Scavenger hunt for adults

The scavenger hunt for adults - A leap back into childhood

Almost everyone knows the scavenger hunt from his childhood days. Over hill and dale through the neighboring forest. Steps have to be counted and clues searched for. And all this for a treasure, which usually consists of all kinds of goodies, waiting for the winners at the finish line.

When the term scavenger hunt comes up, most people immediately think of children's birthday parties far in the past. However, it doesn't have to stop at fond memories, because there are plenty of ways to make a city rally interesting and fun for adults, too. The trick is to design a scavenger hunt for adults in such a way that it is neither perceived as infantile clamor, nor as a beer-serious mandatory program.

Organization is the name of the game when it comes to scavenger hunts for adults

Everything stands and falls with the right planning. That's why you shouldn't start organizing a scavenger hunt too late. Because it is often underestimated how much work is behind such an action. There is more to it than just thinking up a few games and puzzles and the hiding places that go with them. At the beginning, think about how many people want to participate in your scavenger hunt and in what setting it should take place.

You also need to consider how many participants you will have. If there are more than eight people, it may make sense to divide the scavenger hunters into teams. This ensures that everyone is actively involved in solving the tasks and that a "leader group" does not arise that dominates the rest of the team and solves everything on his own. After all, during the scavenger hunt in the city everyone should have fun and need to puzzle a bit.

Clues that participants come across in the course of the rally should therefore also be water-resistant. You should also make sure that they cannot be easily blown away. Be sure to give some thought to how long the treasure hunt should last: After all, it is important to ensure that the scavenger hunt does not clash with other plans of the participants.

To be on the safe side, walk the route yourself once in advance. After all, you want to prevent participants from encountering unexpected obstacles. It also seems sensible to plan culinary stops conscientiously and, for example, make a reservation at the restaurant of your choice.

Helpful tips - how to make your scavenger hunt a success

If you are now thinking about setting up a city rally yourself, below are a few tips and tricks on how to make it a success for everyone involved:

• Why not replace mom's self-painted treasure map with newer versions of navigation. For example, with the latest technology such as a tablet, smartphone or GPS device. This allows you to set more challenging tasks for the teams and the game becomes directly more exciting. It is also conceivable to send the tasks via SMS, Whatsapp or Messenger. You can also book ready-made city rallies on the Internet from a wide range of providers. For smaller groups in a private environment, for example, the scavenger hunt from myCityHunt, a mobile phone-based scavenger hunt, comes into question. Company groups should definitely resort to concepts that are supervised by professional staff. In this context, the company events of CityHunters should be mentioned.
• The rally area should definitely be thematized in one or the other task. In this way, the participants can get to know their hometown or a city unknown to them better. A city rally for adults has the advantage that, in contrast to scavenger hunts for children, knowledge about history and culture can also be tested without overtaxing the participants.
• Your scavenger hunt can also focus on a specific occasion or deal with a historical background. For example, during the Christmas season, anecdotes about the approaching holidays are a good idea. Birthdays of friends and family members can also be used as a theme for a scavenger hunt for adults. In this case, it makes sense to tailor the questions to the person in question. Anniversaries of a city, company or the beloved sports club are also perfect as a setting for an exciting city rally. The key is to choose a theme that all participants can identify with, so that the sense of community also benefits from the event.
• Never lose sight of the team-building idea: Whether it's a group of friends, a family or a corporate group - ultimately, what matters is that everyone involved understands each other a little better after the scavenger hunt. Build in questions that relate to individual scavenger hunters or can only be solved by working together as a team.
• Divide your group, if it exceeds roughly 8 participants, into several teams. In this way, you can prevent individual participants from only marginally experiencing the rally. An optimal group size would be 5-7 people. This also has the advantage that the teams compete against each other and the motivation is kept high by the competitive idea.
• Think about exceptional individual content that fits the group. This way, you can also make a scavenger hunt for adults that lasts several hours captivating. This can be achieved through puzzles, pictures, videos, but also by involving outsiders in the gameplay.

Of course, there are many more ways to make a scavenger hunt a unique event for you and your teammates. It's best to base your choice of tasks primarily on common interests and hobbies. The decisive factor is and remains the fun of the whole thing.

Tricky puzzles for your scavenger hunt

The most important thing when designing a scavenger hunt for adults is a level of difficulty that is tailored to the group: the tasks must not be too easy, but also not too difficult, as puzzles that are too complicated quickly cause frustration among the players. In addition, you should also pay a lot of attention to making the various tasks in the game as varied as possible, so that boredom does not set in and the different strengths of the players are addressed.

The questions can revolve around areas such as mathematics, language, logic, observation skills or even general knowledge. The inclusion of marching numbers, group tasks or the collection of certain materials can also provide enthusiasm in a scavenger hunt for adults.

In addition, you can involve passers-by in the game. This is particularly useful for a scavenger hunt in the city. You can also incorporate technical aids, such as GPS devices, old cell phones, Polaroid cameras or compasses. By using these additional materials in the game, you have a wider range of possible tasks: Now you can also incorporate scavenger hunt tasks that require photographing buildings, characters, or yourself. As you may have noticed, there are almost no limits to your imagination when it comes to tasks.

Scavenger hunts for adults: (Almost) always the right time

The positive thing about a city rally for adults is that you do not have to wait for the right time, because it is actually any time. Whether it's a company outing, a class reunion, a party or a bachelor party - such an event can be organized almost anytime and regardless of the season.

And if you still ask yourself the question: "Why should I walk through forests and cities, solving riddles to find a treasure at the end, which I could also buy myself without further ado? Because as the saying goes: the journey is the destination and in the end the shared experience is the most important thing. Unforgettable memories and a strengthened cohesion in the group are the rewards of a successful scavenger hunt.

Organize a scavenger hunt for adults yourself or book it?

Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your scavenger hunt for adults. However, you will have noticed that there are many things to consider and that developing your scavenger hunt takes a lot of time. There is also the question of whether the participants will like their scavenger hunt puzzles in the end. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you want to plan and organize the scavenger hunt yourself or whether you would prefer to use a tried and tested concept. In the following table, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of both options.