In a virtual setting, there aren’t too many games to get people moving beyond their workstations. This is where virtual scavenger hunt ideas come in. This high-energy, engaging activity gets people on their feet and makes for one of the best virtual team building activities that you can organize.
So, to help you get your planning in order, we have compiled a list of the best virtual scavenger hunt ideas, apps, and even sample lists.
1. What is an Online Scavenger Hunt?
A virtual scavenger hunt is a digital version of the traditional scavenger hunt game, where participants search for specific items or complete tasks based on clues or a list of instructions. There are two ways that a team plays a virtual scavenger hunt. First is to physically search their houses for the items listed or they can do a search on the internet for images of the things listed.
2. Virtual Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Team Building
2.1. Virtual Office Olympic Games
Not all of us can be Gold Medal winners in the Olympics but you can certainly bag a championship title with Virtual Office Olympic Games by Hooray Teams. This immersive virtual teambuilding platform hosts a fun mix of games including a virtual scavenger hunt where you and your team can compete to become the ultimate winner and enjoy bragging rights.
The best part about this activity is that it is a hosted event and you can also customize the event as per team preferences. All you need to do is reach out to the Hooray Teams and they will do the needful.
2.2. The Zoom Dragon Slayer
There’s a dragon to slay! The question is, will your team be able to assemble themselves with a weapon to vanquish this fire-breathing beast? Transform your regular Zoom video conference into a themed scavenger hunt idea that your team can fully immerse themselves in.
In this scavenger hunt game, participants have to find everything under a timer. The items can include something shiny and silvery to mimic a sword or shield, helmet, or an article of clothing or footwear. It should be something that everyone is likely to have lying around their house. Extra marks if they sport whatever they find! The team that makes it first with all the items to kill the dragon wins before the timer buzzes!
2.3. The Social Media Scavenger Hunt
When you look at virtual scavenger hunt ideas for remote employees, this one will take people on a trip that helps you put together memories. The social media scavenger hunt idea starts by creating a list of pictures everyone needs to unearth from the deep recesses of their social media profile.
It can be anything, such as a team outing at a picnic on Instagram, playing laser tag, a picture of you wearing red on TikTok, a picture taken at a recent event, or the first photo you ever posted on Facebook. Set a time limit of 5 minutes or 10 minutes depending upon the number of pics, and the participant who shares them all downloaded within the time limit is the winner.
For more such thrilling activities, explore our latest article on murder mystery team building.
2.4. Trivia-based Scavenger Hunts
To win this online scavenger hunt for employees, participants must solve logical and analytical problems to proceed at every game stage. Every team member gets a list of riddles. They need to solve them and click a picture of the answer.
Ideally, based on the difficulty level, you could have 5 -10 questions- the last one being the toughest. Social Scavenger’s Team Edition tailors their team building activities to requests and includes trivia, videos, photos, or stickers.
2.5. Food Based Scavenger Hunt
This is a call to all the group's foodies, a virtual scavenger hunt could take your teams on a yummy riddle ride. Divide your participants into groups of 3 or 4 and pose the questions from the list of FoodRiddles.
The website has all the answers, with the questions all related to food. For example, the answer to the question: Which is the wealthiest nut? Is the cashew nut. You’ll find wordplay everywhere, which is interesting and fun! Thus making this one of the best scavenger hunt ideas for work-from-home employees.
2.6. Geocaching Gaming Application
Geocaching is a free scavenger hunt app for all phones. The app features interactive compasses and maps, making it easy to conduct location-based scavenger hunts.
It is virtual since Geocaches are placed all over the world, the goal of every member of your team would be to locate one that is the closest to them. However, before you begin do remember to go through the guidelines, since this app is part of an international community.
2.7. Nature-Based Scavenger Hunt
Nature walks are fun and you can get your team to take one even when all of you are working virtually. Watson Adventures organizes fun and interactive virtual scavenger hunts for adults. Armed with a list of nature-inspired trivia riddles, you and your team can work in breakout rooms to decipher clues and work your way through picturesque rivers, mountains, and canyons as you hunt for items via Zoom or any other video conferencing platform.
2.8. The Ultimate Virtual Scavenger Hunt: Treasure Hunt
In this scavenger hunt ideas for work-from-home employees, the participants follow clues to escape a mysterious cabin in the woods. The engaging backgrounds and sounds bring out the best experiences for all. Escape games host this activity.
You can either be divided into small -2-8 member teams or play all together. All the members work towards a shared goal; escaping the virtual room in a set period.
3. Virtual Scavenger Hunt Sample List
Still trying to decide what challenges to include in your next virtual scavenger hunt? Here are some scavenger hunt online lists that are a good choice for everyone from individuals to students and corporate professionals.
4. FAQs
4.1. What are some virtual scavenger hunt ideas for remote employees?
Some virtual scavenger hunt ideas for remote employees include hosting one through a geocaching app and even one via Netflix.
4.2. What are some team-building virtual scavenger hunt ideas?
A team-building virtual scavenger hunt is one in which people work together to solve the clues and get the right answers. For virtual teams, this can be done with the help of a scattered list i.e. different members of the team have different clues, but it is only when they brainstorm together that the clues will make sense and they can find the answer.
4.3. Is a virtual scavenger hunt a team building exercise?
A virtual scavenger hunt gets teammates to work together while exercising their neurons. So yes, it most certainly is a team-building activity! Virtual scavenger hunts for work vary from simply finding and collecting to stumbling upon clues or hints. Synergy is the key to solving games like online scavenger hunts. When the efforts of a team are unified, there is a feeling of belonging and togetherness in an online scavenger hunt for employees.