Scavenger hunt ideas, with clues ready to use

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A scavenger hunt comes in three shapes. A clue trail, where each clue leads to the spot where the next one is hidden, and the last leads to the prize. A list hunt, where teams get a list and find or do as much of it as they can. And a photo hunt, where every find is a photo on a phone, so nothing gets moved and nothing gets lost.

Below are ready-to-use clues and lists we wrote ourselves, for an indoor hunt, a kids' birthday, the office, Christmas and a phone photo hunt, plus how to set any of them up in about twenty minutes. Answers are folded away, so the person hiding the clues can check them and the hunters can't.

• Set it up
• Safety first
• Indoor clues
• Kids' birthday
• Office
• Christmas
• Photo hunt
• Backyard and park

How to set up a scavenger hunt in twenty minutes

1. Pick the shape. A clue trail for one team or for young kids, a list or photo hunt for several teams at once.
2. Choose the prize spot first. Then write the clues backwards from it: the last clue points at the prize, the one before points at the last clue, and so on.
3. Number every clue. Write the number small on the back. When a clue goes missing, you'll know which one.
4. Hide them in order, then walk the trail once. It takes two minutes and finds the clue you hid in the washing basket that someone has since emptied.
5. Set the boundaries out loud. Which rooms, which parts of the garden, what is off limits.
6. Keep a "stuck" hint for each clue. One word is usually enough. A hunt nobody can finish is worse than one that's too easy.
7. Plan a prize for everyone. A treat for every team that finishes, plus small awards for the best photo or the funniest answer.

Eight to twelve clues fills twenty to thirty minutes for kids. Adults on a list or photo hunt are happy for forty-five minutes to an hour.

Safety first: no prizes for speed

The fastest way to spoil a hunt is to make it a race. People who are racing run, and people who run while reading a phone or a clue trip over things. So:

• Score finds, not finishing times. Points for each clue solved or item found, and a bonus for creativity. Nothing for being first back.
• Walk, don't run. Say it at the start, and mean it.
• Agree a meeting time with plenty of spare. Everyone back by a set time, with no points for coming back early, so nobody hurries.
• Keep clues reachable. Nothing above shoulder height, nothing that needs a chair or a ladder, nothing near a pool, a road, a stove or a power point.
• Every clue can be skipped. If a spot is hard to reach for anyone in the team, they skip it and take the next clue from the host, with no penalty.
• Kids hunt in pairs or with a grown-up. And outdoors, a grown-up walks with every group.

Indoor scavenger hunt clues for around the house

Twelve riddles for a clue trail around the house. Each answer is a spot, so hide the next clue there. Use any order that suits your home, and put the prize at the last spot.

1. I have a face but no eyes, and hands that never wave. Look behind me for the next clue.
2. I'm full of food you can't keep cold. Open my doors and look on my lowest shelf.
3. I hold your head every night, but I've never had a thought. Look underneath me.
4. Your feet go in me before they go out the door. Check inside the left one.
5. I show you yourself, but backwards. Look at my corner.
6. Towels and sheets live in me, folded and neat. Look on my middle shelf.
7. Socks and shirts wait in me until it's washing day.
8. I'm green, I drink water and I never move. Look under my pot.
9. I open when it rains and stand in the corner when it doesn't.
10. I hang on a hook and open every door in the house. Look where I live.
11. Everyone wipes their feet on me, and I never complain. Lift me up.
12. I'm round, I'm full of apples and bananas, and I sit on the bench. Look beneath the fruit.

Answers to the indoor clues

1. A clock.
2. The pantry.
3. A pillow.
4. A shoe, by the front door.
5. A mirror.
6. The linen cupboard.
7. The laundry basket.
8. A pot plant.
9. An umbrella.
10. The key hook.
11. The doormat.
12. The fruit bowl.

Twelve more, all hiding spots around the house, are in our riddles with answers.

A kids' birthday scavenger hunt

Ten rhyming clues for ages five to nine, ending at the birthday presents or the cake. For kids who aren't reading yet, draw a picture of the spot on the back of each clue, and let an older kid or a grown-up read the rhyme out.

1. Happy birthday, clever you! Look where you brush your teeth for clue number two.
2. Where do your toys go at the end of the day? Look in the box where they're put away.
3. Where's the place your dinner is eaten? Look under the chair where the birthday kid's seated.
4. Bounce me or kick me, I'm round and I'm fun. Find the ball, and clue number five is won.
5. Splish, splash, bubbles and ducks. Look by the bath (not in it) for luck.
6. Story time's over, it's time for bed. Look on the pillow where you lay your head.
7. I keep the milk and the ice blocks cold. Look on my door for a clue to unfold.
8. I'm not a shoe, but I go on your feet. Look in the drawer where I'm folded and neat.
9. Where do the birthday guests knock, knock, knock? Look inside the front door, down low by the lock.
10. You did it! You're done! You solved every clue. The prize is where the party balloons wait for you.

Answers to the birthday clues

1. By the toothbrushes.
2. The toy box.
3. The dinner table, under the birthday kid's chair.
4. A ball.
5. Beside the bath.
6. A pillow on the bed.
7. The fridge door.
8. The sock drawer.
9. Inside the front door.
10. The balloons, with the presents or the cake.

With more than four kids, make two trails with the same clues in a different order, so the groups don't trail each other round the house.

Office scavenger hunt ideas for team building

A list hunt suits work best: teams of three or four, the list at the start, forty-five minutes, and everyone back at the meeting room for scoring. Everything happens inside the office, nobody needs to leave the building, and nothing on the list puts one person on the spot. Score one point an item, and let the room vote two bonus points for the best photo.

1. A photo of your team in front of the oldest piece of equipment in the office.
2. Find someone from another team who has worked here longer than all of you put together, and ask what's changed.
3. Three pens in three different colours, borrowed with permission and returned.
4. A sticky note with a compliment, stuck on the desk of someone you've never worked with.
5. The name of the plant in reception, or the closest guess.
6. A team photo that recreates a famous album cover, using only things from the stationery cupboard.
7. Something with the company logo that's older than the newest person in your team.
8. The exact number of chairs in the biggest meeting room.
9. A five-word review of the office coffee, signed by someone who drinks it.
10. A photo of the best view from any window.
11. Find out the most popular lunch order on your floor.
12. A paper plane made from a page of yesterday's printing, flown in the meeting room.
13. One fact about the person who sits closest to the kitchen.
14. A photo of your team as a human pyramid, drawn on a whiteboard (no climbing).
15. Something round, something blue and something that makes a noise.
16. The oldest date you can find on a notice, poster or label in the office.
17. A team motto, written in your best handwriting on a single sticky note.
18. A photo of the tidiest desk, with its owner's permission.
19. Three people from three different teams who will say "good luck" for a short video.
20. A thank-you message left for the cleaners or the reception team.

Running it with people on a video call as well? Make it a photo hunt at home: the list above becomes "something older than you", "the best mug in your house" and "your pet, or a photo of one", and teams share photos in the call chat. For games that the whole team can play on the same call, see our icebreakers for team building.

Christmas scavenger hunt clues

Ten clues for a Christmas morning trail or a family party, ending at the last present. They work for a winter Christmas or a summer one.

1. I'm tall and green and covered in lights. Look under my lowest branch tonight.
2. I hang by the fireplace (or the end of your bed) and wait to be filled. Look inside me.
3. I'm cold, I'm full of ice cream and frozen peas. Look in my top drawer, if you please.
4. Rolls of paper with snowmen and stars live in me. Look where the wrapping is kept.
5. Count down the days: one door a day. Look behind the calendar today.
6. I'm a ring on the front door, green and round. Look behind me, but don't let me down.
7. Cards from friends stand in a row. Look behind the biggest one in the show.
8. Plates and bowls live behind my door. Look on my lowest shelf, down by the floor.
9. I'm sweet and I'm saved for after the meal. Look by the dessert bowls for your next big reveal.
10. You've found every clue, so here's the last cheer: look under the couch for your present this year.

Answers to the Christmas clues

1. The Christmas tree.
2. A Christmas stocking.
3. The freezer.
4. The wrapping paper cupboard or drawer.
5. The advent calendar.
6. The wreath on the front door.
7. The Christmas cards on display.
8. The cupboard where the plates are kept.
9. Next to the dessert bowls.
10. Under the couch.

A phone photo scavenger hunt

A photo hunt needs nothing but phones, and nothing has to be hidden. Give every team the list, a meeting time and one rule: every photo has the whole team in it, or the team's mascot (any object they choose at the start). Score one point a photo, two for anything the room votes the funniest.

1. Your team, recreating a famous painting.
2. Something older than everyone in your team, added together.
3. The whole team fitting inside one doorway.
4. A sign with a spelling mistake.
5. A reflection that isn't in a mirror.
6. Your team doing a jump, all off the ground at once.
7. Something that is exactly the colour of your shirt.
8. A shadow that looks like an animal.
9. The smallest thing you can find with writing on it.
10. Your team making the shape of a letter, spelling the first letter of your team name.
11. Something that makes you hungry.
12. A dog, a cat, or a photo of either.
13. Your team pretending to be on a magazine cover.
14. A heart shape that nobody made on purpose.
15. A thumbs up from someone not in your team, with their permission.
16. Three things in a row from smallest to biggest.
17. Your team's best impression of a statue.
18. Something that would make a good team mascot, if you didn't already have one.
19. The view from the highest place you're allowed to stand (no climbing).
20. Your whole team asleep, eyes closed, in the most dramatic pose.

For teenagers and adults, add one "trade up" item: start with a paperclip and see what the team can swap it for by the meeting time, with every swap a fair one.

Backyard and park scavenger hunt list

Fifteen things to find (and leave where they are, with a photo or a tick) in a backyard or a park. Good for ages four and up, with a grown-up walking with every group.

1. A leaf bigger than your hand.
2. A leaf smaller than your thumbnail.
3. Something yellow that grew there.
4. A smooth stone.
5. A feather (look, don't touch).
6. A flower with five petals.
7. Something that smells nice.
8. A spider web (look, don't touch).
9. A stick shaped like a letter of the alphabet.
10. A cloud that looks like an animal.
11. Something that makes a noise in the wind.
12. Three different kinds of bird, heard or seen.
13. A seed, a nut or a gumnut.
14. Something rough and something soft.
15. A shadow longer than you are.

When the hunt's over: more puzzles

If the clue-solving was the best bit, there's more of it every day. Our riddle of the day sets three new riddles each morning, easy to hard, answered on a brass cylinder lock you spin. The daily puzzles add a word grid, a whodunit and more, all free and with nothing to sign up for. For a long list to pick clues from, try 60 riddles with answers and brain teasers for adults.

Updated 28 October 2026.