every [Ceiling Trap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ceiling-trap) block on the level starts coming down, and two doors start to drop: the ones nearest the points 64 pixels above the player and 64 to his left and his right | [^21] | | The Sacrifice Pit | The trap blocks within 90 pixels of the player vanish, and he drops into the pit | [^22] | The boulder lands and rolls toward the player at 4.5 pixels a step, which comes to 8 to 10 in play, as the game moves it twice each step[^23][^24]. It breaks the blocks it rolls into, slowing a little at each, and bounces back off any it can't break[^25]. In the first clip, the player lifts the idol from under the tiki head and the boulder comes down onto him and kills him[^26][^27]. A [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb)'s explosion blows the boulder apart, leaving rubble and sometimes [Rocks](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock)[^28]. Picked up in a custom level, an idol sets off nothing[^29]. ### Cashing it in **Clip: Golden idol carried out.** In the Mines, the player grabs a golden idol and drops down a shaft while the boulder it sets off rolls along the corridor above. He carries the idol to the exit, where it is added to his money, and goes on to the next level. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/clips/golden-idol/exit/clip.mp4)) Carried to the level's exit, the idol is taken from the player's hands and its value is added to his money, counted in after a short pause[^2][^30], and the screen between levels shows it with the rest of the level's loot[^31]. In the second clip, the player grabs the Mines' idol and drops down a shaft while the boulder rolls along the corridor above, then takes the exit with it for $5,000[^32]. An idol can also be sold. Set down, not held, on a shop's floor within 80 pixels of the level's first Shopkeeper (the code checks that one, not the nearest) while he's standing idle, it's paid for at its full value with the message "PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS!", unless the player has stolen from a shop or killed a Shopkeeper[^33]. ## Trivia - The code names it the "Gold Idol"[^34], and the [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull) is a Gold Idol too, to the code: it follows every idol rule, with a value and a look of its own. - In the Jungle and the Ice Caves, lifting the idol doesn't turn its trigger off, so the lifetime count of idols grabbed, which the game only writes to its statistics file, counts it on every lift until the idol's own code turns the trigger off, counting it once more, when the player first lets go of it: each idol counts at least twice[^15][^16][^24]. A [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull) lifted and set down counts two[^35]. ## FAQ ### How much is the Golden Idol worth in Spelunky Classic? $5,000 in the Mines, $10,000 in the Jungle, $15,000 in the Ice Caves and $20,000 in the Temple, paid when the player carries it to the level's exit or sells it to a Shopkeeper. ### What happens when you pick up the Golden Idol in Spelunky Classic? It depends on the area. In the Mines, a giant tiki head above it drops a [Boulder](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/boulder) that rolls at the player; in the Jungle the floor under it crumbles; in the Temple the ceiling comes down and doors close; in the Ice Caves nothing happens. ### How do you survive the boulder in Spelunky Classic? By getting out of its way: it comes 3.33 seconds after the idol is lifted and rolls toward the player, breaking blocks in its way. A [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb) blows it apart. ### Can you sell the Golden Idol to a Shopkeeper in Spelunky Classic? Yes. Set down on a shop's floor near the Shopkeeper while he's standing idle, it's paid for at its full value, with "PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS!", unless the player is wanted as a thief or a murderer. ## See also - **Related:** [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull), [Boulder](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/boulder), [Ceiling Trap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ceiling-trap) ## References [^1]: `objects/oGoldIdol/create.gml:8` [^2]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:2068-2084` [^3]: `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:85-117` [^4]: `scripts/scrRoomGen2.gml:79-114` [^5]: `scripts/scrRoomGen3.gml:68-99` [^6]: `scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml:68-111` [^7]: `scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml:193-196` [^8]: `scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml:399-405` [^9]: `scripts/scrLevelGen.gml:84-86` [^10]: `scripts/scrCreateTileObj.gml:261-264` [^11]: `scripts/scrTreasureGen.gml:29` [^12]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:44-50` [^13]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:993` [^14]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:609-635` [^15]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1222-1282` [^16]: `objects/oGoldIdol/step.gml:29-33` [^17]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1225-1231` [^18]: `objects/oGiantTikiHead/alarm_0.gml:1-3` [^19]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1240-1248` [^20]: `scripts/scrRoomGen2.gml:477-482` [^21]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1252-1266` [^22]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1267-1279` [^23]: `objects/oBoulder/step.gml:33-53` [^24]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^25]: `objects/oBoulder/collision_oSolid.gml:1-30` [^26]: Clip golden-idol/boulder [^27]: Replay `fidelity/replays/trap-boulder-crush.txt` [^28]: `objects/oExplosion/collision_oBoulder.gml:1-13` [^29]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1222` [^30]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1953-1971` [^31]: `objects/oTransition/alarm_0.gml:102-107` [^32]: Clip golden-idol/exit [^33]: `objects/oGoldIdol/step.gml:6-27` [^34]: `objects/oGoldIdol/create.gml:3` [^35]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-213-crystal-skull-sold.txt` ### Source code - `objects/oGoldIdol/create.gml` - `objects/oGoldIdol/step.gml` - `objects/oItem/step.gml` - `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml` - `objects/oGiantTikiHead/alarm_0.gml` - `objects/oBoulder/step.gml` - `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml` - `scripts/scrRoomGen2.gml` - `scripts/scrRoomGen3.gml` - `scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml`