Answered Questions for Adult Scavenger Hunts

Hosting a scavenger hunt is fun but also can be a lot of work! Careful preparation will ensure a successful event. The following tips should help with your scavenger hunt planning. You can modify the items your guests are hunting for to fit your theme or your own ideas.

The first thing you will want to do is let your guests know in advance of the party that they will be involved in is a scavenger hunt. They will probably want to dress appropriately in comfortable clothes. Next you need to assign teams. You will probably want to have about three to four people per team. Get your supplies together and a list of rules for each team member. The supplies you will want to include are a disposable camera, a map, a local phone book and a list of the items they are to find.

When your guests arrive, let them know what teams they are on and give them a while to mingle and get to know each other. serving appetizers and drinks during this time is a good idea. Let players know that you will take points off if they return late and that they will be disqualified if they attempt to prevent other teams from completing the event.

You will need to set up three different categories for the scavenger hunt.

Photos

The first category is photos. Compile a list of photos that each team must take. Make sure that there is at least one team member in each photo and require that each team member be photographed at least once during the hunt. Assign points from one to five for each photo with some photos being of more point value. Choose items in your community as well as generic things for your guests to take photos of. Give out disposable cameras with at least 24 exposures!
Some suggestions would be:
Fireman
Local monument or historic building
Person pushing a stroller

Things to Collect

The next category is things the teams have to collect. This list can be about 20-25 items. Again, assign points from one to five depending on the difficulty of the item. Include items that are both easy and difficult to find.
Some suggestions would be:
Starbucks Cup
old glasses
Mexican restaurant menu

Questions

The final category is a list of questions that the team members have to answer.
Some examples might be:
What movie is playing at your local movie theater?
What are the current specials at the pizza restaurant?
What is the current exhibit at the city’s museum?

Set a time-limit of about two and a half hours. Tell teams that they must drop off their disposable cameras at a One-Hour photo shop before they return.

Have prizes on hand like gift certificates to local restaurants, gift cards or a bottle of wine etc. To make the hunt more competitive, you could ask each team member to put a pre-determined amount of money towards the prize at the beginning of the game. The winner will receive the largest portion of this and the second place team could receive a smaller amount! Scavenge hunts bring out the kid in adults and are a nice change from a sitting around and small talking. It could become a yearly event growing in new ideas and prizes each year!

Copyright 2007 Nikki Wilson.

Nikki Wilson is a party planner and event organizer who specializes in treasure hunts and scavenger hunts. After planning successful events for the past 15 years, she now provides a web based service for party and event planners with her detailed treasure hunt party game plans available online. She also has a book of scavenger hunt plans to suit all ages, locations and occasions. Planning your own party, and want a party game that will be memorable and fun? Take a look at Nikki’s treasure hunt planners at www.TreasureHuntBook.com

We have literally hundreds of emails from customers that you can read. Here is just a sample..