Thread: Successful Halloween Scavenger Hunt - At home

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I wanted it to start in the house and lead them outside. It was helpful that the neighbors on my block played along and let me set my props up and down the block. The game played for about 40 minutes.

If anyone is interested in this type of hunt, I can give you my files. Just so you understand My hunt consisted of puzzles, riddles. poems.

I relied on 4 the below abilities:
• the power of observation
• the power of deduction
• the power gained from knowledge of prior events
• the power of constructive imagination

I do love the photo scavenger hunts that are popular, but I knew once the martinis starting flowing through dinner, I didn't want my friends driving around town at midnight trying to find who knows what.

The winning 7 person team won individual baskets i stuffed with candy, movie tickets, gift cards, Starbucks coffee mugs & Pampered Chefs Sweet Salty Mix I made. ( If your not familiar with that its like poppycock, but better)

I would be interested. Thanks for offering!

For this to work for you, you need to know a few things.
I printed all the clues on cards and I have the files saved if you want to use them.

The props I made to pull this off were all simple but time consuming.


HALLOWEEN HUNT - Group 1 – PUMPKIN LOVERS

1. Good Evening my Friends, This is the start of the race
To find the all the clues You must look in the right place
Clue number two may be hidden too good….

Should you check where it freezes?
Yes, I think you should!

(We send the team to the freezer to get their next clue )

***

2. Well, well, well, what do we have we here?
Take heed my fine friends, it is too soon to cheer,
That was too easy, we must have a show!
It will become harder the farther you go!
So all stick together, do not shed a tear…
For your next clue look carefully at the wallpaper you’re near

(I hid the clue within wallpaper i designed that resembles Disney's haunted mansion, down to the glow in the dark eyes. )

***

3. So you think this is easy? Well, it just may become hard
read the next clue - it’s on the attached card.

5 little pumpkins Sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!
"The second one said, "There are witches in the air!
"The third one said, "Well, I don't care!
"The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!
"The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!
"Ooooo went the wind And out went the lights
And the five little pumpkins Rolled out of sight

Find the five pumpkins… and you’ll find your next clue……….

(attached to the 5 pumpkins, there will be a puzzle piece. if you dont get all the pieces you wont be able to read the next clue )

******

I bought these 2" pumpkins that pop open and held some really terrible candy. i hid them all over the house and i placed a total of 12 puzzle pieces in them, one in each. Since I hid 20 of them, i put candy in the others. You need all 12 to put together the pumpkin puzzle i made with my jigsaw so you can read the next clue of the game.


4. Aww Rats! you found us, and all of my friends, our fun is over but yours just began
Riddle me this my fine friends

"Stiff is my spine and my body is pale, but I'm always ready to tell a tale."
(I hid the next clue card in my Legend of sleepy hollow book and place it on the book shelf, pulled out slightly )

*********

5. One little, two little, three little witches,
Flyover haystacks, fly over ditches,
Slide down moon beams without any hitches,
Hey ho Hallowe'en's here!

Horned owl's hooting, it's time to go a-finding,
outside deep in the shadows, a black cats a- hiding,
With gay little goblins, sliding, gliding,
Hey ho Halloween's here!

(We send the team outside to look for a hidden black cat sillouette that i made from a template on Martha stewarts website, around the cats neck was a glow in the dark stick and the next clue )
******************

6. There's a goblin as green as a goblin can be.

Who is sitting outside and is waiting for me.
When he knocked on my door and said softly, "Come play!"
I answered, "No thank you, now please, go away!"
But the goblin as green as a goblin can be. Is still sitting outside and is waiting for me……

(We send the team around the yard to look for a green goblin with red eyes who's holding the next clue)

******************************

7. Don’t despair; the END is very NEAR….
For a treasure hunt like this, you don’t show any fear!
Everyone around you is helping you search …–
Now go climb up a staircase where the bats like to perch.


(Second floor deck I transformed into a bat cave and had 100+ bats hanging upside down.. one holding the clue)
************

8. Congratulations! You’ve won the Hunt
Bring your booty inside to divvy it up!
Remember tonight is not all fright and fear -
A trick or treat is waiting near -
The kitchen holds a sweet surprise
Enter the house and claim another prize !


HALLOWEEN HUNT GROUP 2 WITCHES BREW

1. Good Evening my Friends
This is the start of the race
To find the all the clues
You must look in the right place Clue number two may be hidden too good….Should you check where you shower?
Yes, I think you should!

(We send the team to the Master shower to get their next clue )

2. Well, well, well, what do we have we here?
Take heed my fine friends, it is too soon to cheer,
That was too easy,
we must have a show!
It will become harder the farther you go!
So all stick together,
do not shed a tear…
For your next clue look carefully at the pictures you’re near

(I created wallpaper not unlike the first hunt, but for this I also got the images of the haunted mansion stretching pictures and i hid the clue within a picture )

3. So you think this is easy? Well, it just may become hard
read the next clue - it’s on the attached card.

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, (1 )
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog"(2)
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, (3)
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing" (4)
For a charm of powerful trouble, Find all 4 pairs of ingredients & the cauldron on the double!"

4. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

(I created and disbursed potion bottles all over the house. attached to the potion ingredients, there will be a puzzle piece. if you dont get all the pieces you wont be able to read the next clue )


The one who makes it doesn't need it
the one that buys it doesn't keep it
the one that sells it doesn't use it
the one that's using it never knows it being used
What am I?

( The answer is a Coffin and I have one with a sketeton that will be in the hallway )

5. One little, two little, three little witches,
Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches,
Slide down moon beams without any hitches,
Hey ho Hallowe'en's here!

Horned owl's hooting, it's time to go a-finding,
outside deep in the shadows a witches broom’s a- hiding,
With gay little goblins, sliding, gliding,
Hey ho Hallowe'en's here!

(We send the team outside to look for a witches broom with a glow stick with the next clue.


6. Out in the dark and maybe under a tree
Look for a graveyard then a skeleton key,
Don't be afraid of all hallows night,
not all ghosts choose to give you a fright!

(We send the team around to find the graveyard and then the skeleton key )


7. Don’t despair; the END is very NEAR….
For a treasure hunt like this, you don’t show any fear!
Everyone around you is helping you search …–
Now go climb up a staircase where the bats like to perch.

8. Congratulations! You’ve won the Hunt

Bring your booty inside to divvy it up!

Remember tonight is not all fright and fear -
A trick or treat is waiting near -
The kitchen holds a sweet surprise
Enter the house and claim another prize !


I hope you like it.

i also have one for Christmas and i just finished a pirate hunt game im having on 8/6.

Christmas is centered around making everyone find the Christmas stocking name list. For the past 7 years I put the guests name on the stockings and i would hang them as part of the Christmas decorations. After Dinner and games, They'd get to open their stockings. Last Year I numbered the stockings and that got everyone curious. At the end of the evening when someone said, Hey, how do we know who's stocking is whos? I said, you know what, I have no idea. I lost the list. Hrmm Maybe its in the blue box under the tree. And so the Game begins...

The Pirate hunt is geared more to little kids. Has not been tested yet, but if successful (cross your fingers) I have no qualms about posting it, if anyone is interested.

I have been into hunts like this for about 3 years now and its very hard to find a complete game. I gather ideas from everywhere and them smash it all together as to how I see it fits. I'm by no means an expert, but I have 14 incredible friends that faithfully show up, enjoy dinner, wine and embrace my game playing ideas. They are getting better at being detectives..... LOL I should say that now, because when I roll out the murder mystery dinner in the fall, that might wreck the curve LOL!

This looks great! I can't wait to try it out.

Thank you and your welcome.

If you need my work files and graphics and wallpaper and pictures I think I can compress them to a size that wont choke in email. ( I think anyhow )

This is exactly what I need for a family Halloween weekend. There are about 28 people ranging in age from 5 to 80 years old. It is simple and fun for the younger ones and still challenging for the older. Your groups of 7 sound like the perfect size so I would need to add two more groups. Monsters and ghosts maybe? Any suggestions on working with a larger group?

I was going to add another group, and I have some of my saved work files i was using as inspiration. Im going to print them below for you. Ghosts is a good idea. Monsters.. thats a hard sell, remember you already have a hidden goblin outside. I would make sure that the 4 teams have very different things they are looking for or you will get cross overs and the game will not go as planned.

I marked the outside of each enveleop with a picture, a pumpkin or a silhouette of three witches standing behind a cauldron. That way of they did think they found the right clue, they can confirm it by the envelope.

*********************************************

Boo!

B is for broomsticks witches to fly,
O is outrageous spooks that go by,
O is for orange pumpkins so bright,
These are the signs of a Halloween night

******

Jack-o-lantern pumpkin head - He is a fearful sight.
If I were you, I'd be afraid, to meet him outside in the night.
By day he is a pumpkin, But just you wait 'til night.
When out of eyes and nose and mouth There shines a yellow light.

********

Out in the fields where the cornstalks lie, Some pumpkins are sleeping, but by and by
The jack -o'lantern chuckled, Then winked his funny eye,
"I would rather be a pumpkin-face, Than be inside a pie!"
*********

The stars were gone,
The night was dark,
When something strange took place,
I could not quite believe it,
There was a gruesome face.

I don't believe in zombies,
But that is what I saw,
A skeleton with corpselike face,
I viewed it with awe.

**********
Don't be afraid of guts and goo
For on that key is your next clue
**********
Remember always To smell the roses,
If you dig here Hold your noses.
**********
Remember man, as you walk by
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon will be
Prepare for death and follow me.

***********
To follow you I'll not consent
Until I know which way you went.
Death is a debt to nature due,
Which I have paid, and so must you.
Dear happy days, forever fled
I too must wither, and be dead.

*************************************
IDEA PAGE

I'm very tempting, so it's said, I have a shiny coat of red, and my flesh is white beneath. I smell so sweet, taste good to eat, and help to guard your teeth. What am I? "an apple"

I have no voice and yet I speak to you, I tell of all things in the world that people do. I have leaves, but I am not a tree, I have pages, but I am not a bride or royalty. I have a spine and hinges, but I am not a man or a door, I have told you all, I cannot tell you more. : "a book"

This thing runs but cannot walk, sometimes sings but never talks. Lacks arms, has hands; lacks a head but has a face. What is it? "a clock"

I don't go out and play, I just stay home all day, I'm nice - you might agree, but mostly your feet just rub me... (A Door-Mat)

If you were 'able', you'd add a 'T'... (A Table)

Feed me and I Live Give me Drink and I Die - a fire

I have a face that doesn't frown, I have hands that do not wave, I have no mouth, just a familiar sound, I don't walk - but I move around... (A Clock)

Pronounced as one letter,
But look and you'll see,
That really I'm written with three.
I'm read from both ends,
The same either way.
What am I? EYE

Forward and forward I go, never looking back. My limit no one knows, more of me do they lack. Like a river I do flow, and an eagle I fly.
Now can you guess, what am I? TIME

A man was found murdered on Sunday morning. His wife immediately called the police. The police questioned the wife and staff and got these alibis:
The Wife said she was sleeping.
The Cook was cooking breakfast.
The Gardener was picking vegetables.
The Maid was getting the mail.
The Butler was cleaning the closet.

The police instantly arrested the murderer. Who did it and how did they know?

It was the Maid. She said she was getting the mail. There is no mail on Sunday! (next day air and email doesn't count)
-----------------------

Name an English word of more than 2 letters that both begins and ends with the letters "he" in that order. There are two possible answers. "hehe" is not acceptable. haha! -Headache

Part carbon, part water, I am poison to the fishes.
Many falsely claim my name, I am the pause that refreshes.
What am I? soda

________________________________________

Hope this helps.

Also I did other games that evening.
I did a Halloween Jeopardy game & a movie poster game.

Attached is a picture of the pumpkin puzzle i made and the bat puzzle i made and a picture of one of the 6 movie posters i made for the game.

If you need any of these files I can email them to you. The file limit here doesnt allow me to upload them.

Wow, this is fantastic! You put so much time & effort into it! Did you just hand the groups their first clue? And what exactly did you have for the prizes?
Thanks so much for sharing!

I handed each team their first envelope clue.

I bought 7 wicker baskets that were pumpkin shaped from michaels.
i stuffed EACH basket with candy, movie tickets, gift cards, Starbucks coffee mugs & Pampered Chefs Sweet Salty Mix I made. ( If your not familiar with that its like poppycock, but better)

I have some great PDF files for anyone who would like to see the entire *vision* <stretching arms out really really wiiiiiiiiide> LOL