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Scavenger Hunt Games for Kids

Scavenger hunt games challenge kids to find a series of objects which are hidden around a particular location, such as a house, party venue or local park. An adult begins play by handing players a list of the objects, potentially with a written clue to finding it. Scavenger hunts can be attempted alone, or teams of kids might band together to tackle the game; usually, the first player or team to find every object is declared winner.

Answers to Questions
- One variant on the traditional scavenger hunt tasks players not with finding objects, but with investigating the answers to questions, all of which can be found within a given location. This works best at a museum or historical site, and could be incorporated into a field trip by a teacher. Another way to play this variant is to set a specific time limit, and hand kids a list of questions; the players then have to research the answers in a library or on the Internet, noting their sources for any facts they unearth. The winners are the players with the most answers at the end of the set time period.
Color-based
- This type of scavenger hunt doesn't use lists of specific objects; instead, each team is given a particular color by the supervising adult and has a certain amount of time to locate as many items of that color as possible. The adult should decide ahead of time whether each object needs to be retrieved by the players, or whether merely locating it will suffice. A type of item can only count once, meaning players who find ten green pens, for example, earn only one point.
Seasonal
- Scavenger hunts can easily be adapted to certain times of the year; for example, at Easter, kids could hunt for a series of hidden chocolate eggs, while at Halloween, players look for candy located at certain houses in the immediate neighbourhood, combining the game with trick-or-treat. At Christmas, a scavenger hunt could take place entirely in the adult supervisor's home, and each item on the list could come with a festive clue relating to its location.
Online Scavenger Hunts
- Some scavenger hunt variants can be played for free through a user's web browser. These games tend not to work in exactly the same way as traditional hunts, but stick to the basic principle of finding objects. "Garfield Scavenger Hunt," for example, puts players in the shoes of the famous cartoon cat, and tasks them with finding an array of food objects hidden in a haunted house. Players must point and click with the mouse to explore the contents of rooms.

Kids Games