Scavenger hunts can be a great way to explore the neighborhood or city, bond with colleagues or strangers, and unleash your inner child. These activities encourage teamwork and communication while interacting with the world around us.
In this article, we’ve listed 20 scavenger ideas for adults to break down barriers and foster new connections. We’ve covered both indoor and outdoor activities, and everything in between!
1. City Scavenger Hunt
A city scavenger hunt is a great way to explore the city and engage with the surroundings.
As with most scavenger hunts, participants are divided into teams and tasked with completing an array of challenges set by the game organizer. Whoever first completes the challenge as per the rules, wins!
These hunts can take place in any urban environment, making them suitable for both tourists and local residents looking to explore their city in a fun and exciting way.
Activities may include:
- Solving riddles and puzzles related to local history and landmarks
- Taking creative photos at specific locations. For example, “Strike a dramatic pose in front of a mural,” or “Do a jump shot at the city’s most famous statue/building.”
- Pretending to be a tour guide and making up something random about a landmark or area. The crazier the story, the better!
- Snacking on weird and unique local delicacies they’ve never had before.
Coming up with city scavenger ideas can be challenging but luckily, organizers like cityHUNT are here to take that load off your shoulders.
cityHUNT has 23+ years of experience in the field, providing tailored scavenger hunts that combine fun with exploration.
They personalized scavenger hunts for various occasions, including corporate team-building events, family gatherings, and social outings. The team works closely with the clients to ensure all activities are suitable and appropriate for the participants.
Though based in the US, cityHUNT can tailor the scavenger hunt in any city worldwide. They have a “guaranteed fun” policy, too, meaning that the hunts are sure to put a smile on the participants’ faces—or the event is free!
2. Treasure Hunt
Treasure hunts work in any location, whether at the office, home, or outside. Participants search for hidden objects by following a series of pre-written clues, puzzles, or maps. The main goal is to reach the final destination and find the “treasure” before the others can.
Treasure hunts are especially fun in large groups because everyone can contribute to completing challenges. There’s strength in numbers, after all. Some can solve riddles, while others can work on spotting hidden items. Plus, the excitement of racing against the clock adds an adrenaline rush that keeps everyone engaged.
3. Selfie Challenge
As the name suggests, the selfie challenge is an activity wherein a person or group takes a selfie according to the provided theme or instructions.
For example, participants might be asked to take a silly selfie in front of their pets or with a stranger wearing a specific color. It can also be group-focused, like making a human pyramid or recreating a famous scene.
4. Scavenger Hike
This outdoor scavenger hunt for adults is perfect for groups who love hiking, exploring, and enjoying nature.
In this challenge, teams visit a nearby national park or hiking trail to fulfill a set of predetermined tasks. Some examples include:
- Taking a photo of a waterfall or any other natural water source.
- Collecting different types of leaves (bonus points for identifying the tree they came from).
- Looking for animal tracks or signs of wildlife, such as footprints, feathers, nests, or burrows.
- Locating various wildflowers along the trail.
- Find rocks with interesting shapes.
- Photographing an animal or insect that’s particularly well-camouflaged and showing it to the challenger teams. The first team to identify or locate the hidden animal wins.
- Snapping photos of mushrooms or other fungi growing in damp areas, tree trunks, or shaded spots.
5. ABC Hunt
In this scavenger hunt for adults, the group must locate and take photos of items, animals, or landmarks for each letter of the alphabet. A can be a picture of a flying airplane, B of a book in a bookstore, C of a cat lounging on a couch, and so on.
The scavenger hunt can take place in the supermarket, in the city square, in the office, or even at home. It can also follow a certain theme—like only Halloween-related or food-related items—to add some challenge to the hunt.
6. Meme Scavenger Hunt
The Meme Scavenger Hunt is ideal for younger participants and Gen-Z employees as memes are a big part of their humor and culture. It’s also great for those working from home because it doesn’t require participants to be physically near each other to compete.
In this scavenger hunt, individuals or teams share memes describing certain events, feelings, or activities. For example:
- Send a meme describing what you’re currently feeling
- Send a meme that sums up your workweek
- Send a meme about your favorite show or movie
- Send a meme about your weekend plans
- Send a meme about online shopping
Participants can then vote on the most “relatable” or funniest memes. The person or team with the most votes wins!
7. Seasonal Scavenger Hunt
Add a bit of holiday fun to your adult scavenger hunts with a seasonal-themed hunt! It can be as simple as creating a box of seasonal goodies and decor or take it up a notch with fun challenges and activities. Here are some ideas:
- Take selfies at holiday-themed spots, like in front of a spooky market stall or a decorated Christmas tree.
- Look for seasonal treats. During Christmas, for example, participants can bring peppermint bark, gingerbread cookies, eggnog, sugar cookie fudge, and the like.
- Answer questions or riddles related to holiday traditions, movies, or songs.
- Create a list of holiday-related items for participants to find. The first to collect or take pictures of the items wins.
- Create a holiday playlist and share it with the group.
8. Office Scavenger Hunt
Office scavenger hunts are excellent team-building activities that work in virtually any workspace. Essentially, this hunt asks participants to find a list of office-related items within a specified time frame.
Avoid simple tasks like “find a pen” or “find a computer,” be creative! For example:
- Take a selfie with five different people from other departments/teams.
- Count all the exit doors in the office building and take a creative photo of each one. For every exit missed, the team loses a point.
- Snap a picture of five employees wearing glasses or a specific colored shirt.
- Find five employees (outside the team) who have worked in the company for more than five years.
- Take a photo of animals hanging out within the vicinity of the office, like a bird, a stray cat, or a dog.
9. Zoo Scavenger Hunt
This scavenger hunt is all about getting to know the zoo animals! Organizers come up with animal-themed riddles, and participants must snap a photo of the animal that matches each clue. It could also be a list of tasks like:
- Taking a photo while feeding an animal or mimicking their moves.
- Finding an endangered animal and writing down one fact about the conservation efforts of that species.
- Snap a picture of an animal with the longest tail.
- Finding an animal that matches a specific color (e.g., “an animal that’s mostly orange” or “an animal with three colors”).
- Photographing an animal that typically lives in groups or herds and note what their group is called (like a “pride” of lions).
10. Beach Scavenger Hunt
If you’re visiting the beach with a group of friends or colleagues as part of a team-building activity, it’s the perfect time to introduce beach scavenger hunts. Organizers will create a list of objects or activities to do and complete before the end of the trip. Activities include:
- Taking a picture of a creature chilling at the beach, like a crab, starfish, or sand dollar.
- Looking for a large, unbroken seashell or a uniquely shaped rock.
- Snapping a picture of a beach sign.
- Building a sandcastle or spelling a name on the sand.
11. Art Scavenger Hunt
An art scavenger hunt works best in an art museum but can also work in public spaces like parks, galleries, or even street art hotspots.
Participants can search for specific types of artwork, like sculptures, murals, or installations, and capture them on camera. Organizers can also personalize the challenge by adding a certain theme or criteria.
For example:
- Find art that makes you smile
- Find art that reminds you of a friend or loved one
- Find art made by an artist you love and explain what it means to you
- Find art with only three colors
- Find art that uses unusual or unconventional materials
12. Phone Gallery Scavenger Hunt
If you’re looking for something quick and easy, this scavenger hunt should be on top of your list. In this game, participants need to “hunt” for photos in their gallery that match specific prompts, like “a picture of your pet,” “a sunset,” or “a blue shirt.”
Participants can share their photos in the group chat and tell the story of each to make things more interesting. All photos must come from their albums and albums only!
13. Bucket List Challenge
Create a list of activities or experiences for participants to check off, like “try a dance class,” “try a new restaurant,” or “visit a local museum.”
Keep it simple and within the activity levels of the participants. Also, make sure the activities are possible in the area you’re in. Going bungee jumping is a fun bucket list idea but it’s not feasible for everyone (unless your team is into extreme sports).
Here are some other ideas:
- Attend a local farmers’ market
- Go to a local comedy show
- Visit a nearby beach or lake
- Attend a live music performance
- Take a cooking or craft class
- Participate in a local charity event or volunteer
- Buy something from a shop you’ve never visited—or ever thought of visiting—before
- Visit a botanical garden or zoo
Participants must check off as many activities on the bucket list as possible. The person/group with the most activities checked off wins a “bucket list” prize of their own, like a trip overseas!
14. Foodie Scavenger Hunt
In this hunt, participants get to explore the city while sampling dishes from local eateries and markets they wouldn’t otherwise think of tasting.
Make a list of food-related items and dishes for participants to try, like exotic fruit, artisanal cheese, ethnic cuisine, or gluten-free desserts.
It can also be something more vague, like “Try a dish with the color purple,” “Order something that comes in a bowl,” or “Get something on a stick.”
15. Travel Back to the Past
Find items or products that were popular in a specific decade (like the 80s, 90s, or 2000s), and take a picture of them. It could range from retro clothing and VCRs to old-school video games or movies. The important thing is that they were trending during that period.
The hunt could also be something like naming an Old Hollywood movie star famous for her scream (Valerie Hobson, Vina Fay Wray, Mae Clarke, etc.) and finding a clip of their performance. Or hunting for snacks or candies that were popular in the past, like Chewy Razzles, Pop Rocks, or Sour Bottle Caps.
The goal is to make participants feel nostalgic!
16. Color Challenge
The color challenge is exactly what it says on the tin—each team must find items or scenes that represent a color. If the theme is “Red,” the team could take pictures of a person wearing red lipstick, food with red sauce, or a field of red flowers.
To make it more interesting, the item must be found within a certain area or location, such as a park, a neighborhood area, or an office. Give teams a set time limit (e.g., 15 to 30 minutes) to find and photograph as many items of the chosen color as possible.
17. Bag Scavenger Hunt
In this challenge, participants are tasked to search for items inside their team members’ bags, laptop covers, and purses. For example:
- Recent receipt (the one with the most recent receipt wins)
- Old receipt (the one with the oldest wins)
- Physical picture of a child or pet
- Breath mints
- Something color specific
- Foreign currency or coins
- An item that isn’t usually found in an everyday bag
- An item that nearly everyone on the team has
18. Dress to Impress Costume Challenge
Inspired by the popular Roblox game “Dress to Impress,” this challenge asks participants to show off their fashion sense and creativity through costumes.
To play, assign a random theme for participants to dress up in.
If the theme is animal, team members must wear an animal-themed costume.
They can use items from their home, make their own costume, or visit a second-hand store and mix and match various pieces that fit the theme.
You can then host a mini fashion show where teams can showcase their costumes, whether live or via photographs.
Some costume ideas include:
- Superheroes
- TV show characters
- Fairytale characters
- Famous artists
- Historical figures
- Circus performers
- Pirates
- Household items
- Professionals at work
19. Twin Scavenger Hunt
For this hunt, teams are paired into two and tasked to find as many matching objects they have between each other.
For instance, maybe they have wallets of similar color or matching makeup brands. Or perhaps they’re wearing the same colored shirt, or brought the same lunch!
It can also go beyond face value. Maybe both participants have cats or dogs, spend at least an hour in the shower, or visit a favorite restaurant once a week.
This game is a favorite of ours because it encourages two people to find common ground. Who knows, maybe it can lead to new friendships!
20. Hide and Seek Scavenger Hunt
This scavenger hunt adds a unique twist to the classic hide-and-seek children’s game, where a person or team hides an item for the other team to find.
The seekers will ask the hiders yes-or-no questions to narrow down the item’s location, such as “Is the item inside a drawer?” or “Is it edible?”
If they struggle to locate it, they can use a set amount of available hints. To keep things exciting, assign a time limit for each. Points are awarded based on how quickly each team finds the hidden items!
The hide-and-seek scavenger hunt is different from treasure hunts because it involves direct interaction between the hiders and seekers, with the seekers relying on clues and questions to locate the hidden item rather than a series of predetermined clues or a map.
Final Words
These scavenger hunts are perfect for office workers, college students, and friends looking to spend time with each other outside the cafe or bar. Some hunts are designed for the outdoors, like city hunts and scavenger hikes, while others can be enjoyed indoors.
If you’re struggling to create a scavenger hunt for your team, leave it to the experts. cityHUNT will curate fun activities and events while handling all on-site logistics to ensure an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Fun guaranteed—or the event is free!
