scavenger hunt riddles for adults
A good riddle describes the place without saying its name. The ones at the Teens and adults level do exactly that for each of the 55 hiding spots, including 13 office ones such as the coffee machine, the printer and the water cooler. On top of that sits a puzzle layer with three options: Caesar cipher, mirrored text and scrambled letters.
“I have two hands but no fingers and a face but no eyes. I run all day without moving, and when I stop, nobody knows what time it is. What am I?”
“I have keys but no locks, a space but no room, and you can enter but never go inside. What am I?”
“I am the social center of the office: unscheduled meetings, news before everyone else and a line before nine. I drip the fuel that keeps the building awake. What am I?”
“I hum all day but never move an inch. People open me at midnight for a secret snack, and it is always colder inside me than outside. What am I?”
“You walk in for a coffee and walk out knowing everyone's business. In me live a microwave, a birthday cake nobody admits to eating and a sign about washing your own dishes. What am I?”
Choose 6 to 12 hiding spots, let the tool chain the order and print the cards. The first clue goes to the player, each later card is hidden at the previous spot and the last spot holds the treasure. With 55 ready-made spots at 3 original clues each, a set of 8 becomes 8 clue cards plus 1 final card, 9 cards in all.
The ones that describe a place through an unexpected feature, like a clock that has hands but no fingers. At the Teens and adults level the tool has one like that for each hiding spot, and none contains the name of the place.
Switch on a puzzle. The Caesar cipher makes the player undo the letter swap, the mirrored one makes them read backwards, and the scrambled one hides the name of the place in an anagram. Raising the cipher shift from 3 to 11, for example, does not change the difficulty but does change the key printed on the card.
Yes. There are 13 office spots, among them the drawer, keyboard, monitor, coffee machine, printer, whiteboard and water cooler. Choose the Office filter and build a chain for a coworker's birthday or a team event.
Yes. The organizer sheet shows, for each card, where to hide it, the spot it leads to and the clue in readable text, with no cipher. None of it leaves your browser.
In the print dialog, turn off "Headers and footers" and keep the scale at 100% so the cards print cleanly.
Age 11 and up: riddles that never say the name of the spot.
Clues print as plain text.
A treasure is hidden around here. Follow the clues, card by card, until you find it!
I hold thousands of pages and have never said a word. Visitors leave knowing more than when they came. I prefer alphabetical order but I will tolerate a mess. What am I?
I hum all day but never move an inch. People open me at midnight for a secret snack, and it is always colder inside me than outside. What am I?
I stand in front of the house with my mouth open, waiting for news. A carrier visits me every day, and in December I receive letters addressed to a man at the North Pole. What am I?
On ordinary days I am an office, a classroom and a craft studio; on holidays I become a stage for a feast. Four legs, not one step. What am I?
I hear your secrets, your worries and your dreams, and I never tell a soul. I am the one friend you squeeze when you are upset. What am I?
I have many arms but cannot hug, and I lose all my clothes in autumn without ever shopping. I carry rings inside that tell my age. What am I?
We are a pair and you put us on every day. We live near the door, usually in a mess, and the smell of one of us has started more than one argument. Where are we?
I have doors but I am bolted to the wall. Inside me, pasta and rice wait in line, and the oldest can always hides in the back. What am I?
Everyone steps on me as they arrive, and yet I say welcome. My job is to take the dirt so it does not come inside. I sit exactly on the line between the street and the house. What am I?
I need light and water but I never ask. I live near a window, and if you forget me for two weeks I droop. I make the air in the room a little better. What am I?
You found the treasure! Mission accomplished.
Cut along the dashed lines.
10 clues, in the order the cards should be hidden.
1. Hand this card to the player
The clue leads to: Bookshelf
I hold thousands of pages and have never said a word. Visitors leave knowing more than when they came. I prefer alphabetical order but I will tolerate a mess. What am I?
2. Hide it at: BookshelfSlide the card into a book with a corner sticking out.
The clue leads to: Fridge
I hum all day but never move an inch. People open me at midnight for a secret snack, and it is always colder inside me than outside. What am I?
3. Hide it at: FridgeTape the card inside the door, on the top shelf.
The clue leads to: Mailbox
I stand in front of the house with my mouth open, waiting for news. A carrier visits me every day, and in December I receive letters addressed to a man at the North Pole. What am I?
4. Hide it at: MailboxSlip the card inside the box with a corner showing.
The clue leads to: Dining table
On ordinary days I am an office, a classroom and a craft studio; on holidays I become a stage for a feast. Four legs, not one step. What am I?
5. Hide it at: Dining tableTape the card under the tabletop or inside the centerpiece.
The clue leads to: Pillow
I hear your secrets, your worries and your dreams, and I never tell a soul. I am the one friend you squeeze when you are upset. What am I?
6. Hide it at: PillowSlide the card under the pillow.
The clue leads to: Backyard tree
I have many arms but cannot hug, and I lose all my clothes in autumn without ever shopping. I carry rings inside that tell my age. What am I?
7. Hide it at: Backyard treeTie the card to the trunk with string at kid height.
The clue leads to: Shoes
We are a pair and you put us on every day. We live near the door, usually in a mess, and the smell of one of us has started more than one argument. Where are we?
8. Hide it at: ShoesTuck the card inside a sneaker or shoe.
The clue leads to: Kitchen cabinet
I have doors but I am bolted to the wall. Inside me, pasta and rice wait in line, and the oldest can always hides in the back. What am I?
9. Hide it at: Kitchen cabinetTape the card inside the cabinet door.
The clue leads to: Doormat
Everyone steps on me as they arrive, and yet I say welcome. My job is to take the dirt so it does not come inside. I sit exactly on the line between the street and the house. What am I?
10. Hide it at: DoormatPlace the card under the doormat.
The clue leads to: Houseplant
I need light and water but I never ask. I live near a window, and if you forget me for two weeks I droop. I make the air in the room a little better. What am I?
★ Leave it with the treasure at: HouseplantTape the card to a stick and push it into the soil, or tuck it under the pot.
You found the treasure! Mission accomplished.
Safety: do not hide cards near fire, hot water, tools or high places, and check every spot before you start.