🔎 Scavenger Hunt at Home

What you need

Equipment: A printed list, a timer. Prepare a list of 10 to 12 things to find. Decide which rooms are open for searching and which are off limits.

How to play Scavenger Hunt at Home

1. Read the whole list out loud once, then put it up somewhere everyone can see.
2. Explain the rules: no opening locked doors, nothing fragile, and nothing that belongs to someone else without asking.
3. On "Ready, set, hunt!" everyone runs to search.
4. Players bring what they find to the middle of the room.
5. Set a timer for 5 minutes.
6. When time is up, everyone freezes with what they have.
7. Go through the list item by item and check what counts.
8. Quick version: call one item at a time and give 20 seconds to find it.

Scoring and wrapping up

Scoring: Each valid item: 1 point. An especially creative item the host approves: 2 points. First to complete the whole list: 5 points.

To finish: Add up the points and crown the Treasure Hunter. Then everyone puts their items back where they came from. That is part of the game.

By age

• Ages 4-5: use picture lists or simple colors and shapes, and let them hunt in pairs with a grown-up.
• Ages 6-9: use descriptive clues like "something that makes a noise".
• Ages 10+: write riddle clues instead of plain items.

Variations

• Big group: hunt in teams of three, each team with its own basket and list.
• Buga twist: Buga's mystery item. One secret item on the list is only revealed in the final minute, and it is worth 3 points.
• Photo hunt: older kids snap a photo of each item instead of carrying it.

Tips for the adult in charge

• Limit it to one item from each room so the hunt spreads out.
• Accept creative answers if a child can explain them. That is where the best moments come from.

Safety

Keep kitchens, bathrooms and anywhere with sharp or breakable things off limits, or supervise those rooms.

🖨️ Printable scavenger hunt at home list

Print one list per player or team and tick each item off as it is found.

• Something red
• Something round
• Something soft
• Something that smells nice
• Something from the kitchen (ask first)
• Something smaller than a coin
• Something with a letter B on it
• Something that makes a noise
• Something blue and something yellow
• A sock without its partner
• Something you can read
• Something shiny
• Something with stripes
• Something that belongs to a grown-up (ask first)
• Something older than you
• Something shaped like a square
• A toy with wheels
• Something that bends
• Something fluffy
• Your favorite thing in the house