3 tips to write compact intro texts for treasure and scavenger hunts

Briefing the players before a game is good, but intro text is like a short memo of the full brief. Welcome text is shown at the start of the game and is accessible to the players throughout the game under “info”. Here are 3 tips to write good intros for your games.

You can approach briefing players before the game in multiple ways: example for strategy game “snakes and ladders” and scavenger hunt rules. However, since people tend to be excited about the team event and the game, some things that the facilitator says might be missed. Intro text is a great way to remind players of the most important aspects of the game. Of course, when you plan to let people play without a facilitator, explanations in the welcome text should be longer and more thorough.

You can add intro text when you have created your game online and the game is ready and you are on the”Configure” page of that game.

View of game intro text in smart device:

What to cover ?

It depends on the occasion but I would recommend to cover the following:

• Welcome and where you are
• Story and rules
• Safety if moving around
• Contact details

What not to cover?

It is wise to keep the text short, so that players are able to read it.  So keep it simple. Also think before adding things like game duration (timer is on the screen anyway), number of points in a game (this is visible from score screen anyway), needless explanations of what to click (players will figure that out anyway).
It is better to create few explanations into the questions in the beginning of the game. These will depend on how detailed question attributes you have used while creating questions.  These will explain that some questions have extra features like:
„Think quick, this question has a timer! What is…“
„During what month do people sleep the least? Use hint if you are stuck “

Simple treasure hunt sample intro text