How to Set Up a Scavenger Hunt
A clue-chain hunt is easy to run and hard to get wrong once you know the one rule: each card points to the place where the next card is hidden.
1. Decide how long it should be
For children under six, use three to five clues. Ages seven to twelve can manage eight to ten. Teens and adults get restless after about eight. Every clue needs its own hiding spot, so count your spots first.
2. Choose the hiding spots
Walk through your home and pick places that are safe, easy to describe and spread across the house. Good spots are places with a name: the fridge, the piano, the coat closet. Avoid anything hot, wet or fragile, and leave out spots the players cannot reach. Pick the last spot first, because that is where the gift goes.
3. Write or generate the clues
Each clue describes the spot the player must go to next. Keep little-kids clues to a sentence. For older children, a rhyme helps. The generator picks one clue per spot and puts them in an order. You can also browse the library and copy lines.
4. Hide the cards, in the right order
This is where people trip up. Card 1 is handed over. Card 2 goes in the spot that clue 1 describes. Card 3 goes in the spot that clue 2 describes. The last card goes where the clue before it points, and the gift waits at the final spot. The answer key page lists this for you: “Hide card #3 in the fridge.”
5. Test one run
Read each clue aloud as if you did not know the answer. If a clue could point to two places, change the order or the spot. Hide the cards, then follow the trail once yourself.
6. Keep it safe
Use the oven only when it is off and cool, and the fireplace only when it is cold. Put cards for the freezer or the garden in a zip bag. Take cards out of the microwave and washing machine before anyone uses them. Tell small children they only need to look, not to climb.
Questions
How does the clue chain work?
You tick the places where cards can hide. Clue 1 is handed to the player and points to the first hiding spot. The card hidden there points to the next spot, and so on. The last card points to the spot where the big gift waits. No spot is used twice in one chain.
Where do I hide each card?
The host answer key page tells you, card by card: “Hide card #3 in the fridge.” The cards themselves never say where they go, so players cannot peek at the answer.
Is it safe to hide cards in the oven or the fireplace?
Only when the oven is off and cool, and only when no fire has been lit and the hearth is cold. The answer key prints a reminder whenever you use one of those spots. Pick another spot if you are in any doubt, and take cards out before anyone uses the appliance.
What if two children run the hunt together?
They can share one chain. For separate chains, the Family Pack gives each child a color and never sends two children to the same spot at the same step.