How to use the scavenger hunt generator

Pick where you're hunting. Indoors works for rainy days and evenings. Outdoors works in a backyard, a park or on a walk. A rainbow hunt works anywhere: find one thing of each color.
Pick your hunters. “Can't read yet” gives a picture for every item, so a three-year-old can hunt on their own. “Early readers” is words only. “Riddle trail” makes a chain of rhyming clues that ends at a treasure.
Pick how many. Six is plenty for toddlers. Twelve keeps older kids busy for half an hour.
Print it, or just read it out. Tap “New hunt” as often as you like. Every hunt has its own link, so you can print the same one twice for two teams.

Picture hunts for toddlers and preschoolers

Children who can't read yet can still run their own hunt if every item has a picture. Hand them the list and a crayon to tick things off. Keep it short, and stay close: half the fun for a two-year-old is showing you each thing they find.

Not everything has to be collected. “A tree taller than a house” and “a plane in the sky” are for spotting. For flowers and mushrooms, look and don't pick.

How a riddle treasure trail works

A treasure trail is a chain. You give your hunters the first clue. Its answer is a place, say the fridge, and that's where the second clue is hidden. The last clue leads to the treasure. The generator writes the clues and tells you where to hide each one, so setting up takes about five minutes.

The treasure doesn't need to cost anything. A note that says “You choose dinner” or “Ten minutes of tickles” goes down just as well as a sweet.

Tips from our Chief Play Officer

Make it a team. Siblings of different ages can share a hunt: the reader reads, the little one runs.
Give hints, not answers. “Warmer… warmer… freezing!” keeps them going without taking over.
Let them make one. Once they've done a hunt, older children love hiding things for you. Turn the tables and be the hunter.
Stop while it's fun. If they've found most of the list and the energy's dropping, call it a win.

Questions parents ask

What age is a scavenger hunt for?

From about two, with pictures and a grown-up alongside. Picture lists suit ages 2 to 5, word lists suit early readers from about 5, and riddle trails suit ages 6 to 10.

How do I make an indoor scavenger hunt?

Pick “Indoors”, choose your hunters and tap “New hunt”. Everything on the indoor list is something most homes already have, so there's nothing to buy or hide unless you choose a riddle trail.

Is this scavenger hunt generator free?

Yes. No sign-up and no ads. Print as many hunts as you like.

Scavenger hunt generator for kids