How To Host A Virtual Scavenger Hunt: Ideas for Great Team Building
The rise of the virtual scavenger hunt as a popular virtual game in the age of remote work has been driven by the need to beat loneliness and stay connected. Luckily, remote teams have the ability to have fun together regardless of their location.
Whether you are a small remote team looking to build relationships at work or trying to break the ice in a virtual conference, the best way to start organizing your scavenger hunt is to come up with a list of things for participants to search for. The items/things should be related to your theme(s), but not too difficult for people who may not be familiar with it.
Here, we take you through the basics of a scavenger hunt, factors to consider when coming up with virtual scavenger hunt ideas, and the most popular themes to keep everyone engaged throughout.
What is a virtual scavenger hunt?
At its most basic level, a scavenger hunt is a creative type of treasure hunt.
It comprises a list of tasks that the participants have to complete. The tasks can be physical or mental and can vary in difficulty.
Virtual scavenger hunts are a great way for remote teams to get together and have fun. They can be used for team building, as an icebreaker, or as a fun activity for team members to connect.
What are some popular variations of virtual scavenger hunt to play with your team?
This game has been played for many years and there have been several variations. While the variations of a scavenger hunt game can be limitless depending on how far and wide you want to explore as a team, there are some common types that people play.
One variation has players finding objects within a designated area and taking pictures with their phone to prove it was found. This is one of the easiest virtual scavenger hunt ideas that is great for 100% remote teams.
Another variation has players collecting objects that have been hidden around an area and exchanging them for clues to help them find more objects. This is excellent for in-office or hybrid teams.
Lastly, a great variation for all kinds of teams is an internet scavenger hunt. This involves scouring the internet for answers based on provided clues. Whether you’re in-person, hybrid, or remote, this allows everyone to play and connect together.
How do you play scavenger hunt on Zoom?
Virtual scavenger hunts are a fun way to get teams together, break the ice, and build team spirit. Before you start, here are some factors you should consider.
1. Get your goals and themes ready.
The first step in organizing a virtual scavenger hunt is deciding on an appropriate theme and/or team goal. Some examples include solving puzzles, finding hidden objects, or completing tasks that only require creativity rather than physical ability (such as writing a story, which is a good virtual scavenger hunt idea for remote teams).
2. Set up your team
To play the virtual scavenger hunt on Zoom, you will need two or more people. You can play with as many people as you want - just make sure there are enough rounds to cover all participants. For large remote teams, you can divide players into teams of two or more. Then provide each team a list of items they must find (or answers to find) with clues that lead to the next item on the list.
3. Establish a time frame and hunting rules
You may be thinking, “How long should a virtual scavenger hunt last?”
This will depend on team size. Before the game, decide on how many rounds there should be and how long each round should last. We would recommend your virtual scavenger hunt team building activity to be around 60 mins. Also, the rules of a virtual scavenger hunt should be set before the start. This will help participants know what they are supposed to do and how to go about it.
4. Create prizes for winners
By giving awards to the top scorers on your team, you can encourage them to take part and build lasting relationships. An Amazon gift card, a food delivery service gift card, or even some unusual experience gifts are examples of virtual prize suggestions for winners. This will definitely boost the competition!
Why host a virtual scavenger hunt?
There are many benefits of hosting a virtual scavenger hunt:
It can be a good team-building exercise, as it requires communication and collaboration skills.
It can also help with problem-solving skills, as participants need to work together to find clues and solve problems in order to win the game.
Some companies that organize scavenger hunts for their employees do so to boost morale and ultimately to improve team building skills.
Popular virtual scavenger hunt ideas and themes for team building
You can find a lot of inspiration for popular virtual scavenger hunt ideas and themes on the internet. Here are some of our favorites.
1. Movies
This is a great theme for movie aficionados. You can find out what films are playing at the cinema and then create clues based on them. Clues could include things like finding an actor’s autograph or taking a selfie with an iconic scene in the background and posting it on Zoom.
2. Music
A music themed scavenger hunt is a fun way to get your team to learn about each other and create memorable moments. Here, participants are given clues that lead them to find music related answers. The clues could involve the lyrics of a song or the title of an album by the artist who wrote it. You can also include other things related to music, like instruments, genres, and artists.
3. Virtual workspace
The virtual workspace themed scavenger hunt is a fun way for employees to showcase their virtual workspaces to their team members. It’s a great way for them to get acquainted with their new environment and learn about what it has to offer. Some virtual scavenger hunt ideas to consider here include asking team members to:
Share the view from their home office windows or from their co-working spaces
Take a Zoom selfie
Share an image of their favorite coffee mug
Show your coworker (pet)
4. Home-themed scavenger hunt
The home-themed scavenger hunt is a great way to spend time with your teammates virtually while getting to explore, in a fun way, the house you are living in. It’s also a good way to break the ice for teams who are working from home. Here, participants have to find things around the house that are related to their scavenger hunt. Some example items could include a toothbrush, a bath towel, or a coffee mug.
5. Online scavenger hunt
You can play a scavenger hunt on the internet together with your remote team by asking them to find things online. The point is to find a list of things on the internet and the first person to do so is the winner. Here are some ideas to explore:
Look for the business’s social media profiles; locate a specific piece of information on every page for a bonus.
Ask the participants to locate an item based on an alphabetical letter. This could make a good standalone game.
Look for answers by searching through a popular Instagram hashtag.
Ask the team to search the company website for certain data or pages.
Task the team to hunt for an item in a photograph of the business’s physical location using Google Images search (if it has a physical office).
Let team members search for the funniest Zoom call moments on YouTube to find a specific answer.
You could also ask participants to search for images relating to a particular topic.
Host a virtual team building activity
If you want to provide an interactive and engaging activity for your remote team, consider booking a live-hosted virtual mini games or trivia game. This is the perfect solution for teams that don’t have the expertise to create their own trivia games. Bar None Games offers the ability to host and customize trivia and other team-building games with different themes, categories, and levels of difficulty. This flexibility allows for a game that is perfect for any audience.
