Neighborhood Scavenger Hunts in Seattle

Amazing adventures and eats for everyone!

If you’ve been to Pike Place Market, we don’t need to tell you that it’s a great setting for a scavenger hunt. This venue has a dizzying array of offerings: Olympia oysters, flying fish, hot doughnuts, beaming sunflowers, Rainier cherries, Walla Walla onions, exotic cheeses, live musicians, dramatic views, and eclectic, eccentric stores. But even if you think you know the market, you’ll be surprised at all the places and sights you’ve never noticed when your team follows a trail of clues in search of answers to tricky, humorous questions.

Highlights of the hunt include a magic shop, a duck butt with a message, celebrity autographs, a Sleepless in Seattle location, curds (but not whey), Rachel the Pig’s less fortunate cousin, and actual frankincense and myrrh.

You might tackle such questions as…

• Find three stages of life. The wise guy who sees this apparently wasn’t good at predicting his own future happiness. How many times did he presumably experience the middle of those three stages? Answer: “Alexander, the Man Who Knows” married nine times, according to a sign below a giant poster that shows scenes of infancy, marriage, and death.
• In a store filled with odd antiques, what is the gypsy’s first prediction for you, and nearby, how old is the ugly creature that might stalk Little Red Diving Hood? Answer: Your lucky color, dispensed by a gypsy fortune-teller—and the wolf fish is 70 years old.

Keep in mind that we haven’t included directions or additional clues in these questions that help guide you to the right spot to uncover the answers. To triumph on this hunt, you just need to keep your eyes open, use your wits, and work with your team.

Find out why several groups from Microsoft have raved about this hunt. A Kids Edition is also available for ages 7 and up, in which adults and children work together to explore the market and answer the fun, funny questions.

If you think you might work up an appetite on this Seattle scavenger hunt, consider the Munch Around the Market Edition: your team’s challenges include choosing snacks to snag and tidbits to bite along the way.

What delighted clients are saying

“Amazing! Our group had so much fun searching for clues and ‘competing’ against each other. What a well-planned and thought-out scavenger hunt! Highly recommend for a fun group activity!” –Jennifer Gloeckner, Assistant Asset Manager, Healthcare Realty

“Our team had the best time. We had dinner afterward and everyone regaled me with their adventures on the hunt. Thank you.” —the leader of a group from a consulting firm

Contact us to learn more about our Pike Place Market scavenger hunts —and find more fun in Seattle!

See One of Seattle’s Coolest Neighborhoods

Gather friends or colleagues for an imaginative adventure in the bohemian burg of Fremont. Enjoy a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt with unusual challenges that exercise your teamwork and tickle your funny bone. Along the way, you might encounter the Fremont Troll, admire amazing street art, and blast off along with the Fremont Rocket.

Your group will…

• Take Unusual Team Photos: Get creative to complete themed photo prompts. You might be asked to demonstrate a group member’s superhuman powers. Or treat a staircase as if it’s a carnival ride. Or pretend you’re holding up the Aurora Bridge.

• Collect & Create Interesting Items: As in a traditional scavenger hunt, this game tasks your players with finding or cobbling together certain things. You might need an object you made better by breaking it, or an object that can serve as a trophy for the winners, or a key to the city!

• Decode a Mystery Message: Your game will include a bizarrely coded message. What does it say? To crack the code, you’ll need to solve crafty, fun puzzles, involving a trivia question, pop music, and a “pigpen cipher.” Can you piece together the key that unlocks the mystery message?

• Join the Hunt Host for a Surprise Challenge: Your Hunt Host will be waiting for you, ready to present a tricky, humorous visual puzzle for you to ponder. It could involve unusual musical snippets, international maps, strangely altered art, or something else entirely.

Contact us to learn more about the Fremont scavenger hunt!

A Seattle scavenger hunt with a dash of mystery

Eegads! The host for your scavenger hunt has been found dead in Pike Place Market, and we need your help to catch the killer. Before the host died, he drew a star on the ground with his blood. Piece together the puzzle he left behind to find out what happened—and to prevent a potentially disastrous international incident.

During your investigation, you’ll also uncover the secrets of Pike Place Market, where surprising details can help you solve the mystery. You’ll need to make sense of cryptic clues, crack a code, and send a text message to the victim. The world as we know it may depend on your team’s ability to work together.

This game feature many of the questions from our acclaimed Market Mania Scavenger Hunt, but with a detective story added. Because nothing builds teamwork like solving a mystery together!

What people are saying about the Pike Place Market murder mystery game

A 5-star review on Facebook: “Scavenger hunt murder mystery at Seattle Pike Place Market! What a blast! Must do!”

A 5-star review on Yelp: “We used Watson Adventures for a work event, and we all had a great time! The scavenger hunt was well organized, and it was an amazing team building experience for all of us. The group we had is a combination of visitors and Seattle natives, and we all had a great time exploring the city. It was a wonderful experience starting with Corin who helped us book, and ending with Tom our Hunt Host. Both were very knowledgeable and attentive. Would definitely recommend Watson Adventures!”

Contact us to learn more about this murder mystery scavenger hunt at Pike Place Market—and find more fun in Seattle!

Fun games with humorous twists!

If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt, we have one—with very unusual challenges that will exercise your brain and tickle your funny bone. Your tasks may involve strange uses for food, new lyrics for old songs, people in any kind of uniform, strangers wearing valuable words, secrets about local landmarks, and more. If you’ve been on scavenger hunts where you’ve had to collect boring things like clothespins and obscure CDs, you’re in for a surprise and a treat.

Teams fan out to tackle such challenges as…

Take unusual team photos

Get creative and keep your eyes open as you explore your area and try to meet the requirements of diverse “photo op” challenges. Everyone has to get into the picture (except the person holding the camera, of course). We’ve designed them to allow room for creativity while also delivering dramatic visuals (not just shots of people standing around, smiling and pointing). You might be asked to demonstrate a group member’s superhuman powers. Or treat a staircase as if it’s a carnival ride. Or photobomb another team.

Participants use their smartphone cameras and our browser-based app. You’ll get to see the other players’ pictures and download them afterward.

Find or create unusual items

As in a classic scavenger hunt, you’ll have to locate or create unusual items. But in our version, you might encounter these tricky tests: Can you create and name an amazing new food by combining two unlikely foods? How about an appropriate trophy for the hunt winners? Three items that rhyme? Something improved by being broken? You’ll be surprised by the results that come from great teamwork.

Crack a code to decipher a mystery message

Your hunt materials will include a bizarrely coded message. What the heck does it say? To crack the code, you’ll need to solve crafty, fun puzzles, involving a trivia questions, pop music, and a “pigpen cipher.” Can you piece together the key that unlocks the mystery message?

Locate the Hunt Host for a surprise bonus challenge

At a designated spot in the hunt area, the Host will be waiting for you, ready to spring a tricky, humorous visual puzzle for you to ponder. It could involve unusual celebrity pairings…or musical snippets…or international maps…or strangely altered art.

Go on a scavenger hunt anywhere, with versions and themes to suit your group

Go Deluxe: Let us tailor the hunt to your needs. Tell us what you want to highlight and we’ll weave it into the game. Perhaps someone you want to celebrate? A theme or slogan for a new campaign? Hidden talents in your group? Talk to us! We like a challenge.

Care to take a bite out of crime? Check out the Murder Mystery Mayhem Scavenger Hunt.

The hunts are available in International Editions, for hunters whose first language is not English. They are also available in Spanish, as well as in other select languages.

A Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunt for Kids challenges youngsters and adults to work together to tackle challenges appropriate for ages 7 and up. It’s the perfect activity for birthday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs, family reunions, school field trips, summer-camp outings—you name it.

For a snack-tastic adventure, the Grab ’n’ Go Food Edition features food-themed Collect & Create and Photo Challenges.

And young Harry Potter fans will be cheating if they use their wands and other magical powers on the Wizards & Witches Scavenger Hunt, for ages 7 and up.

What are people saying about the Anywhere Scavenger Hunts?

“The Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunt was so much fun! All of the teams were engaged and working together. We couldn’t have asked for a better team-building and celebration event.” –Brittney Gallardo, Office Manager/Executive Assistant, Texture by Next Issue Media

A 5-star review on Google: “We hired Watson Adventures to host the Grab ‘n’ Go scavenger hunt for a teambuilding event in our local downtown area. We chose to pay for an on-site host and it was well worth it. Kim, the host, was fantastic, well organized, very helpful with the game app, and added even more fun to the game with opportunities to earn extra points. Our team had a blast!! We thoroughly enjoyed getting out from in front of our computers to spend time together in this fun and creative environment!”

A 5-star review on Yelp: “I planned a surprise custom scavenger hunt for my fiancé’s birthday last year and it was so much fun! Tara was a pleasure to work with and incredibly accommodating with all of my requests. The event host was equally wonderful. We all had a blast. I wish I had more reasons to plan scavenger hunts!”

Another 5-star review on Google: “Watson Adventures was so incredibly fun for our company offsite! Correy was a fantastic host that guided the experience and Tara made planning a customized hunt a breeze. 10/10 recommend!”

Contact us to learn more about the Grab ’n’ Go Scavenger Hunts—and find more fun wherever you are!

’Tis the season for a team-building game

Gather your friends and colleagues for a holly, jolly holiday scavenger hunt in your favorite neighborhood. Your challenge: take creative team photos and collect items that relate to the holiday season. If you’re looking for a different way to kick off your year-end celebrations, you don’t have to ask Santa: just go on this holiday scavenger hunt!

Players use our browser-based app on their phones to check off challenges, take photos, and at the end, share them with other teams. The emphasis is on teamwork and appreciation. By the finish line, even a Scrooge will be acting like it’s Christmas morning.

Your team will tackle holiday-themed challenges…

Take unusual team photos

Get creative and keep your eyes open as you explore your area and try to meet the requirements of diverse “photo op” challenges. Everyone has to get into the picture (except the person holding the camera, of course). You might need to pose while blending in with a holiday window display. Or act as if you are caroling. Or spell a season’s greeting with your bodies. Or re-create a sleigh ride, dashing through the snow.

Find or create unusual items

As in a classic scavenger hunt, you’ll have to locate or create unusual items. But in our version, you might encounter these tricky tests: Can you create and name an amazing new holiday treat by combining two unlikely foods? How about something that could create a “snow storm” for one of your photo challenges? Something you’d put in a colleagues stocking? A holiday gift that is improved by being broken? You’ll be surprised by the results that come from great teamwork.

Crack a code to decipher a mystery message

Your hunt materials will include a strangely coded holiday message. What the heck does it say? To crack the code, you’ll need to solve crafty, fun puzzles, involving a trivia questions and festive holiday season music. Can you piece together the key that unlocks the mystery message?

Locate the Hunt Host for a surprise bonus challenge

At a designated spot in the hunt area, the Host will be waiting for you, ready to spring a tricky, humorous holiday-themed puzzle for you to ponder. It might involve celebrities who have played Santa or the Grinch or Scrooge…

This game can be played in almost any outdoor location. A Kids Edition is also available. Contact us to learn more about this holiday scavenger hunt—and find more fun!

Happy Halloween!

Whether you want festive fun or a chance to show off your costume before you go party, a spooky Halloween scavenger hunt is a mummy-rable—sorry, memorable—adventure for all. You might have to discover weird new uses for food, dig up a skeleton, ward off a vampire, use your bodies to spell “BOO!,” do your best zombie impression, and more.

Teams fan out to tackle such challenges as…

Take unusual team photos

Get your creative juices flowing and your haunted side showing as you come up with clever ways to complete fun “photo op” challenges. Everyone has to get into the picture (except the ghoul holding the camera, of corpse).

They’re designed to give you room to have fun while also delivering dramatic visuals (not just shots of people standing around like a bunch of stiffs). You might have to do the Monster Mash in a crowded place. Or rise from the dead in a funny way. Or pretend to go trick-or-treating.

Participants use their own smartphone cameras and send the images to our photo-sharing site. You’ll get to see the other players’ pictures and download them afterward.

Find or create unusual items

You’ll also have to procure or concoct unusual items, often with a tricky twist. Can you find or draw a creature that represents your team spirit? How about a food menu featuring blood and bone? A haunting Halloween mask? Something inflatable with a terrifying message written on it? You’ll be shocked—and occasionally horrified—by the results that come from devilishly good teamwork.

Crack a code to decipher a mystery message

Your hunt materials will include a bizarrely coded message. What the H-E Double Hockey Sticks does it say? To crack the creepy code, you’ll need to solve crafty, fun puzzles, possibly involving a few twisted trivia questions, an intriguing message from beyond the grave, a musical phone call, and other surprises. Can you piece together the key that unlocks the mystery message?

Locate the Hunt Host for a bone-tingling bonus challenge

At a dead-signated spot in the hunt area, the Host will be waiting to treat you to a tricky, icky visual puzzle. It’s a monstrous good time, and you’ll want to do your best if you hope to stay alive…to win the game, that is!

And show what makes your state so great…

…on a scavenger hunt that sends teams complete challenges that give you a chance to flaunt your hometown pride. You’ll go in search of unusual objects, take inventive team photos, decode a mystery message, and meet the Hunt Host for a surprise challenge.

How is the game tailored to your favorite city and state? Consider some examples:

If you’re from New York City, you might need to locate an actual big apple, or know the best subway route to get from Yankee Stadium to Citifield.

If you’re from Texas, the Lone Star Showdown might challenge you to come up with one of the six flags that have flown over the state, or get a photo with a Longhorn signing “Hook ’em Horns” or with an Aggie signing “Gig ’em.”

Celebrate Milwaukee and the great state of Wisconsin on games that send you in search of such local delights as frozen custard, cheese curds, brats, and booyah stew. Or dramatize the phrase “Fear the deer!”

If you have a case of Minnesota Mania, we might prescribe that you collect some cough drops or lozenges, in honor of Minnesota homeboy Bob Dylan.

In Wilmington, Delaware, you can help a stranger in honor of Joan of Arcadia (the TV series in which Wilmington poses as the fictional Arcadia), or collect a used Amtrak ticket in a salute to hometown hero and rail enthusiast Joe Biden.

In Atlanta, brace yourself for a photo in which you seem to be “gone with the wind” (you know why), or strike a pose with one of the more than a thousand works of street art. Or find a takeout menu with the word peach on it. Peachy!

Or are you visiting the Magnificent Mile in Chicago? Get in the spirit of the Windy City by taking a Team Photo as if you’re being blown away by a gust, or get historical by remembering the Great Fire and finding something toasted (not yourself, please).

In Washington, DC, you can “filibuster” another team for points, or get caught by a “spy camera” with just your heads showing. Or present a stranger with DC’s official flower, an American Beauty red rose.

What people are saying about the Celebrate Your City Scavenger Hunts

A 5-star review on Google: “Our team of 100 had a wonderfully fun time and the coordination with Watson Adventures was super smooth and easy. Laura L. was a wonderful event consultant…she was exceptionally knowledgeable and answered every question I had when planning our team’s Grab n Go option from our hotel conference in San Francisco, which for any event planner is a gold standard….[Watson Adventues] was highly recommend to me by colleagues and now I know why, if you need a fun team building event you will not be disappointed by Watson Adventures!”

“Everyone, even the cynics who weren’t planning on having fun, really enjoyed themselves. We were having so much fun that a complete stranger tried to join our group photo at the finish line!” —a director of sales

Let us know what city or state you love, and we’ll provide a madcap team-building scavenger hunt for your group!