The scavenger hunt has been one of the most popular games for generations. This is mainly because the "treasure hunt" can be reinvented again and again by choosing a location, motto, or theme and the scavenger hunt puzzles vary accordingly. Scavenger hunts are great for children's birthday parties and celebrations and are an entertaining adult amusement for bachelor parties, club anniversaries, or team-building events. Whether for children or adults, a treasure hunt's success stands and falls with the scavenger hunt tasks. They must not be too easy or too difficult, should involve the whole group and, of course, have a great fun factor. Below you will find a few suggestions for scavenger hunt riddles that you can modify individually.
Ideally, a treasure hunt, for example, on a child's birthday, should, of course, take place outdoors, i.e., in a park, in the neighborhood (if the residential area is safe for traffic), or in the forest. If the birthday child has requested a motto or theme, consider this for the scavenger hunt questions/riddles. For example, a pirate party should include a compass task. A princess expects a puzzle that revolves around the glittering crown.
These puzzles for a scavenger hunt bring a lot of fun to children:
Depending on the age of the children, you can, of course, add slightly trickier scavenger hunt questions:
The scavenger hunt for adults is an excellent alternative to bachelor/bachelorette parties, usually associated with all kinds of embarrassment. It can also be a perfect team building measure or even a great idea for various types of anniversaries. It is fascinating when it takes place in a public space, i.e., in the city. After all, it can then be enriched by the invaluable factor of "uninvolved third parties"!
These tasks for your scavenger hunt with adults can be customized:
The discussion about whether smartphones should be allowed in a scavenger hunt or not frequently comes up. Of course, they should stay in your pocket during fact-based scavenger hunt questions because otherwise, all the fun of the puzzle is lost. On the other hand, knowing that smartphones are available can help devise tasks for your scavenger hunt. For example, you can indicate the way to the next station only by compass directions. For instance: go north to the next traffic light, then south to the crossroads, and so on. The task is quite easy to solve - provided someone comes up with the idea of quickly downloading a compass app. Or you can simply enter a series of numbers separated by a comma. The participants have to find out for themselves that these are coordinates.
Depending on the occasion of the scavenger hunt and the composition of the team, you can also extend the scavenger hunt tasks more intensively to strangers:
The listed riddles for a scavenger hunt can be tailored to your guests and the event's occasion, i.e., you can modify and add your own ideas.
One final tip: Make sure you have plenty of snacks, and drinks during the hunt. And of course: think of a fantastic treasure that is also worth the effort!
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.
| Organize yourself Pros & cons self-organization |
Book tickets Pros & cons ticket booking |
| Very time consuming | Simple booking |
|
|
| Paper only | Intuitive web application |
| Free of charge (except material costs) | Not free of charge |
| Customizable | Not customizable |
The following scavenger hunt puzzles are particularly popular:
In a scavenger hunt for children, the puzzles should not be too challenging. Riddles, word games, and simple math problems are popular. Variety is essential! Here you will find useful tips and ideas for puzzles for a scavenger hunt for children.
The puzzles in a scavenger hunt for adults can be a little more complicated. Logic puzzles, tricky codes, and questions that require general knowledge increase motivation. Here you will find useful tips and ideas for riddles in a scavenger hunt for adults.
A scavenger hunt should contain 8-15 puzzles. Of course, a very short scavenger hunt can make do with fewer puzzles. A scavenger hunt that lasts longer than 3 hours sometimes needs more than 15 puzzles. The myCityHunt Scavenger Hunt, for example, contains 13 puzzles and costs € 12,99 per person.
Scavenger Hunt
Treasure Hunt
Escape Game
