Scavenger Hunts or Treasure Hunts. The Differences Explained.
Posted on: 02/04/2025A lot of people use the terms treasure hunt and scavenger hunt interchangeably. However, I think there are a couple of significant differences between the two and this blog will seek to show how my Brighton team building treasure hunts and Brighton hen party treasure hunts incorporate essential elements of a scavenger hunt within them. Additional questions are answered (I`m good like that!) as to how the two styles differ and whether a London Scavenger hunt is going to be radically different to a Brighton Scavenger hunt.
First question please!
What is a treasure hunt and how does that differ to a scavenger hunt?
Do you agree with AI then?
On the basic details I do but one of my team building treasure hunts or hen party treasure hunts, for example, combine questions (clues with points allocated to them) that are in order with a list of challenges that can be done in any order and often in more than one place. These tasks provide the scavenger hunt element. So, in effect, my treasure hunts are combined with a scavenger hunt.
In that case, why don`t you call them Scavenger hunts sometimes?
There are normally around thirty questions in my treasure hunts, and they provide the structure to the event. To call it a scavenger hunt would be misleading. The challenge tasks (or scavenger list) give variety, gets more people involved and keep the teams on their toes. The aim though is to answer as many of the questions (which remember are in order) so that you get to the end in the maximum allocated time. The scavenger hunt part of this is to give more opportunities to gain points and win the treasure at the end.
On occasions, depending on the brief I have been given, I have called them Adventure Hunts. This might reflect a treasure hunt with a theme that is less about seeking out the treasure or indeed has a higher number of scavenger style challenges included.
Can you give me a sample of a couple of treasure hunt questions, from a recent Brighton treasure hunt, you have written??
Q2. Who is the third tallest basketball player listed on the measuring stick by the door? (2pts)
Direction: Turn right on Kemp St.
Q3. What word makes sense if you are inside Evening News? (2pts)
Q2 required locating the measuring stick and then deciding who the basketball players were. Q3 was a bit more cryptic but once you found a building called Evening News there was a word in a window saying EVOL. This is love backwards and only made sense if you were inside!
The University of Chicago`s Scavenger hunt is notorious. Here is an item from last year`s hunt: No 197. At some point on Thursday or Friday, your team should cause us to exclaim, “There goes a narwhal!”[B29 points. Only full-sized narwhals get full-sized points] To get (up to 7pts) on this treasure hunt you must send a video clip of your team acting like Narwhals. You may access YouTube on this occasion and any background singing/music/noises from that is encouraged. Please do not go in the sea…
This was really well completed and very funny. Chicago University are certainly the masters of a Scavenger hunt!
A treasure hunt question can often be shorter and can follow or precede a direction if a change of direction is required to keep you going in the right direction. With my scavenger hunt challenges I do not provide directions (even with odd things you should try to see on the way round). I do not want teams to get lost, so the treasure hunt has clear and tight directions to get you around whilst the scavenger hunt items are there to throw in an air of uncertainty that will lead teams to consider strategy and tactics.
Is a London scavenger hunt challenge much different from a Brighton scavenger hunt challenge?
Taking photos of quirky things on route is always fun and memorable and of course that will be the same type of scavenger hunt challenge but differs in what you are trying to find.
So... there you have it. My personalised treasure hunts combine a treasure hunt with a scavenger hunt list of challenges. I hope my answers made it clearer as to what the differences are. If you would like to make a booking which combine fun, exploration, discovery and working together in a team or maybe as one group then contact me (Tim) on info@blackcattreasurehunts.co.uk or call me on (01323) 655346. Leave a message if I do not pick within 4 rings and I will ring you back within a day.
