Scavenger Hunt Ideas: 21 Fun Hunts for Every Age and Occasion

The best scavenger hunt ideas are simple to set up and easy to adapt to any age, space or holiday. Whether you are planning a birthday party, a rainy afternoon at home, a team event or a holiday surprise, a hunt turns any house, yard or park into a game. This guide has 21 scavenger hunts for indoors, outdoors, kids, adults and holidays, plus tips for writing clues that are fun to solve.

Every hunt follows the same basic idea: players get a list of things to find or a trail of clues to follow, and the first person or team to finish wins. You can play for a prize, for points or just for fun.

Indoor scavenger hunt ideas

Classic clue trail

Players: 2 to 10, ages 5+. You need: paper clues and a small prize.

Hide a chain of clues around the house, each one leading to the next hiding spot, with a prize at the end. Number the clues on the back so you can lay the trail in the right order. For a big group, make two trails with different colored paper so teams do not follow each other.

Color hunt

Players: 1 to 8, ages 3+. You need: a paper bag or tray per player.

Call out a color and give players one minute to find something in that color and bring it back. Toddlers love it, and older kids can be asked for three things of the same color. Finish by sorting the finds into a rainbow on the floor.

Alphabet hunt

Players: 2 to 10, ages 6+. You need: a sheet with A to Z per team, pencils.

Teams find an object for every letter of the alphabet, writing each one down. Hard letters like Q, X and Z decide the winner, so allow creative answers such as a zipper or a box of tissues with an X on it.

Puzzle piece hunt

Players: 2 to 8, ages 4+. You need: a simple jigsaw puzzle.

Hide the pieces of a small puzzle around a room. When players have found them all, they assemble the puzzle to reveal a picture of where the final prize is hidden. It works well on rainy days.

Glow in the dark hunt

Players: 3 to 12, ages 5+. You need: glow sticks and flashlights.

Turn off the lights and hide glow sticks around a safe room or the backyard. Each color is worth different points. Clear the floor of anything that could trip players before you start.

Virtual scavenger hunt

Players: 4 to 30, ages 8+. You need: a video call.

The host calls out an item, such as something older than you or something that makes a noise, and players race to bring it back to their camera. The first to show it scores a point. It is a favorite for remote teams and long distance families.

Outdoor scavenger hunt ideas

Nature scavenger hunt

Players: 2 to 20, ages 4+. You need: a checklist and a bag per team.

Give each team a list such as a pinecone, a smooth stone, a feather, a Y shaped stick, three different leaves and something rough. Ask players to collect only fallen items and leave living plants and creatures where they are. For younger kids, use a picture checklist they can tick off.

Photo scavenger hunt

Players: 4 to 30, ages 10+. You need: a phone or camera per team.

Teams photograph themselves completing tasks, such as the whole team inside one photo frame, a cloud shaped like an animal, or someone pretending to hold up a tree. Award points for each photo and bonus points for creativity. It works well in a park, at a campsite or on a neighborhood walk with adults.

Neighborhood walk hunt

Players: 2 to 12, ages 5+. You need: a printed list.

On a walk, look for a red door, a mailbox with a flag, a dog on a leash, a bird's nest, a house number with a 7 and a garden gnome. Kids stay with a grown up and tick items off as they spot them. It is a simple way to turn an ordinary walk into a game.

Backyard treasure dig

Players: 2 to 10, ages 4+. You need: a sandpit or garden patch, small toys or coins.

Bury small treasures in a sandpit and give kids a hand drawn map with an X. Add a few decoy spots for older children. Hand out small spades and let them dig.

Sensory hunt

Players: 2 to 10, ages 3+. You need: a list of senses.

Ask players to find something soft, something that smells nice, something that makes a sound, something cold and something bumpy. It slows kids down and gets them noticing the world around them.

Scavenger hunts for kids

Picture clue hunt for preschoolers

Players: 1 to 6, ages 3 to 5. You need: picture cards.

Draw or print simple pictures of places, like a bathtub, a bed or a shoe rack. Each picture shows where the next card is hiding. No reading needed, so the littlest players can lead the way.

Birthday party treasure hunt

Players: 6 to 15, ages 5 to 10. You need: clue cards, a treasure box, party favors.

Split guests into small teams, each with its own color of clues that leads to the same treasure box of party favors at the end. Teams that finish early help the others. More ideas are in our guide to birthday party games.

Find the stuffed animals

Players: 2 to 8, ages 3+. You need: ten soft toys.

Hide ten stuffed animals around the house in spots that are partly visible. Kids count them as they find them. Once they know the game, let them hide the toys for the grown ups.

Scavenger hunts for adults and teens

Riddle hunt

Players: 4 to 20, ages 12+. You need: riddle cards.

Each clue is a riddle whose answer is a hiding place, for example, "I have keys but open no locks" for a piano or keyboard. Mix easy and hard riddles to keep everyone in the game.

Office scavenger hunt

Players: 6 to 40, adults. You need: a list and a timer.

Teams find items or complete tasks around the office, such as a stapler with a name label, a photo with someone from another team, or the oldest item in the kitchen. It is a lively opener for team building games.

Mall or market hunt

Players: 4 to 20, ages 13+. You need: a list, phones for photos.

Teams find and photograph things without buying them, such as a shop selling only one product, a sign with a spelling mistake, or a fruit nobody on the team has tasted. Set a time limit and a meeting point.

Holiday scavenger hunt ideas

Christmas scavenger hunt

Players: 2 to 12, ages 4+. You need: clue cards, a final gift.

Hide clues on the tree, in a stocking, by the fireplace and under a pillow, ending with a small gift or a family activity such as decorating cookies. Rhyming clues fit the season. See more Christmas party games.

Halloween scavenger hunt

Players: 4 to 15, ages 5+. You need: small pumpkins, plastic spiders, candy.

Hide spooky items around the yard or house and give each team a list, such as three plastic spiders, a ghost, a bat and a mini pumpkin. Play at dusk with flashlights for extra atmosphere. More ideas are in our Halloween party games guide.

Easter egg hunt with clues

Players: 2 to 15, ages 3+. You need: plastic eggs, small treats.

Hide eggs around the garden, with a few golden eggs that contain clues to a bigger basket. Give little ones a head start or a separate easy zone. Our Easter games page has more spring ideas.

Thanksgiving gratitude hunt

Players: 4 to 20, all ages. You need: a list.

Find something you are thankful for in every room, something older than the oldest guest, something the color of fall leaves, and a family photo. Players share one thankful thought for each item.

How to write scavenger hunt clues

Good clues are the heart of a clue trail. They should be just hard enough to make players think, but not so hard that the game stalls.

• Match the age. Use pictures for preschoolers, simple rhymes for ages 5 to 8, and riddles or wordplay for older kids and adults.
• Describe the place, not the name. "I keep things cold and hold the milk" is better than "Look in the fridge."
• Use rhymes for kids. "Where you rest your sleepy head, look beneath it in your bed" is easy to remember and fun to read aloud.
• Write riddles for adults. "I have a face and two hands but no arms or legs" leads to a clock.
• Number your clues. Write a small number on the back of each clue so you hide them in the right order.
• Test the trail. Walk the route once before guests arrive to make sure every clue is still in place.
• Have a hint ready. If a team is stuck for more than a few minutes, offer a hint to keep things moving.

Here are a few ready to use clue examples:

• Washing machine: "I spin and spin but never get dizzy. Look inside when I am not busy."
• Mailbox: "Letters come and letters go. Peek inside me, then you will know."
• Bookshelf: "I am full of stories but I cannot read. Check my shelves for the clue you need."
• Shoe rack: "Every morning feet come to me. Look inside a shoe and you will see."
• Mirror: "Look at me and you will see someone smiling back at thee."

Planning tips

• Set boundaries. Tell players which rooms or areas are in play and which are off limits.
• Make fair teams. Mix ages and skills, or use the random team generator.
• Use a time limit. Twenty to forty minutes suits most hunts. Ring a bell or call everyone back at the end.
• Keep it safe. Keep young children with an adult outdoors, avoid roads and water, and never hide clues in high or unsafe places.
• Plan the prize. A treasure box everyone shares at the end keeps the game friendly, especially with younger kids.
• Use a template. A simple checklist with a column for the item, a tick box and points makes scoring easy. Add up team totals at the end.

How to choose the right hunt

For toddlers and preschoolers, pick a color hunt or a picture clue trail. For school age kids, a classic clue trail, nature hunt or birthday treasure hunt works best. Teens and adults enjoy photo hunts, riddle hunts and office hunts with a bit of competition. For holidays, match the theme: clue trails for Christmas morning, golden eggs at Easter and flashlight hunts at Halloween. If you want more options for the same party, browse our party games for kids and outdoor games.