Fun for 8 year olds at treasure hunt party

Nikki,

The treasure hunt was a great success.... I adapted your plans. I had about 12 8 year old boys and girls.... I put them into teams of 3. Each team had a color,... so the clues led to colored poker chips (with the teams corresponding color) which they then found and turned in to get their next clue (each team had an official "clue giver" who held all that team's clues in numeric order)......

For little people this made management of clues and adult supervision much easier. After every two successful clues...the team had a physical challenge ( for example, diving into our pool....swimming through some hoops and picking up gold coins)....The "clue givers" were official judges of the challenges and distributed next clues. The last physical challenge involved a relay race with balloons....the last clue was a puzzle piece (as you suggested) inside the balloon.

When the kids popped their team balloon they realized they needed to come together with the rest of the teams to construct the last clue. They loved the race, the competition, but in the end they were all together as they went -shovels in hand - for the treasure. The treasure was buried in a plastic box in the woods.....amongst all the shiny stuff (beads and gold coins) was a pinata of a treasure chest. The pinata was hung from a tree... and every one had a chance to take a shot at busting it open. Parents loved it.....kids loved it more... they were focused, challenged, excited, and busy.....it took a total of about 55 minutes. Could have gone on longer...but we were a bit generous with the help.. and the kids were a lot smarter and resourceful than I expected.

Good luck with your web site. It was really helpful.

Jamie Jensen, New York, USA

More details on a great Childrens Treasure Hunt here

Great pirate treasure hunt

Originally I was going to use the Treasure Hunt and plan a 'Trip to Britain' with a Visa as an invitation and serve fish and chips in Newspaper. My son didn't really get that whole theme so we are going with the Pirate Treasure Hunt you sent me which he is very excited about. Glad I got both-thanks so much

I found a great web site 'deadmentellnotales.com' which has pirate stuff galore' so prop wise we are well on our way (I even got Pirate music from the web site). I think I will put a lock on the treasure chest anyway, and give out three numbers at some of the stations. With three numbers they should be able to work out the different combinations and open the chest.

I won't do teams, they will all work together. I would like to add one additional station. I like the mummy idea from the regular game-do pirates do anything similar?

Do you have suggestions for food at a Pirate party?

I am having a great time planning this party and couldn't have done it properly without your assistance.

Now I just need to learn to talk and act like a pirate!

Michelle Caragol, Colorado USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt on farm

Hi Nikki,

I held my treasure hunt at my son's birthday party at my moms house on a farm. We had adults and children ( youngest age 4) all play. I spaced out my stations a bit far ( the older ones got quite a workout!) but everyone had fun and enjoyed it! I am going to use it again for my son's grade 6 class at the end of the year party and we are going to do it in and around the school grounds.

Thanks

Lori Hepburn, Ontario Canada

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Scoobie Doo in the Scavenger Hunt

Hi Nikki

I just wanted to give you an update on my Scavenger Hunt. It was a great sucess. Thanks for all of your help. We had one team come dressed as the scoobie doo gang and they even painted the van to look like the mystery machine. I have attached a few photos for you to see.

Everyone said that I had to do it again next year. Thanks again it was a blast

Kelly LaPorte, Ontario, Canada

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Scavenger hunts for both parents and children

The scavenger hunt was great! We had a huge candy bar for the team with the most points. Gum for the best turkey. Silly String for the silliest poem. Cotton candy for the sweetest good deed. Diapers filled with candy for the best babysitter stuff.

My sister lives across the street, and she took all the little brothers and sisters, and had an indoor scavenger hunt with them! Fun!

They all had fun! And, the parents had a great time! While they were gone, we had time to build a fire and go get the pizza. Perfect! Thank you for all your help!

Amy Evans, Texas USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Will definitely do another treasure hunt

The treasure hunt is done and the kids had fun. Your suggestions were very good and I think we will do another treasure hunt in the future with our other kids.

Thanks

Toni Hudson, Texas USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Scavenger hunts for both parents and children

The scavenger hunt was great! We had a huge candy bar for the team with the most points. Gum for the best turkey. Silly String for the silliest poem. Cotton candy for the sweetest good deed. Diapers filled with candy for the best babysitter stuff.

My sister lives across the street, and she took all the little brothers and sisters, and had an indoor scavenger hunt with them! Fun!

They all had fun! And, the parents had a great time! While they were gone, we had time to build a fire and go get the pizza. Perfect! Thank you for all your help!

Amy Evans, Texas USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Mall scavenger hunt

This was designed for the participants to buy a gift for the birthday girl, during their hunt. We were at a upscale outdoor mall.

I divided the teams into two groups, and changed the order of things on the second list so the teams would not run into each other.

This took one team 45 minutes, and the other team and hour and 25 minutes. We waited for them at lunch, while sipping on champagne... I received thank yous, and gushing kudos from everyone, they all had a fantastic time.

Sincerely,

Mary Guleserian, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Having fun planning the treasure hunt

Nikki,

Hi I am doing great, having lots of fun planning anticipating the hunt.

I would love to send you a report of how it goes, if it goes as well as the scavenger hunt we had it will be a blast and I'm sure it will. And I'll send a couple photos too.

Our hunt is the 14th so I need to get back to work on some of the props I am using. Thank you so much for all your help and wonderful games

Brenda Morgan, West Virginia

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Family Scavenger Hunt most memorble

Dear Nikki,

I just came home from my scavenger hunt party and wanted to shoot an email to you before I got too busy.

This was the first time anyone in my family participated in a scavenger hunt. The occasion was my father's 75th birthday. Your materials were invaluable in sparking my imagination and setting the ground rules for my game.

Because the participants were all family (ranging from teenagers up through to my 75 y/o dad), I decided to do a "This is Your Life" scavenger hunt. I've attached the details for you. While most of it won't make sense to you, I think you'll get the general idea. I found your materials to be a great source of ideas for me to create my own unique game. I found the structure and rules that you suggested particularly helpful.

I had three teams with 5 people in each team. Everyone had a fantastic time! We downloaded the pictures into one digital album as an added gift for my dad. He said it was the most memorable and wonderful birthday he ever had! Thank you for the great ideas. I can't wait to do the next one!

Sandra Buckley, Massachusetts, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Will definitely do another treasure hunt

The treasure hunt is done and the kids had fun. Your suggestions were very good and I think we will do another treasure hunt in the future with our other kids.

Thanks

Toni Hudson, Texas USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Video scavenger hunt for teenagers

The video scavenger hunt was such a success with the kids (17-18 yrs of age). They thought it was going to be stupid but they haven't stop talking about it. Their videos were hilarious! Some of the things I made them do:

Order an ice tea from Starbucks with two straws stuck in the nose (I provided money)

Sit on a whoopee cushion next to someone in a bookstore without showing the whoopee cushion

One person must wear a dog collar and leash and carry a bone in the mouth while crawling through a major pet store (other person holding leash and petting the head) - I provided the items from the dollar store

There is a long list of things they had to do. The best part was seeing just how funny these kids were. I got to see a different side of them. I never knew my son was so funny or that he could actually dance!

Thanks,

Julianne Lewis, California, USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt on a peninsula in Sydney, Australia

Hi Nikki,

I did receive my Treasure Hunt Planner. Thank you

We are planning to do the treasure hunt for my son's 10th birthday party in September. I had found a great site near us, on a small peninsula on Sydney Harbour (Australia). My son and I are pretty excited about the planning and the party. I would be glad to send you some photos after the party.

Thanks again

Annette Wilson, Sydney Australia

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Costumed pirate themed treasure hunt

Hi Nikki,

We had a very fun party on Saturday night and we were so happy to use our Treasure Hunt with the Pirate Theme. It was a lot of fun! We had about 40 people and the costumes were great and the entertainment was a lot of fun.

Thanks,

Deb Haupt, Minnesota, USA

More details on a great Corporate Treasure Hunt here

Baby shower treasure hunt

Hi Nikki,

We had our Treasure Hunt game yesterday & had loads of fun...... I had planned this treasure hunt for the baby shower of my sister & we had loads of fun & people really loved it....it was well planned, very simple & easy to use.

I really didn't have lots of time to sit down & make my own treasure hunt & wasting lot of time in planning the game.....but with this game it made my life easier & the party lovelier.....

Thank you for all the help.

Heena Kapdi, Bedfordshire, UK

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Teen birthday party scavenger hunt

Hey Nikki

I did another one for a 13 year old birthday party that was pretty cool

I took a bunch of magazines, poster board, scissors and glue,

And I made a list of things to find in the magazine.

Something you would need for college

A boy

A girl

Something red

Something bright

…..

And then they made a collage on the poster board….

So then I took this one step further, and I am sure you have heard of the movie and the book "the secret"

Well we did one to talk about the law of attraction, for a group of adults. It was awesome !

Thank You

JoAnn Seckus, Illinois, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Friends talking about the treasure hunt at school

Hi Nikki

Thanks for being so prompt in replying to the problem I had downloading the e book. I used some ideas from the e book and it gave me a good idea on how to plan the party. I then modified it to suit our party, which we held around our local area.

My son loved the party and I think his friends will be talking about it at school today!

Yvette Atkinson, Auckland, New Zealand

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Pirate treasure hunt by the lake

No problems with the downloads! I've printed off the materials and will read through them tonight. My party is for 8 boys ages 9 - 12. It is a pirate themed bday party for my 10 year old son. We are holding it at our cabin at a lake. Lots of sand so the whole pirate theme should be great!

Our cabin is near Columbus, NE. The party is on Saturday, July 15th so I need to get going on the preparations!!!

Jill Geisler, New England USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Custom treasure hunt for sweet sixteen

Nikki,

Thanks for your suggestions I'm well on my way to piecing together a custom treasure hunt for my stepdaughter's sweet sixteen.

Thanks for all your help.

Best Regards

Adrienne Loder, California, USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Easter scavenger hunt around the house

Hi Nikki,

So, just to let you know, everything went well. Easter is a big deal at our house.....always has been. My husband and I don't have any kids, but my sisters do, and have been coming to our home for Easter brunch for years...probably 15 years or so. I have always made a game of some sort for the kids...there are 8 of them. When they were little we had yarn woven in, around, under, on top of etc furniture, and knick knacks within our bottom two rooms....family room and recreation room. Slightly hidden along the trail where gifts/chocolate etc for the kids. As the kids got bigger it became more challenging. I've done Kim's games with them, word quizzes....oh many things....just can't think of them off the top of my head. I keep kidding the kids, that they are getting too old for this...the game...the gifts...the treats. But of course, they don't think so :) So, each year, it takes me awhile to come up with something a little different. Basically, what I'm looking at are 8 kids, each of whom is getting about 10 gifts (my Mum and sisters drop off their gifts to me to be included). This works out to 60 "places" within our home that I need to identify as the prize location somehow.

I don't know if this is making much sense to you, as I'm writing it. So I'd thought of a scavenger hunt of some sort for some time. So, I bought yours this year....and I was able to use the ideas. I took suggestions from the "Scavenger Hunt - Around the Home" and the "Memory Hunt". The kids

range in ages from 10 to 18. The oldest 2 brought their boy friends this year! I came up with 60 questions (5 questions per kid) ranging in difficulty eg. "How many holes are in the air tub?", "What brand name toaster oven is in the kitchen?" to "What was tested on November 13, 1996?". The answer to the last one is "the gas regulation pressure test". There is a tag that hangs off the gas pipe in the laundry room. Another one that had one of them stumped for awhile was, "Where do you find the number 39615119?". The answer is the "water meter". The kids like the challenge...they won't give up. I also had them each find 5 particular items in the house. For example....everyone had to find a tea light. These are normally around the house, but by the time eight kids have picked one up, kids #9 and 10 are having more difficulty finding one. I had a couple of other things for them to do as well.

So, it went well. I think they'll be 30 years old and I'll still be doing it. I'll read through your material again next year and come up with something else for them to do.

Thanks for the hunt/games and your emails. As I said, it went very well.

Tracey Stamp, Ontario, Canada

More details on a great Easter Treasure Hunt here

Scavenger hunt is welcomed by Mall Management (eventually)

Nikki,

The party started off great until a group of the kids ran into a security guard who insisted that it was against mall policy and would not let them continue. I had already checked the mall website and code of conduct as well as spoke to some of the retail stores so that they knew what was going

on and all were ok with it. I did not call the mall office which I should have done but the stores were very open to the hunt so I saw no reason to do that as well. The security guard would not let me speak to his supervisor nor was there any mall management there on a Saturday. I gave up and took

the kids bowling but the kids loved the idea and insisted on figuring out the clues that they had not gotten to yet. I have since spoken to mall management, it was not against mall policy and they are sending out apologies to all kids involved as well as rescheduling the hunt and giving the kids gift cards and other things to help make up for the rude, stupid security guard.

Here is a list of the clues and activities that they were supposed to do. I had made a scrapbook with the clues in it for each kid and left places for the pictures that they were supposed to take during the hunt. There were 4 groups of kids and each group had the same clues for the first half of the

hunt but were all in a different order so that they would not be running into each other and such. We were meeting halfway and switching teams so that they could hang out with different kids for the second part of the hunt. The kids loved it and were very disappointed with the security guard (he is no longer employed there as well).

Your information helped me stay organized and I do appreciate it!

Thanks,

Cindi Brackins, North Carolina, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Dog themed treasure hunt

Hi Nikki! We had our treasure hunt yesterday. It was awesome. The kids had a blast. Age ranges were from 7 to 10. Since my daughter had a dog theme going, I changed the team names to The Pink Poodles, the Golden Doodles, and the Blue Bulldogs. Kids laughed at the names and were proud to be one of the 3. I also structured the activities you suggested to include the dog theme. For ex, the toilet paper wrapping... I pretended that one person was a hairless dog and the kids needed to put fur on by covering themselves with the toilet paper. Then they would create a furry doggy! Also, instead of a pirate flag, we made a dog flag by putting dog stickers, words to describe puppies, and drew bones. As for the treasure, we actually buried it in our yard and gave them shovels. They had a ball! Not only was it fun for the kids, it was fun for the adults watching the kids run all over the yard to complete the 6 stations.

Thanks so much for a great party idea! This is a keeper!! What a memorable experience!

Sherri Shaner, Ohio, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt book immediately available for procrastinator

I'm a procrastinator and the treasure hunt party is tomorrow night!!! So no time to write much now - but, I'll try to let you know how it all went! I am loving the package and it is working out nicely - so far - so good! THANKS! And, thanks for having something IMMEDIATELY available for a procrastinator like me! It's for a group of freshman girls and I think it will be tons of fun! THANKS!

Lynne Allenspach, Montana USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Many combinations for the instant treasure hunt

Hi Nikki, I did log on and enjoyed the clues. What a time saver. Can't wait to play around with it some more. So many wonderful combinations.....

Trish Nickerson, New Mexico USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Help makes treasure hunt go great

Nikki,

Yes, we had our Treasure Hunt on 11/18. I had a little panic moment for the preparation since we didn't quite know what to get and stuff, but with great help of my 15-year-old daughter on that day, we could make it to a very exciting, fun treasure hunt. So everything went well after all. Thank you.

Rie Bach, California, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Best birthday EVER - treasure hunt

Thank you - "It was the best birthday - -EVER" - my 15 year old had a total of 6 girls and they went around the neighborhood to 6 different house to complete the tasks. We had the party last week and the girls at school are still talking about it. Thank you sooooo much.

Siobhan Fox, Florida, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt in Indiana

Our treasure hunt takes place in Indiana on July 15. It is a party for church staff leadership and their families. Guests range in age from 6 months to 65 years!

I love your ebook so far. No questions yet, but I won't hesitate to e-mail if questions come up.

Kim Bickel, Indiana USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

Dog themed treasure hunt

Hi Nikki! We had our treasure hunt yesterday. It was awesome. The kids had a blast. Age ranges were from 7 to 10. Since my daughter had a dog theme going, I changed the team names to The Pink Poodles, the Golden Doodles, and the Blue Bulldogs. Kids laughed at the names and were proud to be one of the 3. I also structured the activities you suggested to include the dog theme. For ex, the toilet paper wrapping... I pretended that one person was a hairless dog and the kids needed to put fur on by covering themselves with the toilet paper. Then they would create a furry doggy! Also, instead of a pirate flag, we made a dog flag by putting dog stickers, words to describe puppies, and drew bones. As for the treasure, we actually buried it in our yard and gave them shovels. They had a ball! Not only was it fun for the kids, it was fun for the adults watching the kids run all over the yard to complete the 6 stations.

Thanks so much for a great party idea! This is a keeper!! What a memorable experience!

Sherri Shaner, Ohio, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Teenage video scavenger hunt

Hi,

The party is this Sat. for a group of 17-18 year old teenagers. My son just turned 18 today. We are hoping to do the video scavenger hunt if the weather cooperates. I'll let you know how it went.

Juliane Lewis, california, USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt is best party ever!

Hi - We had a great party last night!  We decided to have four stations with four groups of two boys (ages 11 and 12).  This was for a sleepover so when the kids sat down for dinner they each had either a red, green, orange, or blue flashlight with them.  Their flashlight determined the teams.  Also, each team had it's own had unique treasure maps so they would all win the same treasure eventually.  Armed with the map pieces and a clue on the back, they all found their treasure of nerf guns and then spent at least an hour outside playing after the treasure hunt.  The boys had a great time and the structure your documents provided for the treasure hunt was really helpful.  After the boys traisped through the woods and found their treasure, one boy shouted "This is the best party ever!".  I was thrilled and my son had a great time.  Thanks for your help!

Alison McLaughlin, Massachusetts, USA

Mo re details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Looking for more opportunities for treasure hunt

Hi Nikki- Overall things were great -- It really was fun and I'm looking for an opportunity to do another Treasure Hunt. I ended with each of 4 teams finding one-fourth of a Treasure Map -- they all had to work together to get a Treasure Chest filled with Goodie Bags. Thanks, this was great!

Janet Brewe, New Hampshire USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Bought three treasure hunts and yours is the best!

Dear Nikki, many thanks. The party is over, and the treasure hunt went well. It was a very nice change from my usual treasure hunts. Good product. I actually bought and downloaded three different hunt games, and yours was by far the best. The calculator worked brilliantly! I changed it to match the combination on the lock which I already had, and it worked like a charm. How long did it take you to work out all the connections so every team would wind up with the same combination?

Thanks again

Laura Gordon, Pennsylvania USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Looking for more opportunities for treasure hunt

Hi Nikki- Overall things were great -- It really was fun and I'm looking for an opportunity to do another Treasure Hunt. I ended with each of 4 teams finding one-fourth of a Treasure Map -- they all had to work together to get a Treasure Chest filled with Goodie Bags. Thanks, this was great!

Janet Brewe, New Hampshire USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Plans to have a lot more scavenger hunts

Hi Nikki,

our birthday scavenger hunt was a GREAT success. Your material gave me lots to choose from and I was grateful. I used the treasure map for the invitations and rolled them up to hand out. The list was on the treasure map and it was 8 items to look for or info to find and 8 were photos to take to make memories & proof of it getting done. It was a teen girl team against teen guy team and the playing field was the city of Wichita, KS so they had a certain time to be back complete or not and the one with the most done was the winner. They all came back with wonderful stories and had lots of fun. I learned though that the guy against girl wasn't the best cause the guys were too COOL to do some of the list, but the things they did they had FUN! Whereas if they had mixed teams the girls would have persuaded them into doing everything.

While planning this double birthday party it has prompted other ideas one for our leadership Christmas party at church promoting unity & working together to accomplish a task.

Also I have talked with our the coordinator who is up for the idea of a scavenger hunt during next summer's Family Reunion. Should be loads of fun.

Thanks for the great info! I am going to try to send a photo let me know if it makes it.

Dena Hudson, Kansas USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Youth group bonfire and night treasure hunt

Yes. we are well on our way. I absolutely LOVE what you have put together.

With a couple of minor tweaks, we are set for our big Youth Group Bonfire and Night Treasure Hunt. We are hosting it on a farm outside with the stations and some added riddles to spice up the hunt and excitement. The date is October 28th and the kids are really getting excited.

Thank you again for such a great product and for checking in on me, I really appreciate it.

Sincerely, Bridget Taft

Youth Director, Abiding Word Church

Bridget Taft, Illinois, USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

Girls so much more up for it than the guys!

Hi Nikki,

Yes our birthday scavenger hunt was a GREAT success. Your material gave me lots to choose from and I was grateful. I used the treasure map for the invitations and rolled them up to hand out. The list was on the treasure map and it was 8 items to look for or info to find and 8 photos to take to make memories & proof of it getting done. It was a teen girl team against teen guy team and the playing field was the city of Wichita, KS so they had a certain time to be back complete or not and the one with the most done was the winner. They all came back with wonderful stories and had lots of fun. I learned though that the guy against girl wasn't the best cause the guys were too COOL to do some of the list, but the things they did they had FUN! Whereas if they had had mixed teams the girls would have persuaded them into doing everything!!

3 of the top things they talk still about doing were:

1) Photo with policeman (extra points if he'll let you all in his car) He did but didn't thing they would all fit & they crammed in the back seat - he took the picture.:)

2) Signature of fireman (the girls took it a step farther and asked if he could bring the truck to their house for EXTRA points) they couldn't

3) the most daring (per girls) was going to get 2 balloons from some restaurant and giving one away to a kid and bring one home (this was Fri. night during busy evening meal and they went into Applebees asked for 2 balloons and went up to a family that had a girl and asked to take her picture while they were eating & the little girl was sooooo happy.

On the other hand the guys said the police they stay away from so it was crossed off their list from the start NOT to do. They like going to the mall and riding the merry go round. They also liked finding a statue to take a picture with came back with MANY statue pictures it was funny. They also didn't have a hard time finding hats & taking pictures except they were worried about messing their hair up (what's up with that!)

While planning this double birthday party it has prompted other ideas one for our leadership Christmas party at church promoting unity & working together to accomplish a task. Also I have talked with our

Coordinator who is up for the idea of a scavenger hunt during next summer's Family Reunion. Should be loads of fun.

Thanks for the great info! I am going to try to send a photo let me know if it makes it.

Dena Hudson, Kansas USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Halloween party planning is such fun!

Nikki,

We did our treasure hunt for a Halloween party we hosted. It was a huge success. I had 14 boys, ages 5-10, and we did it in the house. I spent countless hours after my kids went to bed getting prepared. I couldn't wait and was hoping the kids would have as much fun doing it as I had planning. I had great parent helpers. Surprisingly, the winners were the "little" guys team.

You are a genius!!!! As a non-creative thinker, I could never have come up with something so much fun. The only major change I made was the bobbing for apples station. I felt it would be too messy, and not so sanitary. Instead, I had them remove some "body parts" from the patient in the Operation game. They got a big kick out of that. Otherwise, I followed the Halloween version very closely.

Thanks again!

Gretchen Birch, ohio, USA

More details on a great Halloween Treasure Hunt here

Corporate team building scavenger hunt

Nikki - you are a life saver! I really love it and as a result of your packaged managed to switch gears and really make my hunt something special, it happens on Tuesday, now I have full confidence it will be a winner!!

In Victoria, BC - Tues Apr 10 (I'd already done a lot of pre-planning) for Company Team Building, all adults/

Cheers!

Chris Hill, British Columbia Canada

More details on a great Corporate Treasure Hunt here

Lots of good ideas for July scavenger hunt

The scavenger hunt that I'm holding is scheduled to occur on 18 July. I'll let you know how it goes. I got a lot of good ideas from the materials.

Sandra Buckley, Massachusetts, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt on farm

Hi Nikki,

I held my treasure hunt at my son's birthday party at my moms house on a farm. We had adults and children ( youngest age 4) all play. I spaced out my stations a bit far ( the older ones got quite a workout!) but everyone had fun and enjoyed it! I am going to use it again for my son's grade 6 class at the end of the year party and we are going to do it in and around the school grounds.

Thanks

Lori Hepburn, Ontario Canada

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Instant treasure hunt is fantastic

Hi Nikki, After your email I took some time to check out the Instant Treasure Hunt. It is fantastic! I'm really excited to get started becaue you gave me new ideas. Sorry about the previous email. I just didn't take the time I should have. I will let you know how the hunt turns out after Easter. Thanks again, Mavis

Mavis Mercier, Wisconsin, USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Superbowl treasure hunt hit

Thanks so much Nikki - did a quick treasure/scavenger hunt for the kids at our Superbowl party and as always it was a super duper hit!

Leslie Suhy, California, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Mall scavenger hunt is a blast

We had a Mall Scavenger Hunt for my daughters 12th birthday last Friday. It was a blast. I used some of your ideas and then added some of my own. They divided up into two teams by pulling a color out of a basket. Each team was given a gift bag with $2, a digital camera (we have keepsake photos), a pen and the list of items they needed to obtain. I gave them one hour. Some of the items were pictures of different things with the group. They were very cute and the girls had a blast. Each team came back with stories and as the evening went on at our home, the stories got funnier and funnier. Thanks for the help. It was a really good time. We are going away this weekend and there are 3 families traveling in 3 different cars. We are thinking of doing the interstate scavenger hunt. Just not sure if I will have the time to get it together before we leave.

LouEllen Michel, Maryland, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Looking for more opportunities for treasure hunt

Hi Nikki- Overall things were great -- It really was fun and I'm looking for an opportunity to do another Treasure Hunt. I ended with each of 4 teams finding one-fourth of a Treasure Map -- they all had to work together to get a Treasure Chest filled with Goodie Bags. Thanks, this was great!

Janet Brewe, New Hampshire USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt is so creative

Hey Nikki,

The hunt was tonnes of fun, the crowd was 7 and 8 year olds so fairly easy to please. The treasure was a big box of loot bags full of candy, so like I said they were easy to please. Plus the tasks we came up with were fun.

Everyone thinks I am a genius, and I didn't share my secret because I know everyone would said " you paid for a treasure hunt game? You could have thought that up yourself." Which might be true, since I am a creative sort of person, but I was in such a bind, and finding your website so randomly totally saved the day. It's easy to say I could have done this or that, but it is entirely another to actually do it and put it all together like you have. Thank you so much. There were many aspects that I wouldn't have thought of myself.

There were a few adults who seemed like they might be interested in have a scavenger hunt/rally i will definitely be checking your site for anything new and interesting if we get something together. I would love to host something like that, plain old dinner parties are so boring.

Cheers, Beena

PS I will try to get some pics for you soon.

Beena Patel, Ontario, Canada

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Looking for more opportunities for treasure hunt

Hi Nikki- Overall things were great -- It really was fun and I'm looking for an opportunity to do another Treasure Hunt. I ended with each of 4 teams finding one-fourth of a Treasure Map -- they all had to work together to get a Treasure Chest filled with Goodie Bags. Thanks, this was great!

Janet Brewe, New Hampshire USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Fun for 8 year olds at treasure hunt party

Nikki,

The treasure hunt was a great success.... I adapted your plans. I had about 12 8 year old boys and girls.... I put them into teams of 3. Each team had a color,... so the clues led to colored poker chips (with the teams corresponding color) which they then found and turned in to get their next clue (each team had an official "clue giver" who held all that team's clues in numeric order)......

For little people this made management of clues and adult supervision much easier. After every two successful clues...the team had a physical challenge ( for example, diving into our pool....swimming through some hoops and picking up gold coins)....The "clue givers" were official judges of the challenges and distributed next clues. The last physical challenge involved a relay race with balloons....the last clue was a puzzle piece (as you suggested) inside the balloon.

When the kids popped their team balloon they realized they needed to come together with the rest of the teams to construct the last clue. They loved the race, the competition, but in the end they were all together as they went -shovels in hand - for the treasure. The treasure was buried in a plastic box in the woods.....amongst all the shiny stuff (beads and gold coins) was a pinata of a treasure chest. The pinata was hung from a tree... and every one had a chance to take a shot at busting it open. Parents loved it.....kids loved it more... they were focused, challenged, excited, and busy.....it took a total of about 55 minutes. Could have gone on longer...but we were a bit generous with the help.. and the kids were a lot smarter and resourceful than I expected.

Good luck with your web site. It was really helpful.

Jamie Jensen, New York, USA

More details on a great Childrens Treasure Hunt here

Fantastic fun at the pirate treasure hunt

Hi Nikki -- I'm finally getting around to answering your emails! We finally completed our Treasure Hunt last week! We had so much fun -- thank you for the great kick-start!!!

I ordered your Treasure Hunt software package way back in February.

Your software was just what I needed to get started, get me thinking about what I wanted to do -- and it was GREAT fun! Everyone, from kids to adults, had a great time! For me, it was like Christmas, having chosen wonderful presents for all -- and watching everyone Ooooh and Aaaah. My participants had a ball! Of course, now that everyone had so much fun, next year I have to come up with a game for EVERYONE -- the grownups want to play, too!!!

Ah, the challenge!

Here's what I did with your ideas:

I used your ideas for the 6 teams and 6 ports -- to avoid them running into each other. However, since I knew I'd be running the treasure hunt during out group camping trip (4 families, 26 people), I had to wait until we got to this year's campground to set it up. Didn't know where I'd bury the treasure or what the site was like until I got there!

I had six adults manning the six 'ports' of call... and four teams. I paired the two teenagers with younger same-sex kids (girls and boys ages 7 - 10)plus a teen = (2 teams). A third team was the moms and 'little ones' under age 2, and the fourth team was the dads and little guys (two boys age 4).

We had the 'group campsite' for 40+ people, so we had our six stations spread out throughout the campsite, in the woods, and on the trail leading to our campsite.

At each location, each young pirate could earn a doubloon by completing the task. After each trial, they had to bring their doubloons to the Master of Arms to buy a piece of the puzzle for their team. After collecting all six pieces of the puzzle -- they then had to use the puzzle to find the treasure map. Once they found the treasure map, they had to use the map to search for the buried treasure.

I made several copies of the treasure map, so as each team completed their puzzle, they could find the parchment map and begin the search for the treasure. You should have seen them combing through the woods! (I made parchment maps ahead of time from wrinkled, coffee stained paper -- then used burgundy marker to draw on the map once we were in the campsite and I knew where the treasure was -- I had one of my sons pace out the path to the

treasure.)

I worked it out so that each group could search for the treasure, but the team that found it had first pick of the treasure. The 'treasure' was a box of gifts from the dollar store. After the first team picked over the treasure, the rest of the teams chose their treasure, in youngest to oldest order.

This is what we did:

Pirate Beach -- each young pirate had to decorate a pirate head-scarf to wear and create a team Pirate flag to carry on their journey.

Doubloon Inn -- Learn to tie a pirate's ship knot -- all pirates need to know how to tie ship's knots. We had the younger children learn to tie a square knot, and the older children learned to tie a bowline. Each child received an 8 ft. length of rope to learn their knots, and wear as a pirate belt. Their ropes went with them everywhere!!!

Gold Digger's Island -- The 'logic' island. (The captain needs a pirate crew that can think!) Sudoku puzzle for the older kids (4 and 6 square for kids, 9 square for adults, 25 piece jigsaw puzzle for non-number kids.) This was the log-jam station. Too hard for most -- I'll change it next time I do this.

Five Mile Lookout -- I had 4 boxes sealed with one of the puzzle-pieces inside. Each box was tied up in 100' of rope knots... they had to really work to untie the knots to get into each box! My husband and son spent an evening tying up these boxes!

Smuggler's Cove -- this is where they had to learn to walk the pirate ship's rope rigging for the sails. Rope stretched out on the ground, the young pirate's must walk the rigging looking through the wrong end of binoculars.

A great favorite!

Hideaway Harbor -- Set up two rope swings (age appropriate). The young pirates in training needed to learn how to run and jump with a rope swing and land on the King's treasure ship (at target on the ground) -- ready to do battle for treasure! (Also a great favorite.)

I used the gold foil wrapped chocolates for doubloons, and although I had expected (and built) the game for three teams, I ended up with four teams.

This meant that the teams had to negotiate (with doubloons) near the end of the game to form a melded team with enough pieces of the puzzle to find the treasure map.

We had great fun!

Eileen Blackwood, Minnesota USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Best birthday EVER - treasure hunt

Thank you - "It was the best birthday - -EVER" - my 15 year old had a total of 6 girls and they went around the neighborhood to 6 different house to complete the tasks. We had the party last week and the girls at school are still talking about it. Thank you sooooo much.

Siobhan Fox, Florida, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

National Treasure hunt great success

Thank you for your interest. Our National Treasure Hunt was a success.

We had an awards ceremony and the winning team received medals. We also had a balloon toss, horseshoe games, a coloring contest and a chili cook-off, all those contestants receiving awards. A magic show capped the evening. 60-70 people were in attendance, ages 2-80 years old.

Our event was a success. Thanks.

Sandra Stegen, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Company picnic and treasure hunt

Nikki,

We are planning a company picnic on July 30 of this year in Morrison, Illinois, USA. We usually have around 175 people there with ages ranging from 0-70. I'm sure not everyone will want to play, so everything should work out well.

I read the book over once on Friday, but today I will actually sit down with a committee and start planning.

Thank you for support!

Christy Hackett, Illinois USA

More details on a great Corporate Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt on farm

Hi Nikki,

I held my treasure hunt at my son's birthday party at my moms house on a farm. We had adults and children ( youngest age 4) all play. I spaced out my stations a bit far ( the older ones got quite a workout!) but everyone had fun and enjoyed it! I am going to use it again for my son's grade 6 class at the end of the year party and we are going to do it in and around the school grounds.

Thanks

Lori Hepburn, Ontario Canada

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Scoobie Doo in the Scavenger Hunt

Hi Nikki

I just wanted to give you an update on my Scavenger Hunt. It was a great sucess. Thanks for all of your help. We had one team come dressed as the scoobie doo gang and they even painted the van to look like the mystery machine. I have attached a few photos for you to see.

Everyone said that I had to do it again next year. Thanks again it was a blast

Kelly LaPorte, Ontario, Canada

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Sixth scavenger hunt

Thanks Nikki-

This is actually the 6th one for my son who is 11 but the past have been a little on the younger side and they are ready at this age for more difficulty and I'm going to make it an hour long at my house for his pool/scavenger/manhunt party...

I have to read through your stuff and as I'm traveling up to CT for the weekend I will have more comments by Monday and maybe ask for some assistance or I will definitely let you know all the details, etc. I'm also enlisting my neighbors, using a camera, and a park behind my house...this is

more work than my real job :)

This was one of the best I saw, so I look forward to this~

Thanks!

Elsa Pine, Connecticut, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Real treasure chest hidden in treasure hunt

Hello,

Well today's party day. My daughter is so excited. I used the styrofoam ice chest and spray painted it and filled it with journals that I wraped in gold and silver paper then I put in chocolate coins, ring pops, colored pens, crystal ring key chains, 100 grand chocolate bars, and I found these little jewel toned jars at a craft store and filled them with candy, then I sprinkeld more coins and jewels around and some colored necklaces. It sure looks like a treasure. WHAT FUN!. The clues were the most fun though. I can't wait to watch them try and figure out where the next one is. I found a little plastic treasure chest with a key at the craft store and I hid the last clue in there. I think this party is sure to be a hit. I'm already thinking about Christmas. It's going to be so much fun.

As to where I am going to bury the treasure. We don't have a place to actually bury it but I have found a great hiding place that will really keep em guessing....

Thanks again,

Kristy (super-mom)

Kristy Bales, California, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Real treasure chest hidden in treasure hunt

Hello,

Well today's party day. My daughter is so excited. I used the styrofoam ice chest and spray painted it and filled it with journals that I wraped in gold and silver paper then I put in chocolate coins, ring pops, colored pens, crystal ring key chains, 100 grand chocolate bars, and I found these little jewel toned jars at a craft store and filled them with candy, then I sprinkeld more coins and jewels around and some colored necklaces. It sure looks like a treasure. WHAT FUN!. The clues were the most fun though. I can't wait to watch them try and figure out where the next one is. I found a little plastic treasure chest with a key at the craft store and I hid the last clue in there. I think this party is sure to be a hit. I'm already thinking about Christmas. It's going to be so much fun.

As to where I am going to bury the treasure. We don't have a place to actually bury it but I have found a great hiding place that will really keep em guessing....

Thanks again,

Kristy (super-mom)

Kristy Bales, California, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt sets new standard for harvest festival

Nikki

Here are some details of our successful treasure hunt.

It was for our church, at a farm, during our Fall Harvest Festival. We wanted a harvest theme, but not so much a Halloween theme. We also wanted large motor activities so small children would participate in the whole thing. And, we wanted a few team building activities since families were encouraged to sign up as a team. So, our 6 stations were:

1. Ship's Cove: each member of the team had to walk the plank looking backwards through a pair of binoculars.

2. Walleye River: each member was given a "stepping stone", and they had to get to a certain point only using the stones.

3. Spider's Web: We created a 4' x 4' spider web out of twine and attached bells. Each team picked 2 people to pass through the web without ringing the bells.

4. Hide Away Cove: We hid 15 stamps, and they had to find 10 of them and stamp a piece of paper

5. Mummy Cave: We wrapped one person in the group with Toilet Paper

6. Apple Lake: One apple per team mate needed to be bobbed. Not everyone had to bob, someone else could bob for you.

I gave everyone an envelope with their starting spots. As they completed the stations, the station judges would give them a stamp on their envelope (we had 6 station judges) and they had to be completed in the correct order.

We had 9 groups of 4-8 people

We buried 1st, 2nd and 3rd place treasures, and gave them each a map when they completed the journey. Everyone else got a glow stick when they completed.

It was great watching the families really enjoy themselves! They were running from point to point (kids dragging laughing parents) and working together to complete the tasks. They had to think and

challenge themselves a little, and we had a 100% smile-success rate. What a fantastic idea, and thank you for all your work. We'll be using it again. I think I just set a new standard at our yearly Fall

Harvest Festival. I'm already planning the next one!

Blessings,

Rebecca Walsh, USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

So many do not know what a scavenger hunt is!

Thank you,

Everything went well. I think the item they had the most fun with was finding something with the letter M. My son's name starts with the letter M. They had about 50 questions about what they could use. Of the 25 items on their list, they were unable to get only two items a postage stamp and a 4 leaf clover. What surprised me the most was the number of parents and kids who had no idea what a Scavenger Hunt was.

Thank you again for your help.

Mindy Richard, California USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt sets new standard for harvest festival

Nikki

Here are some details of our successful treasure hunt.

It was for our church, at a farm, during our Fall Harvest Festival. We wanted a harvest theme, but not so much a Halloween theme. We also wanted large motor activities so small children would participate in the whole thing. And, we wanted a few team building activities since families were encouraged to sign up as a team. So, our 6 stations were:

1. Ship's Cove: each member of the team had to walk the plank looking backwards through a pair of binoculars.

2. Walleye River: each member was given a "stepping stone", and they had to get to a certain point only using the stones.

3. Spider's Web: We created a 4' x 4' spider web out of twine and attached bells. Each team picked 2 people to pass through the web without ringing the bells.

4. Hide Away Cove: We hid 15 stamps, and they had to find 10 of them and stamp a piece of paper

5. Mummy Cave: We wrapped one person in the group with Toilet Paper

6. Apple Lake: One apple per team mate needed to be bobbed. Not everyone had to bob, someone else could bob for you.

I gave everyone an envelope with their starting spots. As they completed the stations, the station judges would give them a stamp on their envelope (we had 6 station judges) and they had to be completed in the correct order.

We had 9 groups of 4-8 people

We buried 1st, 2nd and 3rd place treasures, and gave them each a map when they completed the journey. Everyone else got a glow stick when they completed.

It was great watching the families really enjoy themselves! They were running from point to point (kids dragging laughing parents) and working together to complete the tasks. They had to think and

challenge themselves a little, and we had a 100% smile-success rate. What a fantastic idea, and thank you for all your work. We'll be using it again. I think I just set a new standard at our yearly Fall

Harvest Festival. I'm already planning the next one!

Blessings,

Rebecca Walsh, USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

Impressive treasure hunt Logistics

Our treasure hunt took place last weekend and was a success. The book helped a lot and everyone was impressed with the logistics of the game. Thank you for a well designed book.

Patrick Racine, Ontario Canada

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt on a peninsula in Sydney, Australia

Hi Nikki,

I did receive my Treasure Hunt Planner. Thank you

We are planning to do the treasure hunt for my son's 10th birthday party in September. I had found a great site near us, on a small peninsula on Sydney Harbour (Australia). My son and I are pretty excited about the planning and the party. I would be glad to send you some photos after the party.

Thanks again

Annette Wilson, Sydney Australia

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt suggestions appreciated

Nikki

We had the party and it was great. Appreciate all the suggestions in the book. Have a great holiday weekend

Tracey Ivaldi, New Jersey, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Fantastic fun at the pirate treasure hunt

Hi Nikki -- I'm finally getting around to answering your emails! We finally completed our Treasure Hunt last week! We had so much fun -- thank you for the great kick-start!!!

I ordered your Treasure Hunt software package way back in February.

Your software was just what I needed to get started, get me thinking about what I wanted to do -- and it was GREAT fun! Everyone, from kids to adults, had a great time! For me, it was like Christmas, having chosen wonderful presents for all -- and watching everyone Ooooh and Aaaah. My participants had a ball! Of course, now that everyone had so much fun, next year I have to come up with a game for EVERYONE -- the grownups want to play, too!!!

Ah, the challenge!

Here's what I did with your ideas:

I used your ideas for the 6 teams and 6 ports -- to avoid them running into each other. However, since I knew I'd be running the treasure hunt during out group camping trip (4 families, 26 people), I had to wait until we got to this year's campground to set it up. Didn't know where I'd bury the treasure or what the site was like until I got there!

I had six adults manning the six 'ports' of call... and four teams. I paired the two teenagers with younger same-sex kids (girls and boys ages 7 - 10)plus a teen = (2 teams). A third team was the moms and 'little ones' under age 2, and the fourth team was the dads and little guys (two boys age 4).

We had the 'group campsite' for 40+ people, so we had our six stations spread out throughout the campsite, in the woods, and on the trail leading to our campsite.

At each location, each young pirate could earn a doubloon by completing the task. After each trial, they had to bring their doubloons to the Master of Arms to buy a piece of the puzzle for their team. After collecting all six pieces of the puzzle -- they then had to use the puzzle to find the treasure map. Once they found the treasure map, they had to use the map to search for the buried treasure.

I made several copies of the treasure map, so as each team completed their puzzle, they could find the parchment map and begin the search for the treasure. You should have seen them combing through the woods! (I made parchment maps ahead of time from wrinkled, coffee stained paper -- then used burgundy marker to draw on the map once we were in the campsite and I knew where the treasure was -- I had one of my sons pace out the path to the

treasure.)

I worked it out so that each group could search for the treasure, but the team that found it had first pick of the treasure. The 'treasure' was a box of gifts from the dollar store. After the first team picked over the treasure, the rest of the teams chose their treasure, in youngest to oldest order.

This is what we did:

Pirate Beach -- each young pirate had to decorate a pirate head-scarf to wear and create a team Pirate flag to carry on their journey.

Doubloon Inn -- Learn to tie a pirate's ship knot -- all pirates need to know how to tie ship's knots. We had the younger children learn to tie a square knot, and the older children learned to tie a bowline. Each child received an 8 ft. length of rope to learn their knots, and wear as a pirate belt. Their ropes went with them everywhere!!!

Gold Digger's Island -- The 'logic' island. (The captain needs a pirate crew that can think!) Sudoku puzzle for the older kids (4 and 6 square for kids, 9 square for adults, 25 piece jigsaw puzzle for non-number kids.) This was the log-jam station. Too hard for most -- I'll change it next time I do this.

Five Mile Lookout -- I had 4 boxes sealed with one of the puzzle-pieces inside. Each box was tied up in 100' of rope knots... they had to really work to untie the knots to get into each box! My husband and son spent an evening tying up these boxes!

Smuggler's Cove -- this is where they had to learn to walk the pirate ship's rope rigging for the sails. Rope stretched out on the ground, the young pirate's must walk the rigging looking through the wrong end of binoculars.

A great favorite!

Hideaway Harbor -- Set up two rope swings (age appropriate). The young pirates in training needed to learn how to run and jump with a rope swing and land on the King's treasure ship (at target on the ground) -- ready to do battle for treasure! (Also a great favorite.)

I used the gold foil wrapped chocolates for doubloons, and although I had expected (and built) the game for three teams, I ended up with four teams.

This meant that the teams had to negotiate (with doubloons) near the end of the game to form a melded team with enough pieces of the puzzle to find the treasure map.

We had great fun!

Eileen Blackwood, Minnesota USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Treasure in the Australian bush!

Hi Nikki,

Treasure Hunt was a hit, thanks. We had five stations that were in our back yard, front yard, neighbours and out in the kids hide-out in the bush behind our house. They had to do a basketball challenge, measure the driveway (28m), a crossword challenge, word unscramble and a balancing challenge.

Instead of having a competition to be first to find the treasure, we had two teams and one had to solve the riddle to find a map that lead them to the treasure, the other team had to solve their riddle to find a map that lead them to the key that unlocked the treasure. This way there was no losers and no unhappy party goers.

The treasure and the key (which was in an old gumboot) were hidden in the bush behind our house. (Not just one bush, I mean bushland, sorry, I used Aussie term).

When they had the treasure and the key they met in the hide-out to open the treasure. The treasure was filled with fake pearl necklaces, fake gold necklaces, glass stones (they were meant to be diamonds) and gold coins (chocolate filled).

Thanks again

Tania Keenan, NSW Australia

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Excellent customer service for treasure hunt products

Nikki - You are patience personified. Thank you for your excellent customer service. I will download now. Hooray!

Martha Wiedersheim, New York, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt plans for the weekend

Nikki:

Have purchased your guide, and am I'm planning the treasure hunt for this weekend. Details are below.

Number of children: 8

Ages: Mostly 5-6 year old boys, plus 2 3-year old girls (who won't probably participate as much as just 'run with the pack')

Theme: Lewis & Clark/Exploring (it's my son's 6-year birthday party and he's very 'into' Lewis & Clark at present). He is also a big fan of treasure hunt-type TV programs, e.g. The Amazing Race and Treasure Hunters.

Location: We have a very large garden (>1 acre) on a hill so there are plenty of places to hide things. It's fairly 'woody' (lots of trees) around the house, so I thought to bury the treasure in one of the more woody sections, with the clues hidden more in the garden proper.

Ideas: It's not a big group so I'm not sure it makes much sense to do teams. Rather I thought (in keeping with the Lewis & Clark theme) the boys could be a band of explorers, and they all have to work together to solve the puzzles, find the clues, and locate the treasure.

What with the size of the garden and the hilly locale, the game could be pretty tiring. I'm thinking about 6 clues total - does that sound about right? Basically this is the basic plan:

* hide a series of 'artifacts' around the garden in the form of foreign coins or similar items. (This is stolen from the 'Treasure Hunters' TV show.) When the team finds the artifact, they can turn it in to me for their next clue.

The 'artifacts' would be hidden at locations that lend themselves to clues - for example, 'I'm white and curvy and used to live in the sea' (seashell), 'Where the birds go to eat' (bird feeder), etc.

* when each artifact is found, the team gets a clue to the next artifact, and a piece of the treasure map. At a couple of points in the game, the team has to either solve a puzzle or complete a task in order to get the next clue. Ideally, the tasks would be ones where the whole team could participate simultaneously (for example, the picking-up-peas game) and then once any one person (or perhaps two people?) have completed the task, then the entire team gets to move on. Other ideas I have in this genre would be kicking a soccer ball into a goal from a distance.

Thanks for your help!

Howard Sewell, Washington USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Modify treasure hunt to work in your unique situation

Hi Nikki,

Thank you for your email, our party was on Saturday, the 22nd. As it turned out, I did not bury the treasure, I modified the party plans provided in your game and the party was a great success.

Thank you for your help.

Sherry Staub, Indiana, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Lots of good ideas for July scavenger hunt

The scavenger hunt that I'm holding is scheduled to occur on 18 July. I'll let you know how it goes. I got a lot of good ideas from the materials.

Sandra Buckley, Massachusetts, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Easer treasure hunt made easy!

I made a game for Easter. I do it every year, but your website helped me tremendously!! It has become a tradition in our house that the Easter Bunny leaves clues throughout the house for the children to find

their Easter baskets. I used to spend so much time making the clues, but your website cut down on the time tremendously.

Katie Ohlmann, Indiana, USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Treasure hunt on horseback

The Kids enjoyed The treasure hunt and has a big hit. The venue was changed the day before from a woodland to a farm . I had 12 teams of 4 ranging in age from 6 - 15 with a total of 48 all on horse

back. The oldest kids were the leaders and had to wait for the younger kids. It taught the kids leadership, teamwork and took the fear away from the nervous kids and made them competent riders, They had cross country fences to jump. I had 8 paid instructors who I used as helpers and safety officers.

I set the game out as in the book but added a challenge per station and each instructor had to judge the challenge and give then a piece of the puzzle and added the Guard and the gate keeper.

The challenges were

1.- The mummy game

2 -the tight rope

3. -4 x Hula hoops hanging from the trees and they passed a baton through from one end to the other using all members of the team. They remained on horse back

4 - 12 plastic ducks on a fence post and they had 4 water pistols and had to knock 4 down ,

5- I tied an inflatable boat in a flowing river and put 25 plastic balls in the boat and gave them 4 fishing nets . they had to remove all the balls and place them in bucket on the bank

6 - Answer the backward questions and fishing for 4 jelly snakes from a plate of sugar using only their mouth

2 teams found the treasure chest in under 2.5 hours while the rest did not complete until 4 .

We hide the chest again and all teams got a bag of candy.

They want to have again next year

Thanks again

Gordon Clarke, Ireland

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Treasure Hunt for my Grandson

I am in Montreal, NC, USA planning a birthday party for my grandson and his friends ages 10-12, though some younger brothers and sisters and parents will probably join in. I am the grandmother writing on the grandfathers e-mail. We live on the side of a mountain with steep slopes, lots of stone steps, a creek, a large goldfish pond and lots of good places to hide things. The party is an annual occasion with most of the children running wild, chasing each other, in what appears to an adult to be an aimless fashion. A few stay inside quietly playing board games. So...

this year the treasure hunt seems like a good idea and maybe all will engaged. I think they are definitely old enough! The party is scheduled for Sunday, June 5. I like the fact that you are interested in feed back and so enthusiastic about what you do! Sincerely,

Gale Hussey, North Carolina USA

More details on a great Family Treasure Hunt here

Already on her THIRD instant treasure hunt!

My kids love the treasure hunts. I am getting ready to print out the THIRD on today!!

Michele Hippensteel, Pennsylvania USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Scavenger hunt to bring two families together

Our party will be a week long event held in Italy (Tuscany) during the last week of July. We have hired two large villas each for a week in close proximity to each other for our daughters wedding. As most of the guests will be travelling from Australia (bride) and the U.S. (grooms family) and we haven't met I was looking for a lighthearted theme.

My idea was that everyone could be given a list of items and/or questions that had to been collected over the week as guests toured the area (a red wine label from a famous local winery, a ticket to a Florence museum etc) along with some quiz questions/puzzles etc.

Regards

Jill Hill, Hyogo Japan

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt for last day of school

We are planning the hunt for May - the last day of school for my 11 yr old daughter there will be 10-15 children for the hunt and they are very excited!, We have a 75 acre farm so the hunt will keep them busy finding the clues and especially the treasure!

My daughter loves pirates, and the whole concept of treasure hunting, can you give me some more ideas on what to put in the treasure box?

I plan on burying the treasure by an old cabin that's been here since before Oklahoma was a state! I call it blackbeard's haunted hideout! Makes things more interesting for the kids!

Rob Waddle, Oklahoma USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Fun for 8 year olds at treasure hunt party

Nikki,

The treasure hunt was a great success.... I adapted your plans. I had about 12 8 year old boys and girls.... I put them into teams of 3. Each team had a color,... so the clues led to colored poker chips (with the teams corresponding color) which they then found and turned in to get their next clue (each team had an official "clue giver" who held all that team's clues in numeric order)......

For little people this made management of clues and adult supervision much easier. After every two successful clues...the team had a physical challenge ( for example, diving into our pool....swimming through some hoops and picking up gold coins)....The "clue givers" were official judges of the challenges and distributed next clues. The last physical challenge involved a relay race with balloons....the last clue was a puzzle piece (as you suggested) inside the balloon.

When the kids popped their team balloon they realized they needed to come together with the rest of the teams to construct the last clue. They loved the race, the competition, but in the end they were all together as they went -shovels in hand - for the treasure. The treasure was buried in a plastic box in the woods.....amongst all the shiny stuff (beads and gold coins) was a pinata of a treasure chest. The pinata was hung from a tree... and every one had a chance to take a shot at busting it open. Parents loved it.....kids loved it more... they were focused, challenged, excited, and busy.....it took a total of about 55 minutes. Could have gone on longer...but we were a bit generous with the help.. and the kids were a lot smarter and resourceful than I expected.

Good luck with your web site. It was really helpful.

Jamie Jensen, New York, USA

More details on a great Childrens Treasure Hunt here

Youth group bonfire and night treasure hunt

Yes. we are well on our way. I absolutely LOVE what you have put together.

With a couple of minor tweaks, we are set for our big Youth Group Bonfire and Night Treasure Hunt. We are hosting it on a farm outside with the stations and some added riddles to spice up the hunt and excitement. The date is October 28th and the kids are really getting excited.

Thank you again for such a great product and for checking in on me, I really appreciate it.

Sincerely, Bridget Taft

Youth Director, Abiding Word Church

Bridget Taft, Illinois, USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

4th July Treasure Hunt

Hi Nikki,

Our treasure hunt on the 4th of July was a lot of fun. We had 35 kids(and adults) running all over the yard in the rain.!! After they solved their riddles the hunt then took them into the woods with compasses and shovels and they had to find the "buried" treasure. It certainly was a memorable day--thanks for the help in getting me organized.

Sharon Kloter, Connecticut, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Will definitely do another treasure hunt

The treasure hunt is done and the kids had fun. Your suggestions were very good and I think we will do another treasure hunt in the future with our other kids.

Thanks

Toni Hudson, Texas USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Strawberry picking treasure hunt

Hi,

I am planning a strawberry picking party for my 7 year old. And aside from picking strawberries and making their own individual shortcakes I wanted to something else that would take up some time and be unique.

Christine Flory, New York USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Kids love digging up treasure

It went well. Kids loved digging up the box and splitting up the booty. Your guide was helpful, nice not having to reinvent the wheel.

Michele Currie, Oregon, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

I like the riddles type clues in the instant treasure hunt

Nikki,

I have had 1 small treasure hunt so far to 'test' it out- that was fun. Have another one planned for my grandchildren which will be at their home. 'Treasure' will be treats that each one favors! I have found your plans very easy to use- especially like the riddle-type clues.

Fran Berkes, New York USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Easer treasure hunt made easy!

I made a game for Easter. I do it every year, but your website helped me tremendously!! It has become a tradition in our house that the Easter Bunny leaves clues throughout the house for the children to find

their Easter baskets. I used to spend so much time making the clues, but your website cut down on the time tremendously.

Katie Ohlmann, Indiana, USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Hi Nikki,

The treasure hunt was a success. Some of the kids were just a little confused in the beginning, either they were not listening to the instructions (typical teenagers) or my instructions were not clear. I should probably have shown samples of what they were supposed to look for like the station's names, next destination and the challenges.

But finally they got it and everybody had a great time. Thanks.

Catalina Alter, Hong Kong

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt fun for 8th birthday

It was a lot of fun for my daughter and her friends (8th bday). We did a water balloon toss station, maze/jump rope/run around cones station, word find station, question station, basketball (must make 5 baskets each) station, and a math station. We have a very large field with a section of woods where we buried a lock box with treasures in it. It all went very well with the exception of my hiding of the map the night before and not being able to find it until minutes before the party!!!!!oopps. The only thing I would do differently is have a second and third price for each of the teams to win something, though they shared nicely.

Thanks, it was worth the purchase and we will probably use again with adult friends.

DeAnn Steinhorst, New York, USA

More details on a great Childrens Treasure Hunt here

Custom treasure hunt for sweet sixteen

Nikki,

Thanks for your suggestions I'm well on my way to piecing together a custom treasure hunt for my stepdaughter's sweet sixteen.

Thanks for all your help.

Best Regards

Adrienne Loder, California, USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Bought three treasure hunts and yours is the best!

Dear Nikki, many thanks. The party is over, and the treasure hunt went well. It was a very nice change from my usual treasure hunts. Good product. I actually bought and downloaded three different hunt games, and yours was by far the best. The calculator worked brilliantly! I changed it to match the combination on the lock which I already had, and it worked like a charm. How long did it take you to work out all the connections so every team would wind up with the same combination?

Thanks again

Laura Gordon, Pennsylvania USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Scavenger hunt in Manhattan

Hi Nikki,

The scavenger hunt is taking place in NYC on May 6; it is a night time activity for a corporate event during that week. Age range is 22-50's and there are about 25-35 people participating.

The part I am still trying to figure out is if groups should just use their phone cameras to take pictures or something else. Any thoughts?

The theme is really just sight around the city - this is the list of places and the clues that I have so far. I got a few ideas from the planner and most of them are just from research. I am trying to keep it to midtown and lower manhattan and will provide subway cards for each person but I tried to keep some of the sights within walking distance of each other.

Whitney Chernoff, New York, USA

More details on a great Corporate Treasure Hunt here

School scavenger hunt unearths interesting facts

Hi Nikki!

It went very well. Because we are a heritage building, I was able to find lots of unusual and interesting questions. For example there are pictures of the classes on the three floors dating back to 1907. One question was how many colours had the double front doors been (class pictures were always taken on the front steps). There are many facts/stories lining the walls up to the attic so I was able to pick out a few interesting questions from there. Anyway the students had a blast. I had also created a treasure map puzzle and as they searched for answers to the scavenger hunt they were also looking for puzzle pieces. At the end they put all of the pieces together and there was a riddle about where to find "treasure". They loved it!

Beverly Ruberg, British Columbia, Canada

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Treasure hunt sets new standard for harvest festival

Nikki

Here are some details of our successful treasure hunt.

It was for our church, at a farm, during our Fall Harvest Festival. We wanted a harvest theme, but not so much a Halloween theme. We also wanted large motor activities so small children would participate in the whole thing. And, we wanted a few team building activities since families were encouraged to sign up as a team. So, our 6 stations were:

1. Ship's Cove: each member of the team had to walk the plank looking backwards through a pair of binoculars.

2. Walleye River: each member was given a "stepping stone", and they had to get to a certain point only using the stones.

3. Spider's Web: We created a 4' x 4' spider web out of twine and attached bells. Each team picked 2 people to pass through the web without ringing the bells.

4. Hide Away Cove: We hid 15 stamps, and they had to find 10 of them and stamp a piece of paper

5. Mummy Cave: We wrapped one person in the group with Toilet Paper

6. Apple Lake: One apple per team mate needed to be bobbed. Not everyone had to bob, someone else could bob for you.

I gave everyone an envelope with their starting spots. As they completed the stations, the station judges would give them a stamp on their envelope (we had 6 station judges) and they had to be completed in the correct order.

We had 9 groups of 4-8 people

We buried 1st, 2nd and 3rd place treasures, and gave them each a map when they completed the journey. Everyone else got a glow stick when they completed.

It was great watching the families really enjoy themselves! They were running from point to point (kids dragging laughing parents) and working together to complete the tasks. They had to think and

challenge themselves a little, and we had a 100% smile-success rate. What a fantastic idea, and thank you for all your work. We'll be using it again. I think I just set a new standard at our yearly Fall

Harvest Festival. I'm already planning the next one!

Blessings,

Rebecca Walsh, USA

More details on a great Church Treasure Hunt here

Great treasure hunt for summer vacation

I used the Treasure Hunt Game ('The Great Hunt for Summer Vacation') for a group of 1st through 5th graders (about 80 kids) as part of our last day of school activities. They had a great time. Several kids asked me if we'll be able to do it again next year. Some of the parent volunteers and teachers encouraged me to keep all the props and signs so we can use the game again. The teachers really enjoyed it.

I'm planning to use the game once again for a class party for my son this summer ... probably with a different theme. It was easy to set up, and the challenge ideas were awesome. Thanks!

Julie Keller, Wisconsin USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Time saved in treasure hunt planning

Hi Nikki,

I was in a bind for a party TODAY that I promised my daughter a scavenger hunt for. I was not able to focus on any ONE idea to get me started when I pulled your info up on the internet. I'm so excited because we are the "party home" of both my daughters' schools and now I feel I can do this by tonight. Thanks for sharing--and you're right...it's well worth the money in hours of time saved in planning alone. And all this is said before I've even gone through all your info. I can tell it's been well-planned though and that's huge to me.

Shelley Springhetti, Wisconsin, USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Nikki,

Hi, this Laresa Depew. Tonight, Wednesday, I went on the site and planned the treasure hunt stuff for Thursday afternoon. It was so easy, and so much better than racking my tired brain to put one together. I can not wait to use it on Thursday. I also looked at the games and loved them. Over the weekend I will work on the magic show, for next week also. Thank you so much for all the hard work that you did. I will let you know how it went.

Laresa Depew, Missouri, USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Teenage video scavenger hunt

Hi,

The party is this Sat. for a group of 17-18 year old teenagers. My son just turned 18 today. We are hoping to do the video scavenger hunt if the weather cooperates. I'll let you know how it went.

Juliane Lewis, california, USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here

Treasure hunt planner was user friendly

We had our treasure hunt Sat night. It was great. The students enjoyed it and so did the adults that were working the different stations. I was so relieved to have something already complete and ready to use. It was user friendly. We changed the font and copied it onto brown aged paper and it looked so real. We had middle school age and college age. They all enjoyed it. We had the stations set up among a pirate town and they had to go through the town to complete. We used it to eliminate the teams to two and the two completed a treasure hunt that was extra. Thank you for such a good product.

Pam Bennett, Tennessee USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

So many do not know what a scavenger hunt is!

Thank you,

Everything went well. I think the item they had the most fun with was finding something with the letter M. My son's name starts with the letter M. They had about 50 questions about what they could use. Of the 25 items on their list, they were unable to get only two items a postage stamp and a 4 leaf clover. What surprised me the most was the number of parents and kids who had no idea what a Scavenger Hunt was.

Thank you again for your help.

Mindy Richard, California USA

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Dog themed treasure hunt

Hi Nikki! We had our treasure hunt yesterday. It was awesome. The kids had a blast. Age ranges were from 7 to 10. Since my daughter had a dog theme going, I changed the team names to The Pink Poodles, the Golden Doodles, and the Blue Bulldogs. Kids laughed at the names and were proud to be one of the 3. I also structured the activities you suggested to include the dog theme. For ex, the toilet paper wrapping... I pretended that one person was a hairless dog and the kids needed to put fur on by covering themselves with the toilet paper. Then they would create a furry doggy! Also, instead of a pirate flag, we made a dog flag by putting dog stickers, words to describe puppies, and drew bones. As for the treasure, we actually buried it in our yard and gave them shovels. They had a ball! Not only was it fun for the kids, it was fun for the adults watching the kids run all over the yard to complete the 6 stations.

Thanks so much for a great party idea! This is a keeper!! What a memorable experience!

Sherri Shaner, Ohio, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Help makes treasure hunt go great

Nikki,

Yes, we had our Treasure Hunt on 11/18. I had a little panic moment for the preparation since we didn't quite know what to get and stuff, but with great help of my 15-year-old daughter on that day, we could make it to a very exciting, fun treasure hunt. So everything went well after all. Thank you.

Rie Bach, California, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

School scavenger hunt unearths interesting facts

Hi Nikki!

It went very well. Because we are a heritage building, I was able to find lots of unusual and interesting questions. For example there are pictures of the classes on the three floors dating back to 1907. One question was how many colours had the double front doors been (class pictures were always taken on the front steps). There are many facts/stories lining the walls up to the attic so I was able to pick out a few interesting questions from there. Anyway the students had a blast. I had also created a treasure map puzzle and as they searched for answers to the scavenger hunt they were also looking for puzzle pieces. At the end they put all of the pieces together and there was a riddle about where to find "treasure". They loved it!

Beverly Ruberg, British Columbia, Canada

More details on a great Scavenger Hunt Party Game here

Fantastic treasure hunt

Thank you Nikki. We had a fantastic time the last time we did the treasure hunt. I even got carried away with the fun and hid the birthday present for my son to "hunt" down. Thank you.

Cherie Bracher, Texas, USA

More details on a great Instant Treasure Hunt using Riddles here

Kids love digging up treasure

It went well. Kids loved digging up the box and splitting up the booty. Your guide was helpful, nice not having to reinvent the wheel.

Michele Currie, Oregon, USA

More details on a great Treasure Hunt Party Game here

Pirate treasure hunt for 40th wedding anniversary

Hi, Nikki! I have received the party planner The party will take place in Concord, North Carolina, USA, and it will be on August 5th 2006. The occasion is our 40th wedding anniversary party. The age range, I think, will be 'no kids', but I'm not sure about that, yet. And the theme of the treasure hunt is your pirate theme! We think it's going to be a lot of fun!

Judy Quickel, North Carolina USA

More details on a great Pirate Treasure Hunt here

Still recuperating from Halloween treasure hunt

Nikki,

It is Sunday and we are recuperating from the Halloween Party we hosted for our 10 year old son. The boys loved the treasure hunt! Thank you.

I had the boys eat and drink gross looking candy ( a bug, blood and vomit). I also bought 2 paint guns (they are manual and without CO2 or battery) and had them shoot at a skeleton that I painted on a piece of plywood (very easy). I am considering an adult party next year. Any advice? Thank you,

Patty Lamp, Illinois USA

More details on a great Halloween Treasure Hunt here

Girls so much more up for it than the guys!

Hi Nikki,

Yes our birthday scavenger hunt was a GREAT success. Your material gave me lots to choose from and I was grateful. I used the treasure map for the invitations and rolled them up to hand out. The list was on the treasure map and it was 8 items to look for or info to find and 8 photos to take to make memories & proof of it getting done. It was a teen girl team against teen guy team and the playing field was the city of Wichita, KS so they had a certain time to be back complete or not and the one with the most done was the winner. They all came back with wonderful stories and had lots of fun. I learned though that the guy against girl wasn't the best cause the guys were too COOL to do some of the list, but the things they did they had FUN! Whereas if they had had mixed teams the girls would have persuaded them into doing everything!!

3 of the top things they talk still about doing were:

1) Photo with policeman (extra points if he'll let you all in his car) He did but didn't thing they would all fit & they crammed in the back seat - he took the picture.:)

2) Signature of fireman (the girls took it a step farther and asked if he could bring the truck to their house for EXTRA points) they couldn't

3) the most daring (per girls) was going to get 2 balloons from some restaurant and giving one away to a kid and bring one home (this was Fri. night during busy evening meal and they went into Applebees asked for 2 balloons and went up to a family that had a girl and asked to take her picture while they were eating & the little girl was sooooo happy.

On the other hand the guys said the police they stay away from so it was crossed off their list from the start NOT to do. They like going to the mall and riding the merry go round. They also liked finding a statue to take a picture with came back with MANY statue pictures it was funny. They also didn't have a hard time finding hats & taking pictures except they were worried about messing their hair up (what's up with that!)

While planning this double birthday party it has prompted other ideas one for our leadership Christmas party at church promoting unity & working together to accomplish a task. Also I have talked with our

Coordinator who is up for the idea of a scavenger hunt during next summer's Family Reunion. Should be loads of fun.

Thanks for the great info! I am going to try to send a photo let me know if it makes it.

Dena Hudson, Kansas USA

More details on a great Teen Treasure Hunt here