Scavenger hunt in the city

Scavenger hunt in the city - The urban puzzle rally

Is your daughter's next birthday party, your best friend's bachelor party or your grandparents' golden wedding anniversary coming up? What do you think about bringing a little variety into this somewhat same old event? Why not organize a scavenger hunt in the city?

However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. We have compiled the ultimate guide for you with numerous tips. Your self-designed scavenger hunt is guaranteed to be a complete success!

The scavenger hunt in the city: it depends on the participants!

First, consider how old your participants are. If it is a golden wedding or a round birthday, you need to design the city rally differently than for many young children.

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 "group leader" does not arise that dominates the rest of the team and solves everything on its own. After all, everyone should have fun during the scavenger hunt in the city and have to puzzle a bit.

Duration and route of the scavenger hunt in the city

You should also give some thought to the choice of route beforehand. How much time do you have available? Depending on whether you only have an hour or perhaps even three hours and want to combine the whole thing with an extensive city tour, you can of course make the routes between the individual tasks somewhat longer or choose rather shorter routes.

Before setting the route, also think about your participants. With small children, the route should rather run through quieter areas with many playgrounds and without much hustle and bustle. You should also avoid busy roads so as not to take unnecessary risks.

Scavenger hunt in the city: Better to avoid crowds

Also find out about any festivities that might be taking place in the city that day. Is the market square perhaps closed due to a demonstration? Or does the annual Old Town Festival happen to be taking place on that very day? Then, of course, you'd have to figure out a different route - unless you don't mind pushing through large crowds. On the other hand, it would also be possible to incorporate the event into your scavenger hunt, e.g. as the end point of the rally.

The starting point and destination of your scavenger hunt in the city

Now determine a suitable starting point and destination. You might start at your home or choose a well-known tourist attraction in your hometown. As a finishing point, you could then meet at your favorite café and treat yourself to a delicious piece of cake and a cappuccino after the completed rally. Or you could meet in the city park for a barbecue together afterwards on a warm summer evening. As mentioned above, urban festivities are also definitely an option.

The tasks of your scavenger hunt in the city

So you have decided on a suitable route for your city rally? Now comes the real part of the preparation: the puzzles! Depending on the age of the participants, the level of difficulty may vary here. But even if you are conducting a scavenger hunt with adults, bring in one or two somewhat easier tasks to motivate the group with a quick sense of achievement.

If you have chosen a rather longer route, you will of course need a bit more tasks for the way. However, keep in mind that the more difficult the scavenger hunt tasks are, the more time you will have to plan for solving them.

Think about different types of tasks. Maybe at one point you want your participants to solve math problems to get to the next clue. Historically savvy questions, brainteasers, and group tasks are also an option. Let your imagination run wild, the only important thing is that you diversify the tasks.

Ideas scavenger hunt tasks in the city

• Interaction: approaching outsiders to translate a sentence in Russian, for example.
• Knowledge: Decide which one of two buildings is older.
• Observation skills: Identify the former floor plan of a building that no longer exists.
• Creativity: Compose and perform an anthem of the city.
• Logic: Connect the statues of a church facade with a small logic puzzle.

The right theme for your scavenger hunt in the city

You can score extra points with the participants if you set the entire city rally under a theme that runs through the entire game like a common thread. Of course, it makes sense to adapt the scavenger hunt tasks to this theme. Let the following ideas for a scavenger hunt theme inspire you:

Ideas for scavenger hunt tasks in the city

Participants solve a fictional criminal case.

Historical scavenger hunt

A well-known historical figure from your city can be the focus here.

Secret Agents City Rally

The participants slip into the role of agents - James Bond says hello!

Pirate scavenger hunt

A legendary pirate has hidden a fabled treasure somewhere in the city - and the participants are supposed to find it!

How to make your scavenger hunt in the city a success

If you take our city rally tips to heart and are willing to invest some time and energy in preparation, your scavenger hunt in the city will be a complete success! The participants will be impressed by your concept and will spend an unforgettable day thanks to you.

As you can see, a scavenger hunt in the city offers a number of advantages: you can spend the whole day in the fresh air, grow together as a team, get involved in sports and, by the way, get to know one or two new corners of your hometown. With the right planning and execution, nothing can go wrong!

Fancy a smartphone scavenger hunt in your city? Our treasure hunt for friends and families is available for as little as per participant!

Organize a scavenger hunt yourself or book it?

Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your scavenger hunt. 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.