How to make a treasure hunt

How to make a treasure hunt for kids ?

Find out how to organize a treasure hunt for children for a birthday or other festive occasion? Our “turnkey” game kits will allow you to easily set up a large themed activity for managing groups of children.

How to proceed?

• Choose your game among the selection proposed: from pirates to princesses, Indians or fairies, you will find a wide range of themes on our site, from the most traditional to the most original!
• Download your game immediately and print it: express delivery! Download your game file in PDF format right after purchase! Print it and set it up in about twenty minutes!
• Hide the puzzles and PLAY: Hide the puzzles in your game space. Read the introductory story and let’s go for about 1h30 of adventure!

Well thought-out content

You will easily become a real animator thanks to our innovative game concept where everything is thought out and planned in advance! After reading the set-up pages, you will find a hiding idea board and a pre-filled tracking chart to follow the progress of your game and guide the children.

The story line unfolds as you complete the various puzzles and challenges! A personalized printable diploma is also included to give to each participant!

The advantages of our treasure hunt kits:

You want to organize a birthday party but you don’t have any ideas? The treasure hunt is an original and fun activity that will ensure the success of your party!

• games at a unique and very affordable price
• guaranteed success
• quick set-up and simplified animation
• nothing more to buy
• unlimited downloading
• they adapt to all indoor and outdoor spaces
• no limit to the number of players
• games adapted by age group and various themes!
• all created by a child care professional!

The ultimate guide to make your own treasure hunt at home

What is a treasure hunt?

It’s a fun activity, where children will have to solve a series of challenges, puzzles and challenges in teams to find the location of a treasure! Combining team spirit, logic and deduction, this activity is the children’s favorite game because it is original, fun and educational! All children love to participate in this type of adventure because it allows them to become real heroes, putting themselves in the shoes of real detectives, Indians, knights, brave pirates or princesses… All themes are possible, the treasure hunt knows no limits! So you can adapt it to your child’s favorite theme. The final goal of the treasure hunt is the discovery of the TREASURE, but first you will have a series of riddles, challenges and secret codes to solve that can be articulated and presented in different forms.

How to organize a treasure hunt for a birthday?

A scavenger hunt is an original activity that allows you to make your child’s birthday a unique and fun moment. Note that you can also organize this type of game during the vacations or during family activities. Any occasion is good to go on an adventure!

This practical guide will provide you with the best advice to help you in your creative process and accompany you step by step in order to organize your own treasure hunt in the simplest possible way.

A birthday party is an opportunity to invite your friends and thus to have a group of children of the same age that you will have to occupy in a playful way! What child hasn’t dreamed of living such an adventure: a treasure hunt! It’s the assurance for children to have fun, to escape, to dream about a game, where they will become the heroes of the story… A pleasant moment to share with friends, but also with family!

SUMMARY

1- General design to make a treasure hunt for children
a) prepare a list
b) the age of the children
c) the number of children
d) the place to organize a treasure hunt for children
e) the theme of your game
f) the thread of the treasure hunt
2- Different types of games to organize a treasure hunt
a) various treasure hunts for children
b) the PUZZLE treasure hunt
c) the sentence to be reconstituted
d)the treasure map
3- Puzzle ideas to organize a treasure hunt for children
4- Complete site to organize a treasure hunt
a) invitations
b) free games to print
c) game ideas for birthday animation
d) decoration kits with the effigy of our heroes
5- The outcome of your treasure hunt
a) At the end of the game
b) resolution of the treasure hunt
c) prepare the treasure
d distribute a diploma
6- Tips for organizing a treasure hunt for children
a) invitation
b) decoration
c) disguise
d) the ideal time to organize a treasure hunt for children
e) Other ideas for organizing a treasure hunt
f) our children’s kits to organize a treasure hunt

1- General design to make a treasure hunt for children

a) prepare a list

There are different elements to take into account in the realization of your project to organize a treasure hunt. Find here everything you need to think about beforehand to organize a treasure hunt. Indeed, designing such a game is not always easy. It is important to draw up a list before starting to make your treasure hunt! It is important to start on a good basis so that you don’t make a mistake and go backwards, which would waste precious time!

b) the age of the children

So, think about the age of the children you are going to receive for this playtime. The treasure hunt will not be thought of in the same way for a 4 or 8 year old child!

c) the number of children

The number of children present on the day of the activity will also help you define your strategy, including the number of teams! Up to 6 children, we advise you to play with only 1 team. Beyond that, choose 2 teams! Depending on the number of participants, adapt your teams!

d) the place to make a treasure hunt for children

Ensuite le lieu où se déroulera votre chasse au trésor à son importance. En intérieur ou en extérieur, à la maison ou au parc, vous devrez adapter les indices, les cachettes et les énigmes à votre espace de jeu.

e) the theme of your game

Choose the theme of your treasure hunt! Help yourself to the themes we suggest or choose your child’s favorite area of interest. The theme is very important; choose it carefully. It will determine your entire adventure!

f) the story-line of your treasure hunt

Finally, develop the story-line of your treasure hunt beforehand! What does this mean? Imagine your starting story, then your ending… Between the two, there is a whole path to go from the beginning of the adventure to the end with a story that evolves and different stages in the game: this is the story-line!

2- Different types of games to organize a treasure hunt

You will need to think about how you are going to organize your treasure hunt for kids; what will be your story-line? You have several options…

a) various treasure hunts for children

There are different types of games to organize a treasure hunt! You will have to think about the method you will use to organize your game; what will be your guiding principle? Several solutions are available to you. Here are various examples of game modes that you can use as a guideline for organizing your treasure hunt…

b) the PUZZLE treasure hunt

Take a picture of the location where you have hidden the treasure and cut it up into pieces according to how many events your game has. With each successful event, the kids unlock a piece of the puzzle and will then, at the end of the game, piece the puzzle all together to find out where the treasure is hidden.

c) sentence to recompose

Write in a sentence with a big font the location where the treasure is hidden. You can do that in “Word” and include some drawings. This time, the kids will unlock a word from the sentence after each successful event, and at the end they will be able to read the location of the treasure. Cut up the sentence into words or larger bits according to the number of events you have. You can give them in the right order for younger kids, and scramble them for older kids. In that case they will have to rearrange them to form the sentence.

d) the treasure map

You use the same method, but with a map. Before the game, draw a map of your game area, for example your garden. Draw a dotted line from the front door to the treasure, cut up the map into pieces and the kids will receive one bit for each successful task. The last piece will feature the mark with location of the treasure.

e) our games

Our birthday games follow the same method. Parents hide the clues depending on their wants and space available. This means our games can be adapted to play anywhere. Kids will go looking for a piece of paper, from the clue given by the adult; this piece of paper will feature a riddle or a challenge to take, and once solved, they must go back to the adult to validate their answer. If successful, they will be guided to the next paper they must find, complete the task on it and so on until the last task where they will receive the location of the treasure.

Our scavenger hunts do not all conclude with a treasure hunt; these would be more of a detective mystery or a mystery to solve where the kids will look for the answer to a riddle. Our games feature around ten varied events. Kids love them for occasions such as birthdays, family gatherings, celebrations, and grandparents to entertain their grandchildren in the holidays… Lots of occasions warrant organising such games!

3- Puzzle ideas to make a treasure hunt for children

Preparing the puzzles and challenges is probably the most delicate part of setting up your children’s treasure hunt! Find here all the ideas for puzzles, games and challenges that will punctuate your adventure!

This list is a good start to fill up on good ideas! You’ll also find lots of game and puzzle ideas on Pinterest!

• the rebus
• the puzzle
• charades
• coded messages
• the mazes
• mirror sentences
• the riddles
• dots to connect
• spot the difference
• the missing object
• word games
• challenges…

4- Complete website to create a treasure hunt

a) invitations

We offer specially created invitations for each game theme! The children will be happy to prepare and distribute to their peers the invitations chosen and related to the theme of your birthday. Invitations are the prerequisite for starting the party! Now all your child has to do is count down the days until their birthday!

b) free games to print

A section of free games to be printed will allow you to find a multitude of small games to keep the children busy on the day of your party in addition to your treasure hunt activity. You will find mazes, crosswords, word puzzles, word games, difference games, connecting dots, pixel arts and many other games to print on the themes of our treasure hunts! A coloring section will allow you to find the hero of your game and color it in order to keep it as a souvenir! These sections are regularly updated to provide you with more support and a wider choice of games!

c) game ideas for birthday animation

We have specially created a complete website of birthday game ideas, Party games 4 kids! This site includes all the activities and game ideas for children, classified by type:

• observation games
• skill games
• racing games
• cooperative games
• language games…

Each activity includes a detailed sheet with the rules of the game. It is up to you to choose the ones that suit you best according to the number of children, their age and the location of your party!

d) decoration kits with the effigy of our heroes

We have developed a range of printable decoration kits to decorate your birthday party! These kits are entirely created by us with our own images which allows you to decorate your child’s birthday party with the exact theme of your game at a low cost! Thus, our printed decoration kits are printed with our heroes and game themes! A unique decoration, 100% adapted to each theme, including invitations, bookmarks, cake toppers, photobooths, gift box and popcorn box, many decorative labels and even THE birthday souvenir bookmark! The trendy and decorative touch for a unique and original decoration at low cost!

5- The outcome of your treasure hunt

a) At the end of the game

The end of your adventure is very important! It is the end point of the game! It is the last moment that will stay in the minds of the children! It would be a shame to have taken so much time to organize everything if the end was not good enough!

In police investigations there is not always a treasure to look for. That said, the story still has to have an ending. It is the conclusion of your story, it is the congratulations to the children for their work, it is the solution of the enigma… For example, if the children have to find the culprits then you congratulate them, confirm that it was him the culprit and what will happen to him afterwards. Thanks to you, he went to jail and then… You can give a detective diploma to the children at this time or any other reward that you will have prepared beforehand according to your choice of theme.

At the end of a treasure hunt, children expect to find a TREASURE! The last riddle will allow them to know the location of the treasure either with the help of a photo, a map, a sentence finally reconstructed! The treasure must be hidden in a place where children do not have access during the game. They must not find it befire the end of the game. If you play outside, then hide it inside the house. If you organize the game indoors, then reserve a small room, a closet, the basement… where the children do not go during the game!

Also, it’s nice for the children to actually bury the treasure if you have the opportunity. In this case, remember to put the chest in an extra garbage bag to protect it. Also, provide enough shovels for all children to participate!

b) resolution of the treasure hunt

Think about the conclusion of your adventure… The story at the beginning often calls for a goal that the children will have to achieve… Did the children manage to solve the mystery, find the culprit or find the treasure? Answer the questions asked at the beginning of the game!

c) prepare the treasure

Then think about the preparation of your treasure, its hiding place and how the children will have to find it? It is also important to make the treasure chest and plan its contents in advance! Small treats or toys will be perfect to be placed in your treasure chest.

d) distribute a diploma

Finally, a diploma to be given to the children present and personalized with their first name is also an excellent idea! They will leave with a souvenir to hang in their room! It will serve as a support to explain their great adventure to their parents!

6- Tips for organizing a treasure hunt for children

a) invitation

These tips will allow you to think about the organization and implementation of your treasure hunt activity! Indeed, invitations are essential. Print the invitations from our treasure hunt kits for free! Choose the one adapted to your game theme! Your child will be delighted to hand-deliver the carefully prepared birthday party invitation to his or her friends!

b) decoration

Whether your game is inside or outside, it is good to put some decorations around, in relation to your theme, and it also helps the kids get in the mood.

c) disguise

Suggest to children who wish to come in disguise. You can write it in the invitation! Children love to dress up and a birthday party is the perfect time to put themselves in the shoes of their favorite character! Enjoy the party!

d) the ideal time to organize a treasure hunt for children

Usually, your birthday game should last 4 hours.

On the day of the birthday, greet all the kids and let them play around and catch up with each other. Once they’ve all arrived, let them play freely for 15-30 minutes, then you can start your scavenger hunt. Gather all the kids around, explain what they are going to do this afternoon, announce the rules and read out the beginning of the story to really get them into the game with the first event. Our games are planned to be 1h30 long. The duration will vary depending on the hiding spots you choose and how hard they are to find. 2h have gone by… Plan out 1h to set up snack time, to have the birthday cake and open the presents.

You will then have 1 hour left waiting for the parents, where you can organise small games and activities, that you can find in our practical guide for birthday games. You have a large choice of games available there and you will be able to entertain all the kids !

e) our children’s kits to organize a treasure hunt

I think you’re ready for a treasure hunt! So let’s go, follow the guide! However, if you can’t create your own game, feel free to check out our “ready to use” game kits, adapted by age group and with various themes!