Treasure Hunt
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ScribdTranslationsOrganize a treasure hunt
Organizing a treasure hunt requires a lot of thought and preparation to achieve
a perfectly planned game and, consequently, a success.
I am dedicated to creating treasure hunt games for children's birthday parties. I
am going to try to give you some tips so that you can also embark on this
wonderful adventure and make your son or daughter's next birthday party
unforgettable. I will accompany you step by step describing all the important
elements that you must take into account so that your treasure hunt game is a
success.
1- What format to choose for your treasure
hunt?
The clue game format: The clue game is the most well-known treasure hunt format
among the general public. Each time they solve a puzzle, players discover where the
next clue is hidden. In this way, they advance from hiding place to hiding place until
they reach the place where the treasure is hidden. This requires creating puzzles to find
out a place. This is the format that I detail here.
Map Treasure Hunt: In the map treasure hunt, the starting point of the game is
obviously a map. In it, the map of the place where the game is going to take place will
be drawn: a house, an apartment, a garden, a city, a town, a forest, a park, a shopping
center... The participants will have to go from one point to another to find the different
clues hidden by the organizer. These clues can be riddles or different pieces of a puzzle.
By joining them, they will allow you to find the place where the treasure is hidden.
2 - Elements to take into account in a
treasure hunt
First of all, the age of the children will influence the duration of the treasure hunt.
Children under 6 years old have a concentration capacity of about 40 minutes. For those
over 8 years old, one hour is a good length for a birthday party.
The puzzles must be adapted to the age of the children: they should be neither too
easy nor too difficult. Finding balance is one of the hardest things for a scavenger hunt
creator.
The theme: you should choose a theme that your son or daughter and your guests like.
For example, a princess scavenger hunt for a child may not be a very good idea. You
probably prefer knights or pirates…
The location: in a house, in the garden, in a shopping center, in a park or in a forest...
there are many places to organize a treasure hunt. The location influences the content of
the enigmas because, as we have pointed out, an enigma allows us to guess a hiding
place.
3 - Puzzle ideas for the treasure hunt
Below you will find some examples of puzzles and clues that you can use to create a
scavenger hunt or clue game. Each enigma will allow you to guess a place.
Riddle of the drawn hieroglyph
The drawn hieroglyph consists of a series of illustrations that, once interpreted, give the
syllables that allow us to discover a phrase or a word. Therefore, it can be used to create
words or phrases that children must discover.
enigma puzzle
This is an example of a puzzle, which, once solved, will tell the children to look for the
next clue near the piano.
To make a puzzle, take a photo of the next clue's hiding place, print it out, and cut it into
several pieces.
Enigma of the secret codes
This is an example of a puzzle, in which a code is used to discover a word. In this case,
you would have to guess a door.
Enigma of the coded phrases
In this example of a scrambled phrase, children must read every second letter to guess
where the next clue in the game is hidden: CGOGCQHZE (CAR)
riddle riddle
In this riddle example, children have to guess that the next clue of the treasure hunt
awaits them near a comb (thus, in the bathroom).
"What has teeth but doesn't bite?"
4 Treasure hunt preparation
Writing the story and script: to start the treasure hunt, it is usually based on a letter
that a character sends to the children. For example, you may make up a story that you
mistakenly received a letter from a pirate, in which he wrote to his crony that his plan
had worked and that the treasure was hidden in a safe place. To find the treasure, the
pirate sidekick had to solve several puzzles that would lead him to the treasure's hiding
place. But, since the first pirate made a mistake when sending the letter, it will be the
children who go out in search of the treasure...
Preparation: it is the longest part, as it involves inventing several enigmas, subtly
dosing their difficulty.
Installation: hide the different puzzles before the day of the birthday party without
your son or daughter seeing you. Use adhesive tape to stick the puzzles in difficult
places: under a chair, against a door...
Treasure Making: Treasure is the apotheosis of treasure hunting. A shoe box lined
with shiny paper will work perfectly. In addition to fake gold coins, you can also put
bags of candy or small toys inside the treasure chest that guests can take home.
Print-ready scavenger hunt kits
I hope you found this guide to organizing scavenger hunts helpful. In my online store,
you can find my printable scavenger hunts and birthday games. The kits, on various
topics and for all ages, are available in PDF format: http://es.zalunira.net
PRINT A TREASURE HUNT
Good ideas to organize a treasure hunt at home
To celebrate a birthday, a Halloween night, returning home after a vacation with
grandparents or a camping trip... Make sure you have a special time with the kids by
organizing a treasure hunt at home. You will do it in no time with the ideas and material we
provide you.
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A treasure hunt doesn't need much space to be a success. A few rooms and the terrace
or garden if you have them are enough. You don't need many children either. One is
enough, although it is more fun with two or more. What really matters is good planning
of the tracks and the tests that you are going to subject the participants to and the
ability to create expectation until the goal is reached.
If you want to organize a treasure hunt with two or more siblings, try to distribute the
papers according to their age - the older one reads the clues and the younger one keeps
the papers in his pocket. If both of you are older, a trick is for both of you to have your
clues and your evidence. We will differentiate them with a color, for example. The
children play in turns and help each other.
The clues
Planning as many tracks as the children are old is a good measure so that interest does
not wane until the end of the route. If they have been away from home for days, place
them in places that have special value to them: inside their favorite drawer, hidden
behind the stuffed animal they love...
For children who cannot read yet, you can draw the object that hides the clue or even
take a photograph and print it. For older children, make a short description like: "Take
three steps forward and two to the left. You will find a colored object..; look for an
object that starts with the letter X; The object you must look for is useful for...". From
the age of 10, write coded messages by replacing letters with a geometric figure or by
stopping writing them.
Print our clue cards on printable parchment and write them up.
Tests
They are small tasks that children must solve to get the next clue. In our riddles section,
you will find them fun and curious. You can also invite them to sing or mime a children's
song , tell a joke , solve a riddle... They can be physical tests chosen according to the
space available at home: jumping to a place on one leg, imitating the walk of an animal,
recognizing something blindfolded...
Print our test sheets on printable parchment and write them up.
The goal
It is the last stage of the treasure hunt and the most fun because it will be associated
with a prize for immediate consumption: a box with candy or trinkets to play with. It can
also be something that the child really wants, such as tickets to an amusement park or
the cinema to see the latest movie about his favorite hero.
Don't make it too easy for them, hide the treasure very well to give more excitement to
the game. In addition to the treasure, you can give them a diploma on parchment for
finding it . If many children have participated and you have organized two teams, you
can also print scavenger hunt participation certificates for those who have not won.
THEMATIC TREASURE HUNTS
Scavenger hunts can revolve around a specific theme. Here are some ideas
- Birthday
Let's imagine that it is the child's birthday and you have given him something that he has
longed for for a long time. Instead of giving it to him plainly, organize a treasure hunt
and you will add considerable extra excitement.
- Of pirates
They are the absolute protagonists of a treasure hunt. Make them a homemade pirate
costume and... let's search!
- Of clowns
Before starting a scavenger hunt, give them a red nose and a wig if you have one. The
tests will be about jokes , pirouettes, music...
- Of Halloween
Halloween is a perfect excuse to organize a treasure hunt and find a very scary one.
Dress up the children with Halloween masks , decorate the house with Halloween
characters and objects and for the clues, organize very scary games.
- Of animals
Put the children in an animal mask . For tests, here are animal riddles , animal jokes ,
animal poems and games for an animal party .
