Fun Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Tweens

How it works

These fun scavenger hunt ideas for tweens are for the age that reads alone but does not roam: things to reason out, decode and build inside one house and yard, with points for each.

Read the full guide

Deal a list for your house

The page opens on a mix of every kind of task. The menu under the button keeps the list Indoors or Outdoors. Choose More filters in that menu for one kind: Find it, Yard and block, Crack it, Build it, Team photos or After dark, a flashlight set for sleepovers. Press Pick 10 new tasks, then Print a sheet per team.

Codes and points

A Crack it task arrives in code, and its answer sits in the note. Press Hide all notes before you print, so teams decode it themselves and the answers print on a sheet of their own for the judge. Tasks score 1, 2 or 3 points.

Tips

For indoor scavenger hunt ideas for tweens on a rainy day, pick Indoors and leave the builds standing for the judge.
Outdoor scavenger hunt ideas for tweens need a grown-up who can see the team: Outdoors deals yard finds and shadow photos.

Questions and answers

What makes a scavenger hunt fun for tweens?

Something to work out. Nine to twelve year olds tire of ticking a list, so these tasks ask them to decode a line, build a tower, prove a find with a date or stage a photo, with points to argue over.

How do the coded tasks work?

Each one prints as a puzzle: letters shifted one step, first letters to read, words in backward order, missing vowels or a word sum. The team decodes it, then does what it says. The note holds the answer.

Can tweens do it without a grown-up?

Inside the house and yard, yes: that is where every task stays, and one grown-up acts as judge. The yard and block finds are done where a grown-up can see the team, or with one walking along.

How many players does it need?

Four or more, in teams of two to four. One team can also play against the list, with a points target set before the start.

All 90 tasks

Find it 15

A battery that is not the usual finger size 2 points. A flat coin cell or a square one. Leave it in its packet or its drawer and bring the judge to it.
A book with a map inside 2 points. Show the page. A map on the cover does not count.
A coin made in the year one of you was born 2 points. Write the year and whose it is.
A game with a piece missing 2 points. Name the missing piece.
A pencil shorter than your little finger 1 point. Measure it against the finger.
A postage stamp, used or new 1 point. Still on its envelope is fine.
A recipe with more than ten ingredients 2 points. Count them out loud for the judge.
A thing that has been mended with tape or glue 1 point. Say what broke.
A tool nobody on the team can explain 3 points. Then ask a grown-up what it is for and write that down.
Instructions printed in three languages or more 2 points. On a box, a leaflet or a label. Count the languages.
The longest word printed on anything in the kitchen 2 points. Write it down. The longest word of any team earns a bonus point.
Something older than you, with a date on it to prove it 2 points. A coin, a book, a letter. Write the year.
Something with your town's name printed on it 2 points. A magnet, a mug, a letter. Not a screen.
Something you wind up, not charge 3 points. A toy, a clock, a music box. Wind it once for the judge.
Three keys nobody can name a lock for 3 points. Ask a grown-up. If they can name the lock, find another key.

Yard and block 15

A crack in the pavement shaped like a letter 2 points. Write the letter. Two teammates must see it.
A creature with more than six legs 3 points. A spider, a pill bug, a centipede. Count the legs if you can. Do not pick it up.
A fallen leaf wider than both your hands together 1 point. From the ground, not from the plant. Lay your hands on it to prove it.
A house number that reads the same both ways 2 points. Such as 44 or 131. Write it down from the sidewalk.
A line of ants, followed to where it ends 3 points. Write where they are going. Step over, not on.
A noise from down the street: name what is making it 2 points. Everyone quiet. Write the team's best guess.
A plant growing where nobody planted it 1 point. In a crack, a gutter or a wall. Point to it.
A seed with wings, a seed with fluff and a seed in a shell 3 points. From the ground. Lay them side by side.
A shadow longer than you are tall 1 point. Lie down beside it to check.
A spider's web with the spider at home 3 points. Look closely. Touch nothing.
Four front doors in four different colors 2 points. Write the colors. Stay on the sidewalk.
Something a bird left behind 2 points. A feather, a broken eggshell, a dropped twig. Look, then wash your hands.
Something that makes a noise when the wind blows 2 points. A chime, a flag, dry leaves. Write what.
Something the city has painted yellow 2 points. A curb, a line, a post. Write what and where.
The tallest thing you can see from the yard 1 point. The whole team has to agree.

Crack it 15

Decode and do: AQHMF SVN RNBJR 2 points. Move every letter one step later in the alphabet. Answer: BRING TWO SOCKS. They need not match.
Decode and do: EHMC Z RONNM 1 point. Move every letter one step later in the alphabet. Answer: FIND A SPOON. Bring one to the judge.
Decode and do: GHFG EHUD SGD ITCFD 3 points. Move every letter one step later in the alphabet. Answer: HIGH FIVE THE JUDGE. The whole team, one after another.
Do the word sum, then find one: CANDLE - C + H 2 points. Take the letters away from the front and put the new ones there. Answer: HANDLE. Touch a door handle, all of you at once.
Do the word sum, then find one: CHAIR - CH + ST 2 points. Take the letters away from the front and put the new ones there. Answer: STAIR. Touch the bottom one with a hand. Nobody climbs.
Do the word sum, then find one: TABLE - T + C 3 points. Take the letters away from the front and put the new ones there. Answer: CABLE. Point to one for the judge. Leave it plugged in.
Put the vowels back: BRNG SMTHNG BL 1 point. Every A, E, I, O and U has been taken out. Answer: BRING SOMETHING BLUE. Anything blue from your own things.
Put the vowels back: TCH YR TS 1 point. Every A, E, I, O and U has been taken out. Answer: TOUCH YOUR TOES. Everyone, knees as straight as they go.
Put the vowels back: WHSPR YR TM NM 2 points. Every A, E, I, O and U has been taken out. Answer: WHISPER YOUR TEAM NAME. To the judge, all together.
Read the first letters: Bears Run In Night Gardens And Bats Only Open Kites 2 points. The first letter of each word spells the task. Answer: BRING A BOOK. Any book counts.
Read the first letters: Frogs In Navy Dresses Ask Kind Eels Yearly 1 point. The first letter of each word spells the task. Answer: FIND A KEY. Ask before you borrow it.
Read the first letters: Snakes In Ties Dance On Wet Noodles 1 point. The first letter of each word spells the task. Answer: SIT DOWN. The whole team, at once.
Read the words from last to first: HAT A WEARING BACK COME 2 points. Answer: COME BACK WEARING A HAT. One teammate is enough.
Read the words from last to first: SHUT EYES YOUR WITH CAT A DRAW 2 points. Answer: DRAW A CAT WITH YOUR EYES SHUT. On the back of the sheet.
Read the words from last to first: YOUNGEST TO OLDEST FROM UP LINE 3 points. Answer: LINE UP FROM OLDEST TO YOUNGEST. By birthday, to the day.

Build it 15

A code of your own, with its key 2 points. Write your team's name in it. Another team must read it with the key.
A flag for your team 1 point. Paper and pens. It needs a color, a shape and a reason.
A foil boat that floats ten coins 2 points. In the sink or a bowl. Add the coins one at a time.
A map of the house with one route marked 2 points. From the front door to the snacks.
A monster drawn in three folds, one teammate for each part 2 points. Head, body, legs. Nobody sees the other parts until it is unfolded.
A paper bridge between two books that holds a spoon 3 points. One sheet, no tape. The spoon must sit in the middle.
A paper chain with a color pattern that repeats three times 1 point. Say the pattern aloud for the judge.
A paper plane that crosses the whole room 2 points. Three tries. It has to land past the far wall's rug or line.
A ramp that makes a ball turn a corner 3 points. Books, tubes and boxes. The ball must roll the whole way by itself.
A run of twenty things that topple like dominoes 3 points. Books, boxes, cases: no real dominoes. One push must fell them all.
A spoon launcher that lands a paper ball in a cup 2 points. Five tries. Paper balls only.
A team greeting with a clap, a stomp and a spin 1 point. Every teammate must be able to do it, in the same order.
A team motto that rhymes 1 point. Say it together for the judge.
A tower of shoes taller than the seat of a chair 2 points. Your own shoes. It must stand without a hand on it.
The tallest tower you can make from ten playing cards 3 points. No tape and no folding. It must stand while the judge counts to five.

Team photos 15

A photo where every eye is shut but one pair 1 point. Own team only.
A teammate who looks small enough to stand on another's hand 3 points. Own team only. One stands far back, one holds a hand out close to the camera.
A word of three letters made with your bodies on the ground 2 points. Own team only. Taken from above, by a teammate who stays on the floor.
All of you seen through something with a hole in it 2 points. Own team only. A tube, a ring, a cut-out sheet of paper.
Every face looking down at a camera on the floor 1 point. Own team only. Heads in a ring.
Every teammate in a hat folded from newspaper 2 points. Own team only. Fold them yourselves; no two the same shape.
Every teammate in the air at the same time 2 points. Own team only. Jump on three, from the ground.
One shadow with six arms 2 points. Own team only. Stand in a line with the sun behind you.
Your shadows holding hands while you do not 3 points. Own team only. Stand apart and line the shadows up.
Your team acting the last scene of a story you all know 2 points. Own team only. The judge has to guess the story.
Your team as the audience behind a front row of stuffed toys 1 point. Own team only. Everybody clapping.
Your team in a mirror, with the camera out of sight 3 points. Own team only. If the camera shows, try another angle.
Your team's feet making a star 1 point. Feet only. No faces needed.
Your whole team hiding, with only eyes showing 2 points. Own team only. The judge counts the pairs of eyes.
Your whole team reflected in one spoon 3 points. Own team only. Every face has to be in the bowl of the spoon.

After dark 15

A picture drawn in the air with a flashlight 1 point. A teammate guesses what it is in three tries.
A shadow creature with two heads, made by two teammates 2 points. Hands and a flashlight. Another team says what it is; the judge decides.
A shadow play with two characters 3 points. Behind a sheet or on a wall. It needs a beginning and an end.
A sound the house makes only at night 3 points. Everyone silent. Write what it is and where it comes from.
A star or the moon seen through a window 1 point. From inside. A cloudy night scores nothing.
The darkest place in the house, by a team vote 1 point. Somewhere you can stand. Not a cupboard that shuts.
Flashlight signals for yes, no and come here 2 points. Show all three. A teammate across the room must read them.
One line of a book read by flashlight under a blanket 1 point. Read it aloud. Every teammate under the blanket.
The small lights that stay on all night in one room: count them 2 points. Chargers, clocks, standby lights. Two counters must agree.
Something shiny enough to bounce your beam onto the ceiling 2 points. Show the spot of light to the judge.
Something that glows without being switched on 3 points. Stars on a ceiling, a watch face, a sticker. Lights off to prove it.
Something that looks like a face in the dark 2 points. A coat on a chair, two knobs and a drawer. Show the judge.
Stars on the ceiling from a colander and a flashlight 3 points. Shine the light up through the holes. Name one of your constellations.
Your flashlight reflected in three different things 2 points. A window, a spoon, a screen that is off. Name all three.
Your own pillow, found by touch with the lights off 2 points. On hands and knees, slowly. A teammate holds the light, switched off, just in case.

How this list was compiled

Written for this site by its editors on 2026-09-30: original scored tasks for ages 9 to 12, to do inside one house and yard. Nothing was copied from another list. Points are our judgment: common tasks score 1 and the hardest 3. Every coded task was made by rule and decoded again from the printed line before it went in (one-step letter shifts, first letters, word order, missing vowels and word sums), and its answer is in the note. Every task keeps to the printed rules: the team stays in the house and yard unless a grown-up walks with it, only teammates appear in a photo, and nothing is climbed, bought or taken apart. Licence: own work