Looking for a fun but unusual and somewhat boundary-pushing activity to do with a small group of friends that requires almost no preparation? I made a little collaborative scavenger hunt designed to be done in any city. I completed it recently with friends, and it went well! Depending on the city, it may be more difficult or less difficult, but we did it in Manhattan. It’s designed so that no on-the-ground preparation is needed (i.e., the city itself provides the scavenger hunt for you)!
Here it is if anyone wants to try it.
The set-up:
1) Assemble a group – we did it with 6 people, which I think is a good number for this. I recommend giving them a sense of what they are going to be getting themselves into before they agree to participate just to make sure the group is on board with the activities. It likely could still work well with 3 to 8 people.
It could also be done with more people divided into groups that compete with the other groups, with each group trying to be the first to achieve the goal. For instance, you could have 18 people divided into three teams of 6 people, with each group competing to be the first team to get the targeted number of points. Alternatively, you could have a fixed amount of time, and whichever group gets the most points in that amount of time wins.
2) Each participant will be working with their group (all members of that group are on the same team) to complete a series of challenges (here’s an example of a challenge sheet). There are a lot of challenges to choose from, and each challenge earns points for your team (based on the challenge’s difficulty).
3) Make sure everyone gets their own copy of the challenge sheet. I recommend printing copies of the sheet out (digital copies could work, but I don’t recommend using digital copies). If you’re using paper copies, be sure to give each person in the group a pen or pencil.
4) Make sure to also read the list of rules (below) to everyone in the group and give them a chance to ask questions if they are confused about any of the rules.
5) As a group, set a time limit and a goal and fill those in at the top of the sheet. You’ll all be working together to achieve this goal as a team. We set the goal of 73 points, and we had 3 hours before one of our team members had to leave. In the end, this was perfect as we got 74 points in 2h50m. So I think 73 points in 3 hours is a pretty reasonable (but still pretty challenging) goal. You may want to set a small (silly) group punishment for failing and a small (fun) reward if you all succeed, which is agreed on in advance.
6) Create a shared group chat for participants (e.g., via WhatsApp) and encourage the group to take photos during the event and post them in the shared group at the end (once the event is over).
7) Everyone playing should follow these rules (be sure to read them aloud to the participants and give everyone a chance to ask questions). Also, be sure to explain the goal, e.g., “for the group to get ____ points by ____ O’clock,” or “to be the group with the most points within the next ____ hours,” or whatever you decide. And it’s also best if you print out one copy of these rules for each group (in case they forget any).
The rules:
i) The goal is for your group to get as many points as you can by working together to complete the items on the list. Every time your group completes an item, it should be circled (each item can only be completed once by your group).
ii) You can only get points from each stranger (or group of strangers) once. So if you get someone to interact in a way that gets points from one of the items on the list, that same stranger can’t get you points from any other item (with the exception of the item for someone joining your team, in which case they would then be just a normal team member).
iii) Similarly, you can’t use the same activity to get points twice. For instance, if you could take the same action twice to get points from two items on the sheet, it would only count for one. And, of course, each challenge can only be completed for points a single time.
iv) Always act kindly and respectfully toward strangers and prioritize not making other people uncomfortable.
v) Don’t break the law, and don’t put anyone in your group in physical danger.
vi) Don’t tell people you interact with that you are doing a scavenger hunt (unless the task specifically says to tell them). Telling them you’re doing a scavenger hunt makes it too easy.
vii) You can do the challenge items in any order, and you don’t need to get them all to win (your score will be the sum of the point values for the items that your group completed). When you complete an item, circle the number of points for that item in the “Points for completing” column to indicate you’ve completed it (and earned those points). The more difficult items award more points.
Here’s a link to the challenge sheet we used.
This piece was first written on July 28, 2024, and first appeared on my website on September 26, 2024.
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