Struggling to find office activities outside of mundane team building exercises and boring icebreakers? Turn your workplace into a treasure trove of hidden clues and fun challenges with a treasure hunt at work! An office scavenger hunt is the perfect team building activity that will be fun for the whole workplace.
Office scavenger hunts are easy to set up and can range from a simple list of things you have around the workplace, to very elaborate and creative endeavors. The person or team with the most points wins, making it a fun and creative team building activity! Here are seven simple tips for making your own office scavenger hunt!
Office Scavenger Hunt Tips
#1 The Longer, The Better
Writing up a list is the hardest part of a team building scavenger hunt. It might be tempting to go easy and do a shorter list, but it’s more fun for the participants if they have more items to choose from. Consider giving list items different point values. Harder items, or items that might require being done outside the office, can be worth more points. Simpler items are more abundant, but worth fewer points. Make sure to mix easy and difficult items to cater to different skills and preferences within teams. This creates opportunities for strategy: teams can decide whether to go for many low-point items or fewer high-point ones. Themed lists can be fun, and help you generate ideas.
#2 Set A Time
The complexity of your scavenger hunt should be dictated by how long you plan to give your players to complete it. A simple team building scavenger hunt that you’re giving players two or three hours to complete should use things found in the office. However, if you spread your hunt out over a couple of days, you open up the option of more complex items which require players to participate outside of the office.
#3 Team Up
Scavenger hunts, especially the more complicated ones, are more fun with more people. Split your office up into teams of 4 or 5 and let them work together to complete your scavenger list. You can make items on your list that specifically require teamwork, such as “a picture of the whole team Kung-Fu Fighting” or “at least 5 different shoes.”
#4 Get Messy!
There’s nothing wrong with challenging your teams to a little creative mess. You can include items on your scavenger list such as “something you made” or “something with glitter or paint on it.” This encourages hands-on participation and adds a fun, tactile element to the hunt.
#5 Take A Pic
Smart phones make photo team building scavenger hunts easy! This style is particularly good if you’re doing a longer hunt or a more complex list. Rather than bringing in physical items, players take pictures of specific places, scenarios or actions described on the list. You can also use photos to add some excitement on a mostly item based list. The photos will make a great office scrap book or annual slide show!
#6 Make it Personal
When composing your list, help your team members to get to know each other a little better by making a couple of the items on your scavenger hunt list personal. For example, items like “knick-knack from a co-worker’s desk” or “someone else’s favorite book” encourage players to engage with each other’s interests.
#7 Win a Prize
You’re more likely to engage players if there’s more up for grabs than bragging rights. Even something small like a $10 gift card for coffee can serve to motivate people to try harder. Just remember if you’re dividing your players into teams that the prize can be split among them.
Work Treasure Hunt Ideas
If you’re interested in making your activity a certain theme, here are some office scavenger hunt ideas for you:
Office supply scavenger hunt
Perfect for a short team building activity, your team will have fun within the office walls as they search for common and uncommon office supplies as they cross them off their list.
Photo scavenger hunt
One of the easier options, you’ll create a list of items and actions for teams to snap photos of on their smartphones. Teams can compete to simply finish the list or get points for creativity.
Neighborhood scavenger hunt
Help your employees get acquainted in their city with a neighborhood scavenger hunt! They’ll ride around town, get photos at local landmarks, eat local food, and meet other residents.
Virtual office scavenger hunt
Don’t fret if your team is remote! A virtual office scavenger hunt is just as fun. Employees will need to utilize their smartphones and props around them to share images of the items they find.
Pub crawl scavenger hunt
As long as everyone is of age, a pub crawl scavenger hunt is a great way to get everyone together. Hunt for treasures and tackle pub-themed trivia as you participate in a pub crawl through your city or a city you’re visiting!
Holiday scavenger hunt
A holiday office scavenger hunt is the perfect way to get your team together to celebrate the yuletide season! Combine fun photo and video challenges with the perfect mix of holiday and location-based trivia.
Office Scavenger Hunt Riddles
If you want to have even more fun with your team and make your workplace scavenger hunt more challenging, you can make each bullet a riddle they must work out before finding the listed item. Here are a few examples of office scavenger hunt riddles:
I stand silent in the corner, But speak volumes when called upon.
I’ll multiply your thoughts with ease, In black and white or vibrant hues.
What am I? (Printer)Round and round, my contents swirl, As morning fog begins to unfurl.
I’m lifted high, then set back down, My ring-shaped mark, a caffeine crown. (coffee mug)I glide across the desk with ease, a cord or not, I do as you please.
With buttons to click and wheels to spin, I help you navigate where to begin. (computer mouse)I sit in the corner, quiet and green, bringing life to spaces unseen.
With water and light, I thrive and grow, a breath of fresh air wherever I go. (plant)
Let TeamBonding Handle Your Office Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a great way to get your office together in the name of fun and community, and with these scavenger hunt ideas for work, you’ll be able to build a workplace scavenger hunt to brighten your team’s day and bring them closer than ever!
If you’re still not sure how to go about planning your workplace scavenger hunt, checkout TeamBonding’s scavenger hunt programs to take the work off your plate and contact us today.
