If the first thing you think of when you hear scavenger hunt is the movie Goonies, you’re not alone. The idea of following a treasure map to a secret tunnel riddled with deadly obstacles, and then sliding down a wild waterslide that spits you out into a cove that is home to a lost pirate ship filled with treasure is the ultimate scavenger hunt. It’s definitely unbeatable!
But we did our best to come up with some equally exciting scavenger hunt ideas to help your team master the art of effective and productive team work. Let’s start with…
Become explorers in your own neighborhood with a team building scavenger hunt.
How to Organize a Scavenger Hunt for Adults
Besides the lost treasure, band of thugs, and booby traps, the biggest difference between your team building scavenger hunt and Goonies will be your team players. Getting adults on board might take a bit more effort, so here are some important rules to follow when designing your scavenger hunt.
Choose a Relevant Theme & the Right Location
Play to your audience. If you have a team of fitness buffs, then choose an active outdoor adventure. If your team would rather sit on the sofa sipping coffee, then maybe find an indoor venue that still has plenty of hidden corners to explore. Choosing a theme that appeals to as many participants as possible will make it easier to get everyone psyched about participating.
Define Clear Rules
Having a set of rules and regulations will help ensure a fair scavenger hunt. Here are some questions to consider when devising a rulebook:
- What is the time limit?
- Can participants use mobile devices to help solve clues?
- How are teams allowed to move around, i.e. only on foot, public transportation, bikes, cars?
- Can team members solve clues independently or does the team have to stick together?
Pick Appropriate Challenges and Clues
You want your challenges and clues to be the right mix of difficult and achievable. If a team can’t get past the first task, it will be hard to stay motivated. But if the tasks are too simple, the hunt will quickly get boring.
Design a scavenger hunt that is the right mix of challenging and attainable.
Choose Attractive Rewards
Having a convincing reason to stay in the game will also make it more likely for participants to remain committed to the hunt. Maybe the winning team can get an extra day off work or a trip to the spa or a sporting event. Here, too, it will help to consider your audience’s interests.
Use a Scoreboard
Keeping a running tally of who’s in the lead is a great way to motivate teams to give it their all. KeepTheScore has a number of tools that let you track goals and points earned in real-time. Players can even log in themselves to update their own scores.
Our 10 Favorite Scavenger Hunt Ideas
If you need some inspiration to get started, here are our favorite ideas for a scavenger hunt:
City-Wide Adventure
If you’re located in a city, you’ve got a real advantage. The urban jungle has plenty of opportunities for real exploration. Design clues that will lead participants to specific locations throughout the city. This is a fun way to also learn some obscure facts about where you live and potentially discover some hidden gems.
Nature Escape
Maybe you’re not in the city but instead have access to the great outdoors. Design clues that test participants’ outdoor skills. Think: “head north”, “go upstream”, “find the non-poisonous mushrooms”. But please don’t eat anything questionable along the way!
Mystery Night
True crime podcasts are still all the rage. Take some inspiration from one to create a fictional crime that participants have to uncover by finding and solving the hidden clues.
Say Cheese
This is an especially fun challenge for any Instagram addicts. Give the participants clues for objects or locations that they have to find and photograph along a preset route. You can also add extra points for the most creative pics.
Around the World
Use QR codes or geocaches to direct participants to specific locations that are related to different countries around the world. Maybe one QR code leads to an Italian restaurant. And the next code at the restaurant gives players the coordinates for an African art museum. And so on…
Fitness Challenge
If you work in one of those offices where coworkers love to team up for marathons, then a fitness scavenger hunt is just right for you. Create clues that require teams to run or bike longer distances or crawl and jump to complete a task and get the next clue.
Themed Party Hunt
Have you got a company mascot? Or maybe there’s a holiday coming up? Or perhaps people have a favorite movie? Whatever the inspiration, decide on a theme for your scavenger hunt and have all the participants come in costume. As always, there should be extra points for creativity!
Whichever hunt you choose, make sure it suits your audience!
Artistic Masterpiece Hunt
Build team skills AND learn something new in the process. If you have a museum nearby, organize a masterpiece hunt. Teams have to follow the clues to different works of art.
DIY Crafting Hunt
Create clues that have participants collect different materials in the city or in nature. Once they have finished collecting all the items, they have to craft a project out of them. If you want to make it extra challenging, don’t tell them what you intended to have them craft. Let them figure it out!
Foodie Scavenger Hunt
Have your teams follow clues to different food items in your neighborhood. Maybe the best pizza place or the yummiest bakery or the most robust coffee. The best part about this hunt is the feast at the end!
Do you have any questions or insights? Or maybe you want to share your scavenger hunt experience or your own favorite ideas. Feel free to let us know about your experience in the comments section! And if you want regular inspiration on how to use KeepTheScore, sign up for our newsletter.
