To organise a city scavenger hunt you need four things: a compact route, a set of clues tied to real locations, teams of two to six players and a meeting point for the finish. Everything else is detail you can adjust to your group.
This guide walks through the planning, whether you build the hunt yourself or use a ready-made route. If you would rather skip the preparation, see how a City Game works from booking to finish.
Step 1: decide who is playing
The group decides almost everything else. Colleagues need a route that works for mixed fitness levels and a bar at the end. Families need shorter distances and puzzles children can help with. A group of friends can take a longer, harder route and stop wherever they like.
Step 2: choose the area, not just the city
Keep the whole route inside one walkable district. A hunt that crosses a river twice loses more time at traffic lights than in puzzles. Aim for a loop that starts and ends within a few minutes of each other, and check that the streets you pick are not closed for a market or building work on your date.
If you want a route that has already been tested, browse the cities where you can play a City Game and pick the one nearest to your group.
Step 3: build clues that use the city
The best clues point at something permanent and verifiable: a date carved above a doorway, the number of columns on a facade, the name on a bridge, a detail in a statue. Avoid anything seasonal, anything inside a building with opening hours, and anything a shop can remove overnight.
A workable mix of challenge types
- Observation clues: the answer is written somewhere on the spot.
- Puzzle clues: the group has to combine two pieces of information to get the next location.
- Photo or action challenges: quick, silly, and the reason people still talk about the day afterwards.
- Bonus questions: optional points for teams that move fast.
Step 4: set the rules before you start
- Team size: two to six players, one phone per team.
- A hard finish time, so slower teams are not still walking when everyone else is seated.
- A hint rule: how many hints a team may use, and what it costs in points.
- Safety basics: stop walking before reading the phone, and cross where you are supposed to.
- One number to call if a team gets truly stuck.
Step 5: plan the finish
Book a table near the end point and announce the scores there. The debrief is where the day turns into a story, so give it half an hour and let teams compare their photos.
Build it yourself or book a ready-made route?
Building your own hunt is rewarding but takes a full day of scouting and testing, plus someone to run it on the day, which means that person does not get to play.
A ready-made route removes both problems. An exploration format such as the Secrets of exploration game suits groups who want to discover the city, while a story-driven route like The Syndicate city escape game suits groups who want a case to crack. For company outings, group bookings are arranged through the page for companies and groups.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a city scavenger hunt be?
Two to three hours of playing time suits most groups, including breaks. Longer than that and attention drops, especially with children in the team.
How many clues do I need?
Plan roughly one stop per ten to fifteen minutes of playing time, and keep two spare clues in reserve in case a location turns out to be blocked on the day.
What is the ideal team size?
Four players. Small enough that everyone gets a turn, large enough to solve a clue when one person is stuck.
What do teams need to bring?
A charged phone with data, comfortable shoes for cobblestones and stairs, and clothing for the weather. A power bank helps on longer routes.
What if it rains on the day?
An outdoor hunt still works in the rain, but plan an indoor finish and warn teams in advance so they bring the right jackets.
Ready to run your hunt?
Decide who is playing, keep the route compact, tie every clue to something permanent and book the finish before the start. Then pick the city and the format that fit your group.
Secrets of …
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