Guide

Team building scavenger hunt: a complete guide

Why does a scavenger hunt work for team building?

• It mixes people who never work together. Put the developer, the accountant and the new hire in one team and they have a shared goal within minutes.
• Everyone has a job. Someone navigates, someone takes the photos, someone knows the trivia. Quieter people get a role without having to perform.
• It’s active, not a lecture. Teams walk, talk and decide things together – the opposite of another slide deck.
• It ends with a story. The photos and videos teams submit become the highlight reel for the wrap-up, and something people still mention weeks later.

How do you plan a team building scavenger hunt?

Six decisions cover almost everything:

• Team size. Three to five per team keeps everyone involved; bigger teams leave people watching. The trade-offs are in how big should your scavenger hunt teams be.
• Duration. A lunch-break hunt fits in 30–45 minutes; an offsite afternoon can run 90 minutes to two hours. Leave time after for results – that’s the part people remember.
• Task count. Give more tasks than any team can finish, so fast teams never run out. See how many tasks a scavenger hunt should have.
• Setting. Office, outdoors, or both (more below).
• A theme or story, if it suits your company. It’s optional – read should your scavenger hunt have a story before you write one.
• Who grades. One organizer can grade from a phone, but a second pair of hands helps with a large group.

Then run through the pre-game checklist a day or two before.

Indoor office hunt or outdoor route?

Indoors is the low-effort option: no weather risk, no permits, everyone back at their desk within the hour. Keep tasks quiet enough for an open-plan office and use the building itself – old team photos, meeting-room names, department trivia. GPS is unreliable indoors, so confirm visits with QR codes or secret code words instead of location checks. Ideas: indoor corporate team-building ideas.

Outdoors gives more energy and variety: landmarks, nearby cafés and parks become checkpoints. Pin those spots on the map so a task can only be completed on site – Roadblocked checks the player’s GPS position on the phone and again on the server. Ideas: outdoor corporate team-building ideas. How location tasks work in detail is covered in the GPS scavenger hunt guide, and the wider comparison in indoor vs. outdoor scavenger hunts.

What are good scavenger hunt tasks for colleagues?

Twelve tasks that work at work. Mix fast auto-graded ones (code, check-in, multiple choice, QR) with creative photo and video tasks that you judge yourself:

1. Mixed-team selfie (Photo) – A team photo with someone from every department in it – or with a sign saying which ones are missing.
2. Recreate the logo (Photo) – Rebuild the company logo using only things found on your floor.
3. Desk archaeology (Photo) – Find the oldest piece of company merchandise still in the building.
4. Who said it? (Multiple choice) – A quote from last year’s all-hands – which of four colleagues said it?
5. Founding year (Question) – When was the company founded, and where was the first office?
6. The hidden word (Secret code) – A code word taped under the meeting-room table. Teams type it in to score.
7. Ask reception (Secret code) – The receptionist hands over a word only if the whole team asks together.
8. Coffee stop (Check-in) – Arrive at the café around the corner – GPS confirms it, no grading needed.
9. Rooftop view (Photo + location) – A photo of the skyline, only submittable from the spot you pinned.
10. Thirty-second pitch (Video) – Sell the most boring object on your desk as if it were next year’s flagship product.
11. Human pyramid (safely) (Photo) – Any formation that spells the team’s initial. Judges award style points.
12. Kitchen QR (QR scan) – A printed code in the break room. Scanning it completes the task and reveals the final clue.

For more, the scavenger hunt idea generator suggests tasks by event type and setting. Which task type suits what is explained in task types and when to use each, and how to create an interesting scavenger hunt has tips on writing them.

How do you run the hunt on the day?

• Send one link per team. Each team opens its magic link in the phone browser and is in – no download, no account. Teams can optionally add the names of their members.
• Brief everyone in two minutes. The time limit, the boundaries, where to meet at the end, and “allow location when your phone asks” if you use GPS tasks.
• Grade as submissions arrive. Photos, videos and text answers land in your live grading queue the instant they’re sent. Award points and add feedback from your phone; auto-graded tasks score on their own. Keep it quick with the tips in how to grade fairly and fast.
• Put the leaderboard on a screen. Rankings update the moment you grade, and presentation mode shows them fullscreen on a TV or projector – perfect for the final countdown back at the office.
• Watch where teams are. On outdoor routes, the live map shows where groups are moving, so you know who’s heading back and who’s lost.
• Plan the finale. Show the best photos, announce the winners, and have a rule ready in case two teams tie – see what to do when two teams tie.

Can remote or hybrid teams join in?

Yes, with one limit. Tasks that aren’t pinned to a location can be completed from anywhere, so remote colleagues can play the same game from home with photo, quiz, code and action tasks. GPS tasks need people on site, so leave them out of a remote game or give remote teams an alternative. For the finale, share the presentation-mode leaderboard on your video call.

What does it cost?

Roadblocked is free to use. You build the game in the browser, send the links, and grade live; players need nothing but a phone. If you’re still deciding on the format, the guide to the best events for a scavenger hunt may help.