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How to Develop a Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a game that is played in groups or as individuals. The purpose of a scavenger hunt is for players to find all of the items on a list that is prepared ahead of time. The most general form of the game stipulates that teams or individuals cannot purchase items on the list. The winner of the game is determined by the person or team who finds the most items in the allotted amount of time. One interesting spin on the traditional scavenger hunt is to list tasks participants must perform rather than items to find. To develop a scavenger hunt, several things need to be thought through.

Instructions

- 1
  Select a theme for your scavenger hunt. Examples include collecting foods and clothing to distribute to the needy, items associated with a unit of study in school, items to be sold in an auction or ingredients to cook dinner. Use your imagination to dream up other themes.
- 2
  Determine if the scavenger hunt should be completed by individuals, pairs or groups.
- 3
  Type a list of items to be hunted based on your theme. Develop the list of items to conform to the time frame of the scavenger hunt and the age of participants.
- 4
  Print a list of items for each individual, pair or group. Provide pencils so participants can cross items off the list once found.
- 5
  Develop rules for the scavenger hunt. Examples include the length of time of the hunt, where participants meet before and after the hunt, the area of town where the hunt will occur, if more than one item can be collected from the same place, if participants can scavenge their own homes and if purchasing items is allowed.
- 6
  Purchase prizes for the individual, pair or group who wins. The winner finishes the hunt in the allotted time with the most items from the list. Or, give fun, silly awards to the participant who finishes with the fewest items, who returns last, who has the most items or who has the most fun.

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