Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items, using which the participants — individuals or teams — seek to gather all items on the list — usually without purchasing them — or perform tasks or take photographs of the items, as specified. The goal is usually to be the first to complete the list, although in a variation on the game players can also be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner.

According to game scholar Markus Montola, scavenger hunts evolved from ancient folk games. Gossip columnist Elsa Maxwell popularized scavenger hunts in the United States with a series of exclusive New York parties starting in the early 1930s. The scavenger-hunt craze among New York's elite was satirized in the 1936 film "My Man Godfrey."

Notable scavenger hunts include the University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt, the annual Tricadecathlonomania, a 24-hour worldwide event that began in Northfield, MN, and the Monroe NY annual scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts can easily be played either outdoors (around town, parks, back yards, etc.) or indoors (malls, houses, shops, etc.) .

Internet scavenger hunts invite participants to visit different websites to find clues and solve puzzles, sometimes for a prize. The first internet hunt was developed in 1992 by Rick Gates to encourage people to explore the resources available online. Several feature films and television series have used online scavenger hunts as viral marketing, including The Da Vinci Code and the Sci-Fi Channel's series The Lost Room.