Creative Scavenger Hunt

How To Play Creative Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts can be epic fun and there are many different ways to do them. This "Creative" Scavenger Hunt game will help step you through all the ins and outs of planning the ultimate scavenger hunt and treasure quest for your youth group, kids club, kids party or scout camp.

Hunt Type
Firstly, you'll need to decide on the style of scavenger hunt you're planning. Here are some ideas:

Object Collection
Teams are provided with a list of objects (either natural or man-made) to find. Objects might be assigned various point values depending on difficulty. Teams must work together to find as many objects as possible within allotted time.

Locational Clues
Teams are provided with a single clue which will lead them to an unknown location. Once they reach the location they will be able to find the next clue which will lead them to the next location, and so on. This can be a race to the finish, the first team back wins. Teams may need to hand in their clues at the end to prove they've reached all the locations.

Photo Hunt
Teams are provided with a list of objects, places and team photo challenges to find, all worth different point values depending on difficulty. Teams will each need a phone or camera to use (possibly with a leader) to take the photos. Assign the group a time limit and the team that earns the most points wins. It can be a great idea for teams to send in their photos at the end so that they can be presented to the whole group on a slideshow.

Challenges
Teams are given a map with locations and need to find each location and complete a challenge at each one (Amazing Race style) and then return to the finish line. Teams earn points for how well they complete the challenges and for being the fastest teams to get home.

Combination
If you can't decide, maybe you need to do the ultimate combination of all the different scavenger hunt types. Teams could find clues which lead them to different locations. Along the way they need to take photos, solve puzzles, complete challenges and collect objects! Make it as complex as you'd like.

Hunt Location
Next you'll need to decide on a location. A scavenger hunt is ideally run in a large space outdoors, but indoors can work too, you'll just need to get creative. For youth groups, it's easiest to get teams to walk around in a designated area - this could be within a church grounds, a campsite, a market, a shopping mall or neighbourhood (if appropriate). Alternatively, if you've got access to car drivers, then you could have teams go around in cars too.

Prizes and Awards
Don't forget to plan to give out prizes to the winning team at the end. It can be a good idea to have prizes for all teams or maybe some special encouragement awards too, like the fastest team or the team who were the most positive towards one another.

Get Creative!
There's endless possibilities for creating a scavenger hunt. Use things like internet searching, google maps, photography, QR codes, GPS, twitter, facebook etc all in a scavenger. For example - each group might start with a few clues, and then to solve each clue different functions of their phones are needed. One could have a QR code which has another clue inside it, which then tells them to find someone on twitter and read their latest post which is the clue that leads them to the next spot? Maybe they need to use the bible to look up a verse which has a word which combines with another clue to reveal a location? Get creative!

Added by
Joel
on 20 January 2012