Scavenger Hunt

Set up

Decide the boundaries first: which rooms, how far down the yard, which streets. Then write the list. A good list mixes three kinds of item:

• Things to collect: a pine cone, something red, a spoon.
• Things to spot or photograph: a house number with a seven in it, a bird.
• Things to do: get three people to sing one line of a song, build a tower of five shoes.

Print one copy per team. Split into teams of two to five and give each a bag.

How to play

1. Read the rules aloud: where teams may go, what is off limits, and when and where to return.
2. Hand out the lists and start the timer.
3. Teams find, collect or photograph as many items as they can.
4. Teams must be back at base when the time is up. A late return costs a point per minute.
5. Check each team’s items against the list. One point per item, with bonus points for anything marked as hard.
6. The team with the most points wins.

Writing a list people enjoy

Describe rather than name. “Something older than you” produces better results, and more arguments, than “a book”. Give open items like “the strangest thing you can find” a bonus decided by a vote. Leave out anything that involves disturbing neighbors, picking flowers from someone’s yard or bringing back living creatures.

Ways to change it

• Photo hunt: nothing is collected. Teams photograph each item on one phone. Best for parks and public places.
• Alphabet hunt: find one object for every letter.
• Senses hunt: for young children outdoors: something rough, something that smells good, something that makes a noise.
• Holiday hunt: hide themed objects in advance, such as paper pumpkins or candy canes, and have teams count how many they find.
• Indoor rainy-day hunt: items are household things, and everything goes back where it came from afterward.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

A scavenger hunt fills half an hour for any age and scales from two children to a whole reunion. It takes planning: the list has to exist before the party. Set boundaries clearly when children are playing, and pair anyone under eight with an older teammate.