Who doesn't love to enjoy the thrill of a fun chase with their team? After all, we are all tired of working from home. That's one of the many reasons why virtual scavenger hunts possess the power to grab anyone's attention. They get people pursuing items.
Imagine having 5 minutes time to find your weapon among many different things to deal with a sudden apocalypse or running to snap a picture of the park view to show that your team within a given time.
Online or offline, such games put all of us in kid’s play mode and lets us get off our feet.
A scavenger hunt is a method of finding and sharing items with the virtual team, for fun. You set a list of items for the hunt. A scavenger hunt means discovering and sharing things with the team, for pleasure.
The host decides on a list of items and also has team members find them locally. Then they share a photo of their item with the team. Then they share a photograph of this item.
The goal is to first complete the list or at least most of the items on the list.
The items on the list can be activities to do as well. For example, go to your city post office or park near you and take a picture of that view. Of course, one must consider the distance range limit before planning for the list of activities included in the scavenger hunt.
This old classic game gets really interesting when hosted and planned correctly. Yes even in virtual meetings!
With the current scenario of work from home, we’re not doing anything that is going to involve leaving your home.
Virtual scavenger hunts are remote games where players scramble to find items or fulfil challenges before time runs out. But since it is virtual, participants have to share it on any online platform with the host.
The items chosen for your online scavenger hunt can get story or "show and tell" opportunities, like favourite gifts, childhood memories, etc., that assist the team members to connect at a deeper level by dedicating a zoom meeting for discussing all these stories.
Your team must decide on a theme that is relatable and exciting for everyone. For example, if you are choosing based on travel then you can include items and activities related to that theme that are specific and very relatable to your team.
And importantly, based on what all your team can do without moving out of their houses or neighbourhood. We have a few theme ideas mentioned below for your use. But after reading the whole blog, you would definitely come up with more creative themes.
You can keep it short for one meeting within the duration of 30 min to 1hr based on the size of your team. You can even prolong it for a week and do 5 items on the list each day. This will give them enough boost for the entire day and also get the team members together. If this activity is done before a long meeting, It can break the ice between new hires and also open them up.
So here is how your online scavenger hunt goes….
The host will share a list of items and have team members find them within the time limit. Then all of you have to go for a hunt in and around your house and take a photo of the item. Then after the time limit, you can share images via email, a Slack channel, Zoom or whatever chat app you use.
Or you can also tweak it a bit and make it more fun.
On the video call, the host can give one item or activity to each participant. Then each participant must bring that item and show it to your virtual team before time runs out. This can be done one after the other with the same time span for each participant.
Another way to twist this game is, immediately after the host shares the list of items for your digital scavenger hunt. Then all the teammates go hunting as many items as possible on the list and get it to the screen within time. Only those items that are brought on to the desk before time runs out get counted. After the time limit, each one can show their treasure of items they got and share stories associated with them.
You may be interested in: 7 surprising ways to have fun during online meetings.
What is excitement in any game without celebrating the wins...the person with the highest score, gets the honour and the prize. The manager can send them a gift or the whole team can order a pizza for their home. Such small acts can keep the team spirits up and help in increasing employee engagement.
Holiday theme:
Listing down all the items that are holiday-related, For example, show your favourite Christmas gift. This can be best suited for any holiday virtual party to bring party vibes to your remote team.
Nostalgia:
This list can include items that are related to childhood or memories from your past. It can bring great stories of nostalgia and helps you cherish your memories. This theme can be great for escalating experience in virtual teams while also helping them bond better.
Sights of their hometown:
This list contains activities that can be done in your location. For example, pluck a flower from your garden or get a picture of your neighbourhood. Everything that lets all of your teammates see the beauty of your surroundings.
Colour based:
You can pick any colour and make a list of items with that colour for your hunt. Or you can also pick any letter and the participants have to scavenge their homes for any item that begins with a specified alphabet. This can get super interesting and participants would feel like solving a mystery.
Must look: A spooky virtual murder mystery for the Sherlock Holmes in you
Activity-based:
This list can contain all the activities. Participants have to do as many as possible before time runs out. For example, you can go from making a paper rocket to doing a plank. This theme can be super fun by choosing the right activities that fit your team. This theme in your digital scavenger hunt can also help teammates in getting to know each other.
Take a look at the 20-20 challenge you and your team would love. This is a great game for honing the planning skills of the employees.
We wish you a super fun-filled virtual scavenger hunt in your next online meeting. Take a look at our virtual activities that are super fun, and give your team a much-needed boost while working from home.
Click the link below and join the crew of more than 50+ organisations that reaped the benefits of employee engagement and team morale with these activities >>> Click here.
