Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: fc4af2c704428a21cda66352f7a658a9f0bc3730eb35c4cbb6ced917535bd35d

# Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Remote participants search their immediate surroundings to gather household objects or document quick challenges from a prompt checklist. Players submit photographic proof within a set countdown to earn points.

**Time:** 25 minutes. Adjusted to 25 minutes for a live session. The source article suggests 30 minutes for an unmonitored 20-item hunt.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual search turns, followed by full-group verification and story sharing

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Re-energize remote groups through self-paced physical movement and structured sharing of everyday items.
**Use it when:** Use during remote team check-ins, social hours, or meeting intermissions when participants need an active break from seated screen time.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants are in restricted or shared public spaces where taking photos, moving around, or fetching personal possessions is impractical or intrusive.

## Materials and tools

- Scavenger hunt prompt sheet (one digital copy pasted to chat or shared screen)
- Digital countdown timer visible to all participants
- Smartphone or web camera for each participant to snap proof photos
- Direct messaging channel, shared chat window, or shared slide deck for submitting photos

## Before participants arrive

1. Select 10 to 12 items or challenges from the prompt list and assign 1 to 3 points each based on rarity.
2. Configure a shared channel or chat window to collect image submissions.
3. Test camera and image pasting workflows so participants know where to post.

## Say this to open

We are running a quick virtual scavenger hunt. You will have 10 minutes to review the prompt list, find matching items in your immediate space, or complete simple photo challenges. You will snap a photo of each item or challenge you complete and post your submissions to our designated chat. Do not leave your home or workspace, stay safe, and choose only what you are comfortable sharing.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce rules and scoring (3 minutes)

Display the scavenger hunt prompt list and scoring criteria. Explain the ground rules: items must come from the immediate premises, each item can only be used once, photos must be taken fresh by the participant with no internet screenshots, and submissions stop strictly when the timer hits zero.

### 2. Search and document (10 minutes)

Start a 10-minute countdown timer on the main screen. Participants move away from their desks, locate items on the list, take photos, and upload them into the shared chat channel or direct message thread. Participants who finish early review their uploads and total their self-reported points.

### 3. Tally and verify points (5 minutes)

Call time and close submissions. Review the incoming submissions on the shared screen. Read out the top three point totals. If there is a tie, award the win to whoever posted their final photo first.

### 4. Showcase items and debrief (7 minutes)

Invite up to four volunteers, including top scorers and curious finds, to hold up one favorite item on camera or speak briefly to the story behind an uploaded picture. Facilitate whole-group reflections using the debrief questions.


## Debrief questions

- Which prompt was the hardest to locate in your space, and what did you use instead?
- What is the story behind the most surprising item you or a teammate retrieved today?

**Finished output:** A gallery of submitted photos in the team chat and a final scoreboard of participant points.

## Remote

Run over any video platform with screen sharing. Display the prompt list and timer on the shared screen. Participants keep their cameras on or off while searching, then drop their photos into the group meeting chat or a dedicated messaging channel before the timer expires.

## Hybrid

In-person participants search the meeting room and office suite, taking photos on their mobile phones and uploading them to the exact same digital chat channel as remote participants. Remote and local submissions follow identical scoring, timing, and photo criteria.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants with mobility restrictions may delegate someone to retrieve items, search online within their own local files, or choose purely stationary desk-based photo prompts.
- Anyone may opt out of photographing their living space and instead participate as scorekeeper or chat moderator without disclosure.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant cannot upload photos from their mobile phone to the video chat platform.**

Allow them to hold physical items up to their webcam during step three to claim credit.

**Disputes arise over whether an ambiguous item matches a clue.**

Accept creative interpretations as long as the participant can explain the link in one sentence.


## Terms used here

- Fetch quest: A game task that only requires going to pick up a specific physical object and bringing it back.

## Participant material: Sample 10-Item Scavenger Hunt Checklist

Virtual Scavenger Hunt Prompts & Points:
1. Favorite coffee mug or tea cup (1 point)
2. Something that makes you laugh (1 point)
3. A book with a blue cover (1 point)
4. Handwritten note, shopping list, or sticky note (1 point)
5. Pet, plant, or drawing of a pet/plant (2 points)
6. Recreate a famous work of art using only desk items (2 points)
7. An obsolete piece of technology or old cord (2 points)
8. Souvenir from a trip or concert ticket stub (2 points)
9. Something you made by hand (3 points)
10. A view from your window or doorway (3 points)

Rules:
- All items must be in your current location. Do not leave the premises.
- Each item can only fulfill one prompt.
- Take an original photo; no stock images or screenshots.
- Submit all photos to the designated chat before the timer ends.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on TeamBuilding.com by Jessica Chen (published July 2020, updated February 2025).

Retained the core mechanic from TeamBuilding.com: fetching household items, completing photo challenges, point-based values, timer countdown, and tiebreaker rules. UWT added a streamlined 25-minute facilitation schedule, neutral 10-item sample prompt sheet, explicit hybrid steps, and accessible alternative roles.

[TeamBuilding.com](https://teambuilding.com/en/articles/virtual-scavenger-hunt)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/virtual-scavenger-hunt-ideas-sample-lists/