20 affordable ideas for game and scavenger hunt prizes

There are many types of scavenger hunt prizes you can consider. Read on to get ideas for affordable scavenger hunt prize ideas for adults and kids alike! Whether played at parties with friends, at team-building events or at family gatherings, treasure hunts and various games all require some prizes for winners. That’s why we came up with a creative list of scavenger hunt prizes, divided into two categories:

Classic competition prize ideas for adults

and

Socially and environmentally conscious scavenger hunt prize ideas

Classic scavenger hunt prizes that are always a good idea

1. Sweets in a ridiculous amount – for example, 5kg of chocolate. Quite often prize ideas for adults tend to include business gifts only. According to one of the event professionals we talked to, his best one so far is candy.
   

“When it comes to low-budget, you got to love candy and chocolates. We usually try to overwhelm the winning team by providing several kilos of candy and small chocolates. Who doesn’t love getting chocolate and other sweets? They usually react like kids in a chocolate factory and they end up sharing the lot with the rest of the teams. Especially with hackathons, when the winning team opens the safe and a chocolate/candy avalanche spills out, it’s a great moment. 😋”

Therefore do not be afraid of rewarding grown-ups with something so simple!

2. If the game involves taking photos, have a photo printer ready on the spot and print out the best photo from each team. Bonus idea – have neat photo frames too, so that the participants can show off their experience at home or in the office straight after the event. In other words – a memory of the event is recorded with proof of evidence long after the occasion is over.
3. Balloons – in the words of Winnie the Pooh: “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”. This is even more true if the balloons are squeezed into balloon animals. That way giving out scavenger hunt prizes to participants transforms into another fun activity.

4. A voucher for their next event you organize with a discount. This is a great way to upsell or keep the relationship going in the future.
5. Carabiners (perhaps with your logo on them) for attaching useful stuff to bags and other items. Especially tiny ones which fit well with everything from a handbag to a backpack.
6. Tickets to a cultural or sports event. Music, art and sports always get people excited! 🙂
7. A gift card to a restaurant. Or, alternatively it can be a gift card for a special cooking course or masterclass that will allow them to create various culinary experiences themselves.
8. A gift card from an online store. Even though it sounds a bit impersonal, it is actually a great idea, because it allows the winners to get something that they really want.
9. Kind pranks – for example, the winning team can pick a set of funny sweaters or hats which the losing team has to wear for the rest of the event or a day at work!
10. A chalice trophy with the engraving “Greatest team”, which is passed between the winning teams after each year’s event!

11. Branded items from your partner who would like to promote their brand – a lot of companies have large amounts of quality items with their brand on them just lying around in the warehouse, so you can put them to use.
12. A promise. For example, if all teams gather at least 1000 points, our CEO will run up the hill in a fox costume!

Scavenger hunt prizes for adults who are socially and environmentally conscious

13. Ask each participant to bring something from their home that they no longer need and fits certain size and value. For example, ask them to bring an item that fits into their palm and costs less than 10 euros/dollars. Then make a big goodie bag out of the items attendees have brought and at the end of the activity let every participant stick their hand into the bag to blindly draw one item. If you have asked the participants to bring bigger items, number them and have everyone draw a number from the bag.
14. Good old candy Vol. 2! Find a local producer making handmade sweets to create extra novelty and support local businesses!🙂
15. Actually, any local produce is among good scavenger hunt prizes for adults. For instance, think about beekeepers selling honey, farm products, cheese, or hand crafts made by the elderly.
16. Plant 100 trees in the name of winning team through One For One Program | One Tree Planted.

17. Handicrafts bought from a local craft workshop for people with special needs. There are numerous workshops where people with special needs go to handcraft as part time job. Support their initiative by buying items from them as prizes for scavenger hunt winners.
18. Find a cute postcard with a picture of a dog. However, the real prize won’t be the postcard itself but the message inside of it, informing that the winner has won an opportunity to walk and play 2 hours with a shelter dog!
19. Plan in your event budget a % of donation to a charity. Let the winning team pick a sum of donation to the charity of their choice. There are plenty of charities supporting different causes – from physical and mental health issues, to protection of environment, animals or vulnerable demographic groups. Just make sure it is aligned with the values of your participants!
20. Do you know someone or are partnering with someone who offers classes – for example, fitness, yoga, dance or martial arts? Give the winners a gift card to try out their class!

We hope this list of scavenger hunt prizes gave you some ideas for your event! Above all, we hope it gave you input to brainstorm for your own original competition prize ideas!