There are many ways to engage teams and we know a thing or two about that but there’s a reason why treasure hunts remain a firm favourite for corporate team activities

Whether you call it a treasure hunt, a scavenger hunts, a rally, a clue trail, a quest, it doesn’t really matter – the point is that they are all gamified events  in which individuals or teams have to solve clues and puzzles, follow maps or GPS locations, find and retrieve items and all whilst experiencing and discovering a new city, venue or country location.

The great thing is that no matter how well you know any location – there’s always something  new and exciting to discover.

The rationale why people love treasure hunts is exactly the same as it is for the good old fashioned pub quiz.  People love quizzes because we all like to be a little competitive, we like to learn, we like to have fun and we like to show our friends and colleagues how much we know.

There’s also the fun and frustration of trying to work out the answers to clues and riddles that we think we know, we think we should know but we can’t quite be sure that we do know.

Another reason why Treasure Hunts are so popular is because they are simple and straightforward in concept. Everyone intrinsically knows what to expect– yet each one can easily be tailored to specific themes, times, locations, people and thus each one is different.

For many – the fact they are travelling to a new country or city or venue – which they may get no experience of other than the meeting rooms and hotels where they are staying – this is the perfect way to see and really experience where they are.

Treasure hunts are also a superb and light touch way of helping teams get to know each other and have some fun whilst actually learning a lot about each other and how to work together.

And finally theres the ‘C’ word ……. Cost. Treasure hunts are without doubt superb value

So whether you are looking for ‘old school’ fun with polaroid cameras and maps or ‘digital delight’ with GPS software that plays on own mobiles or tablets – if you want to engage your team – you need a treasure hunt.