A few years ago, Yanik Silver showed me a Washington Post article about video scavenger hunts as an idea for one of my next Christmas parties (I normally do murder mysteries or something unique and memorable each year).

Well from the time Yanik read that article…he also wanted to do a video scavenger hunt himself. So finally, for his recent birthday, he twisted our arms 😉 and was able to round up enough folks to participate.

Here’s how the scavenger hunt works: We split into 3 teams, each with a video camera. We started around 12 noon, and then met back at Yanik’s house for dinner and a “viewing” of all the footage.

We also had a list of activities to video tape, each with its own point value. The team with the most points wins.

(Side Note: The business lesson in this is to play as hard as you work! Not only is it rejuvenating, but it also keeps you sane. Plus you can have a blast with your friends!)

Here’s the list we were working with…

Try to buy something at the store with a foreign currency 75
Find a twin for every member of the team 75
Bonus for best look-alike 50 (only one team gets this bonus)
Interview people walking out of a restroom if they ‘crumble’ or ‘fold’ toilet paper 50
Walk into an establishment and perform the song playing 50
Bonus for Neil Diamond song – 50
Kiss a fish 35
Change clothes with a stranger – 100
Bonus for pants – 150
Break dance on a cardboard box in public 75
Bonus for each move 25
Bonus for getting stranger to join in 50
Point at nothing and get passerby to look at it 50
Bonus 10 points per passerby pointing – 10/per
Get someone in your team to sing and act out the teapot song 50
Cartwheels across a 2 lane street 50
Bonus for doing it against the ‘Don’t Walk’ sign 75
Stage a Kung-Fu battle in front of a Starbucks 50
Bonus 25 points for each passerby who joins – 25 points/per
Comment on loving couple’s behavior as if narrating a nature program 75
Create an obstacle on a sidewalk and then act as Olympic judges rating how well people navigate it 75
Take a nap in an inappropriate location 35
Re-enact the “King of the World” scene 30
Get in a car “Dukes of Hazard” style 30
Help carry groceries to car 25
Bonus for getting a tip 15
Team members playing leapfrog in front of Starbucks 15
Haggle over the price of a sandwich – 50
Bonus for getting priced reduced – 25
Get a piggyback ride from a stranger 75
Test drive a stranger’s car – 75
Bonus if exotic car (Lambo, Ferrari, etc) – 100
Get someone to stop for you to sketch them – 50
Bonus for getting paid – 25
Window wash cars in stopped traffic- 50
Bonus for getting a tip 25
Get someone guess the Star Spangled Banner from just whistling the tune 75
Bonus if they guess on the first pick 25
Film your group in a stranger’s living room 75
Slap fight each other in front of a store – 75
Find a runner, jog with him or her for minimum of 1 minute 50
Do a street magic trick – 50
Bonus for getting a tip on performance – 15
Everyone walks into Starbucks separately and orders the same convoluted and crazy drink from the barista (cannot be in line right after each) – 100 (points only awarded if all team does this)
Comment on a stranger’s fine choice of watches while standing at the urinal together 75
Ask stranger to make an emergency cell phone to Lithuania on their cell phone – 75
Get something out of the trash in plain view of stranger and then try to sell that object to them – 75
Bonus for them actually buying 75
High-five a police officer 50
Group hug a police officer 100
Eat off a stranger’s plate 75
Bonus for getting a second bite 50
Stay in front of a restaurant window and pretend to eat a bite every time the customer in front of the window bites their food 50
Old lady on the ground yelling “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up 50
Getting a guy to try on a dress 50
Group member sitting on the lap of a public statue 50
Get a stranger to let you bowl one ball for him/her during their game 50
Purchase an item of at least $3 and pay the whole thing with pennies 50
A member of your group walking a stranger’s dog 50
Propose to a completely random girl (no restrictions on whether the random girl accepts or not; the guy must get on bended knee) – 50
Drive backwards through a drive thru and order something – 35
Go into the dressing room and yell loudly…”Hey, we’re out of toilet paper in here!” – 50
Tell a stranger they look like a certain celebrity and get an autograph – 50
Bonus for actually getting the autograph – 50
Go fishing in a public fountain – 50
Act out children’s story for group of children 50
In elevator shake hands with everyone getting on and tell them they can call you “Admiral” – 50
Give a statue a lap dance – 50
Catching a frisbee in your Mouth – 25
Ask a $1 from a stranger to help support your cause to grow a money tree and bury it in front of them – 50
Hang upside down from monkey bars while making monkey noises & eating a banana – 50
Fly paper airplanes at strangers – 25

WILD CARD – Your group can create their own scenario for a bonus 150 points. The other teams must give you a majority vote to score your points.

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The only rule was we couldn’t tell anyone we were participating in scavenger hunt. So before I arrived at Yanik’s house, I called him and suggested he print up a “fake list” with a University of Maryland film class description at the top. (That way we could pretend we were film students doing a study of “viral videos” and the “YouTube phenomenon” – and that gave us a list we could actually show people).

That one ‘trick’ worked like a charm!

If you’ve read Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, we put “Social Proof”, “Authority” and “Reason Why” to work for us. It was amazing to see how people would be willing to participate just because we had these elements working on our side. In fact, we even got to test drive a total stranger’s car because we were “film students” and not playing a “video scavenger hunt” game.

I figured you’d want to see a glimpse of our caper, so here’s a 6-min montage I just posted on YouTube…

The best part was laughing our butts off all day long and just having fun. If you’re ever looking for something a little different to do with your friends next time you get together, use the list I just posted, grab a few video cameras…and start your own scavenger hunt! I promise, you’ll have a blast! (Be sure to post back here with your comments.) 🙂