Team Scavenger Hunt

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Locate and verify items from a defined checklist within a set boundary and time limit.

Use it when: Use when an in-person group needs active physical movement and collaborative prioritization across an accessible venue.

Skip it when: Skip when the venue has restricted physical access, safety hazards, strict quiet-zone policies, or when participants lack comparable physical mobility.

Group arrangement: Use teams of 3 to 5. With 4 or 5 people, form one team. For 6 to 24 people, use the smallest number of teams that keeps every team at five or fewer. Distribute the full roster evenly so team sizes differ by at most one. Everyone belongs to a team, including participants choosing non-searching roles. This grouping is a UWT adaptation.

Timing: Playmeo suggests up to 1 hour; this 40-minute plan fits standard workshop sessions with 5 minutes briefing, 20 minutes hunting, 10 minutes scoring, and 5 minutes debrief.

Materials and tools

• One printed or shared digital Hunt Checklist per team
• One pen or pencil per team using paper
• One collection bag or box per team (optional, for physical items)
• One countdown timer visible or announced to everyone
• A camera-enabled phone or device per searching team for photo evidence
• For remote or hybrid delivery: a video call with breakout rooms, camera-enabled devices, a shared editable checklist, and headphones where needed

Before participants arrive

1. Inspect the designated venue boundaries to ensure all areas are safe, accessible, and permitted for use.
2. Prepare one printed or shared digital Hunt Checklist per team.
3. Define off-limits zones (such as private offices, restrooms, and emergency stairwells) and post warning notes if needed.
4. For remote or hybrid delivery, prepare one shared checklist column or page per team. Test editing, photo uploads, camera access and breakout rooms before the timed session. Everyone must be able to contribute through the shared call or checklist. Use headphones and separated speaking positions where needed. If access is unavailable, arrange a feasible single-setting session before starting.
5. Agree safe, permitted search areas for every location. Photograph only permitted objects and willing people. Participants may skip any item or choose a non-searching team role. Stop walking before looking at the screen or showing an item on camera.

Say this to open

Your team has twenty minutes to find as many listed items as possible. Each item has a point value. Bring physical items to home base or submit clear photos to your team checklist before zero. No running; stay within permitted boundaries and leave fixed objects in place. Photograph only willing people and permitted objects. You may skip an item or choose a non-searching team role. Late or unverified submissions earn zero points. With one team, I verify; otherwise teams check one another.

How to run it

1. Brief and form teams 5 minutes

   Form balanced teams using the group-format rule; keep all participants assigned to a team. Distribute one checklist, pen if using paper, and optional collection bag per team. Review the 20-minute hunt, boundaries, safe photo use and zero points for late or unverified submissions. Never detach fixed objects. Assign searching, checklist, camera and timekeeping roles; participants may choose non-searching roles. Explain who verifies each checklist, including the facilitator when there is one team.

2. Search and collect 20 minutes

   Start the 20-minute countdown. Teams search permitted areas and gather items or clear photos. Return physical items to home base or submit photos in the shared checklist before zero; remote teams follow the remote evidence procedure. Stop walking before using a screen or camera. The facilitator stays at home base or in the main call to answer questions and monitor safety.

3. Score and verify 10 minutes

   Stop collecting at zero. With one team, the facilitator verifies. Otherwise pair teams to swap checklists; for odd counts, reserve three teams first: A checks B, B checks C, C checks A. Pair the rest. Each verifier inspects submitted objects or photos, marks Verified, enters points and signs the checklist. Late or unverified submissions earn zero points. Finish all verification within these ten minutes.

4. Debrief and conclude 5 minutes

   Gather the whole group and announce verified scores. Ask two reflection questions. Invite 2 or 3 volunteers to share brief observations about how their team prioritized items and managed time.

Debrief questions

• How did your team decide which items to target first?
• What coordination challenges came up when searching together under time pressure?

Finished output: A verified checklist and total score for each team, checked by another team or by the facilitator when there is one team.

Remote

UWT remote adaptation: use the same balanced teams of 3 to 5 and the full 40-minute plan: 5 briefing, 20 hunting, 10 verification and 5 debrief. Each team uses a breakout room and shared checklist while members search safe, permitted areas at their locations. Photograph only willing people and permitted objects. Participants may choose checklist or timekeeping roles instead of searching. Paste clear photo evidence into the team checklist before the 20-minute deadline. For an object shown on camera instead, another team member records seeing it in the checklist before zero; show it again to the verifier afterward. Stop searching at zero. The facilitator checks a single team; otherwise use the same paired or three-way verification rotation. Verifiers inspect timely evidence during the ten-minute scoring block, then everyone returns to the main call.

Hybrid

UWT hybrid adaptation: form the same balanced teams from the full roster, regardless of location. If there are at least as many willing on-site searchers as teams, place one on each team first, then distribute everyone else to fill the planned team sizes. Remote members join their assigned team by video and use its shared checklist for strategy, evidence and timekeeping; on-site members search the permitted venue and submit photos or show objects on camera. Stop walking before using the screen. If there are fewer on-site searchers than teams, everyone uses the existing remote hunt, searching permitted areas at their own location or taking a non-searching role. No participant is left outside a team. Check devices, headphones, safe speaking positions and shared-document access before the session; use a feasible single-setting session if those conditions cannot be met. Keep the same 20-minute hunt and ten-minute verification procedure, using shared checklists and camera evidence across locations, followed by the five-minute debrief.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose roles such as checklist manager, photographer, or item gatherer to accommodate different physical mobility levels.
• Any participant may opt out of physical searching without explanation and remain on their team as a checklist manager or timekeeper. A willing participant may instead assist the facilitator with verification after the hunt; nobody verifies their own team.

If the session gets stuck

A team returns late after the timer expires.

Stop collecting at the 20-minute deadline. Award zero points for each item or photo submitted after zero, and for any unverified submission. Apply the same rule in every setting; do not add a separate per-minute deduction.

Teams disagree on whether a found object fits the description.

The facilitator makes a quick binding ruling based on common sense, prioritizing fair play over technical debate.

Terms used here

• Home base: The central meeting room where the hunt begins, ends, and scoring occurs.