Scavenger Hunt Ideas & Rhymes

The scavenger hunt remains a popular party game because it brings party guests together and can be easily adapted for any age group. A successful scavenger hunt requires the party host to provide clues that are both clever and challenging. Rhyming clues give the scavenger hunt a whimsical feeling, while puzzling clues give players a reason to work together and mingle.

Rhyming clues should sound poetic, but offer enough of a challenge to delight your guests. Focus on keywords for each clue, such as a place or object, and use a rhyming dictionary to craft rhymes around those keywords. If you are having difficulty rhyming your keywords, use words associated with a scavenger hunt that are easier to rhyme -- such as look, clue, seek and map. Use a thesaurus to find other words which have the same meaning but are easier to rhyme.

You should craft the difficulty level of your puzzle clues to the experience and age of the players. For young children, cut up pictures into easy puzzles or take zoomed-in photos of different objects or locations. For adults, write clues out in a secret code or create pop-culture trivia questions that they must answer in order to find their next clue. Using a variety of puzzles keeps things entertaining and allows each player the opportunity to put his unique skills to use.

Rhyming clues and puzzle clues do not have to be independent of one another and work will in tandem. For example, translate a rhyming clue into a picture rebus for your players to figure out. Rhyming clues can also be used to give guests hints on puzzles and brainteasers. Create an emergency envelope for each puzzle containing a rhyming hint. Using the hint will allow game play to continue, but will penalize players at the end of the game.

A scavenger hunt can be as big or as small as you want. If you are low on space, throw a magazine scavenger hunt instead. Create different rhyming clues and have guests rifle through old magazines to look for pictures that match. A road rally is an adult scavenger hunt that is played inside the car as players drive around looking for clues. Give each player a disposable camera and have him take pictures of different landmarks to win the game.