FAQ’s

Yes!  We are based in Orlando, Florida, but we travel the world delivering treasure and scavenger hunts.

It varies, based on location, number of participants, length of the event and type of hunt.  However, a good rule of thumb is $2,500 plus an additional $25-$150 per person.  If this is more than you budgeted for, we can create a personalized, 10-clue, do-it-yourself hunt for $500.  Or, purchase one of our ready-made, do-it-yourself scavenger hunts for $7-$147.

The smallest hunt we’ve run was for 10 people and the largest is 2,500.  However, the sky’s the limit!  Our do-it-yourself hunts can also be run for any number of guests, as you print off the number of clue books or clues you need for the number of guests you’re doing the hunt for.

We’ve run hunts for as little as a half-hour and for as long as an entire week.  It all depends on your needs.  However, a typical stand-alone hunt lasts approximately 1-3 hours.

Yes!  It’s never about how quickly you can complete our hunts.  It’s about getting the most solutions correct.  So, everyone can take it at their own pace and enjoy the hunt.

Yes!  We can create a hunt that does not rely on a play of words; so English-as-a-second-language participants can enjoy the hunt.  Or, we can translate the hunt into your group’s native language.

A complete list of what is included in each do-it-yourself hunt is listed under the description of each hunt.  However, you’ll usually get directions to help you run the hunt, clues to hand out to participants and clue solutions.  Some do-it-yourself scavenger hunts also contain extras, such as blank templates to use as party invitations or flyers, certificates for the winners and a list of games you can play to enhance the hunt theme.

All do-it-yourself hunt documents come as a download, or for an additional $10 we can ship the files on a CD.  Click here for instructions on how to download a purchased hunt.

As many as you feel comfortable running it for!  Hunts are designed to be run for just a few participants as individuals, or for many as teams.

No.  When you purchase a do-it-yourself scavenger hunt, you’ll get a download of all documents you’ll need to run the hunt.  Download the hunt, save it to your computer and print off as many copies as you’ll need for the number of guests participating.

Occasionally you need to use themed props that can be found around your home, or purchased at a local party store.  If additional props are required, we list this under the description of the hunt.  If it’s not listed, no additional items are needed to run the hunt.

It depends.  Most do-it-yourself scavenger hunts are designed to be run by one person without help.  However, some require you to leave clues in different locations.  If you’re doing your hunt in your home it’s easy to just leave clues laying around in locations for teams.  But, if you’re doing your hunt in a busy location where you can’t just leave clues, you may need to enlist help.  For instance, if a restaurant is willing, you could leave one set of clues with their hostess.

It varies from hunt to hunt.  Also, you can place clues close together, which makes the hunt go quicker.  Or, you could space them out, which will take longer, as teams will have to travel from clue to clue.  The approximate time for each hunt is listed under the description for each hunt.

Give yourself plenty of time to plan. Although we have tried to make this an easy process for you, it will still take some planning. Read through your Directions document as soon as possible. This explains anything that you need to purchase or prepare prior to your hunt. Most hunts require you to plan out where you want to hide your clues. Others require you to purchase/gather items and set up clue stations. These hunts could take up to 4 hours to plan depending on your location and experience in this type of activity.

If it’s not listed, it doesn’t exist yet.  But, check back frequently as we’re constantly adding new hunts.  If you’d like to make a suggestion for a type of hunt we should develop, we’d love to hear from you so contact us.  Another option would be to have us create a personalized, 10-clue hunt for you for $500.

We prefer a minimum of two weeks notice, but you can always call to see if we can develop it in less time.

1. How to create a good hunt

• Scavenger Hunts – Are the easiest to create and could be:
  • A list of items guests need to find.  You can simply list items such as "a cup," or get more clever such as "something that can be matched with these words – cake, Stanley, and measuring."
  • Finding hidden items, such as Easter eggs or cutout hearts on Valentine’s Day
• Photo Hunts – could be:
  • Like a scavenger hunt with guests taking / collecting pictures of themselves in different places / situations.  Share the photos at the end of the hunt and / or send everyone a link to a photo-sharing site after the party
  • A series of pictures that participants must try to figure out what they are of, so they can visit that location to find a clue
• Progressive Hunts – Guests go from location to location to find / solve clues.  This can be:
  • Simple – For instance, when guests get to “the mailbox” they find a clue telling them to go to “the closet"
  • More difficult – For instance, when guests get to “the mailbox” they receive a cipher they must solve that takes them to the next clue location.  A word of caution on these hunts – have a way for guests that get “stuck” at a location to get hints, so the hunt isn’t over for them if they can’t solve a clue.  In exchange for a small penalty, they could call a phone number or visit a helper at a set location to get a hint, or an answer
• Hunt Books – Guests get a book outlining all the clues, which they can solve in any order.  When they get to the clue location outlined, they find some information that helps them solve a clue in the book.  For instance, guests may have a clue written in cipher in the book and when they get to “the mailbox” they find the cipher decoder

2. Ensure the hunt is age/skill level appropriate, i.e. a simple scavenger or progressive hunt for younger children, teens love photo hunts, etc

3. If there are a lot of participants, place them on teams:

• Make sure teams are even
• Don’t let kids pick teams or the last to be picked may get their feelings hurt
• If you’ve got mixed ages, keep the teams mixed. That way it’s fair and the older kids can help the younger kids
• If doing a hunt for younger children, have an adult accompany each team – brief adults prior to the hunt on how it works
• You may also want a helper to hand out clues at Progressive Hunt locations, so teams don’t take other team’s clues!  If you don’t do this, warn teams that they won’t be able to win if they sabotage other team’s clues!
• If doing a Progressive Hunt, send teams in different locations.  For instance, Team #1 may go to “the mailbox” first, but Team #2 may go to “the closet” first.  This ensures teams don’t just follow each other from place to place.  However, ensure the last clue for each team sends them to one final destination

4. How to kick-off the hunt:

• Gather everyone and get their attention when explaining the hunt
• Explain clearly but quickly – don’t go into a lot of detail
• Have younger children repeat back to you the important rules – give older participants a rulebook to take with them
• Let teams know what is “off limits,” like a parent’s bedroom, garage, etc

5. How to end a hunt:

• End at a specific time to remain in control of the activity and to ensure kids don’t “race,” which could be bedlam and make slower-moving children feel bad
• The winner can be determined by:
  • The participants that solve the most clues or finds the most scavenger / photo hunt items by that certain time wins.  Have something for participants to do while you correct clues / tally up points, such as a game that ties into the hunt theme
  • Have all guests collect clue solutions up until the set time.  Then, reveal a final clue that utilizes all of the solutions they collected.  For instance, the final clue could reveal that the last letter in all of the clue solutions spells out a location where the treasure is hidden.  The first team to unravel this mystery location wins
  • Have treats for all the guests at the end of the hunt.  For instance, if a treasure chest is found, the party bags for all the children could be in this treasure chest

Both!  If done right, you don’t have to go far afield – a great hunt can be organized right at home.  However, if holding the hunt in an area of interest, such as a park or attraction, the hunt should allow guests to experience the location.  For instance, if holding the hunt in a park, it would be fun to tape a clue solution to the inside of a tunnel slide and kids have to slide down in order to see the clue solution.  An important note is to ensure you get permission from an area of interest before holding the hunt there.  For instance, many shopping malls do not allow hunts on their premises.

Absolutely anything!  Get inspiration from:

• What’s “hot” with the guest of honor and their friends.  Think about their favorite TV shows, books, music, movies, stores, etc. for inspiration.
• A special holiday
• What’s happening in the world.  If the kids are getting ready to go back to school, you may want to have them hunt for school supplies.
• Timeless classics such as pirates, spies, western, princesses, sports, etc.  For ideas, look at what kind of party décor is being carried in your local party supply store.

It depends on the age of the participants:

• Children under the age of 5:  15-30 minutes
• Children aged 6-8:  30-60 minutes
• Tweens:  1-2 hours
• Teens and adults:  1 hour – whenever!  1-2 hours is best, but hunts can last all day if clues are interspersed with other activities.  For instance, you could do an Amazing Chase type of hunt where clues are given out to get participants to a challenge, such as a horseback riding tour and then give out another challenge that reveals what the next activity will be.  We’ve even created multi-day hunts where participants get a new clue each day and at the end of the hunt period they discover a treasure.

Participants should wear comfortable clothes and shoes, as they’ll be traveling from location to location to retrieve and solve clues.

It depends on you!  If you have less time, or a small hunt location, such as your home, they will not have to travel far.  If you have more time, or a large hunt location, participants may have to travel further.