How to arrange an interesting quest for children yourself

Quest is suitable entertainment for any children's party. Moreover, the game can be organized without the help of professional animators.

Think over the details

To get started, answer a few simple questions. This will give you a better understanding of what the event should look like.

For whom is the quest

How old are the participants? What do they like more: active entertainment or puzzles?

So, kids up to eight years old are interested in running and working with their hands - for example, throwing balls at a target (for example, knocking them a hat with a clue hanging from a tree) or look for a specific toy in a huge basket with different objects.

But older children may be interested in more serious logical problems.

How many children will participate

If there are more than eight of them, it is better to divide the participants into two teams: then everyone will be able to prove themselves.

Organize a chain of prompts for each group so that the tasks do not overlap. And make sure teams don't have to compete. All participants should enjoy the game, not disappointment, and be sure to win a prize.

Where will the quest take place

A park, a playground, an apartment or a private house are fundamentally different locations. For example, you can run in a park or have a balloon fight. In a not very spacious apartment, the same events are fraught with broken china, a littered wardrobe and, possibly, unscheduled repairs.

Therefore, if you want to organize an active game, consider moving the quest outside. But for logical tasks, a small apartment is also well suited.

In what format will the quest take place?

Do children need costumes? Are you ready to spend money, for example, on a chest with chocolate coins or make it yourself from a cardboard box and fill it with your own marshmallow?

Will it be a semi-formal event - with printed invitations, beautiful envelopes for riddles, or a speech about the quest "for friends", with a minimum of props - for example, with tasks written by hand on simple sheets of paper in a cage?

Think over an option for which you have enough desire, money, time and energy.

Select the type of quest

There are several options.

Linear quest

Everything is clear here: children receive the first problem-hint, from which they find out where the second is, then the third, and so on - until the hints lead the participants to the cache with the main prize.

The first tip may be a note with the word "window". On one of them, children will find, say, a bright sticker with a picture of a puppy. Some of the participants will remember that they have already seen exactly the same bright sticker on a cardboard box in the next room. As a result, you will find some kind of puzzle, which, if you put it together, will point to a school backpack. Etc.

Linear quest, which involves constant movement from point A to point B, is perfect for young children or for active play in the park. It is also simple to execute and does not require ornate riddles. If you are arranging a quest for the first time, it is better to hone your skills on this particular option.

Quest in which you need to collect something

The task of the children is to collect a kind of puzzle that will indicate where the main prize. The tricky part is that the puzzle is missing key pieces. To find them, you need to solve riddles.

The classic of the collective genre is a pirate quest. Children receive a fragment of an old map and a letter from a pirate, in which the hero informs that the treasure is hidden in the place marked with a cross.

But the map is torn, and to find out where the cache is, you need to find and put together its pieces. In the same letter, a hint is given. Participants will receive the next one when they find the first piece.

Quest cipher

In such a game, children immediately receive a sheet of paper that says where the prize lies. But the message is encrypted - for example, written using geometric shapes. To find the key to the cipher, you need to complete the proposed tasks and thus find out what each figure means.

For example, on a clue card with a square it might be written: "Look for quadrangles." The task of the children is to find quadrangular objects, such as a picture frame or a book. One of them will contain a decryption.

Quest with castles

In this case, the children are immediately given a gift. Only he is locked with a combination lock. To find the cipher, the participants need to decide puzzle, each of which reveals one digit.

Riddles for toddlers should be simple. For example, the first digit will be the answer to the question: "How many pigs are there in the fairy tale about piglets?" Math examples are suitable for younger students. And older children can be offered more difficult tasks: for example, a picture of a tree, a broom and a pineapple - objects, the first letters of which add up to the word "two".

The quest with locks is good because it does not require physical activity, it can be carried out in a classroom or a small children's room.

Come up with clue riddles

To make the quest really fun, the prompts should not be repeated. Here are some alternatives.

Riddles

For toddlers, they may be the simplest. For older children - with a trick. Let's say: "Why are students usually kicked out of the class?" Correct answer: out the door. The next clue will lie behind it. Or here's another: "What will become one and a half times larger if you put it upside down?" Correct answer: six.

Graphic tasks

For example, this.

On the Internet, you can find many options for similar tasks, here's another one.

Just keep in mind that you will need to print them in advance or draw beautifully on paper yourself.

Mirror Messages

This is a note that can only be read by looking at it in a mirror image. Do not forget to put a small mirror somewhere nearby.

Anagrams

These are words that are formed from others by rearranging letters. For example, the brand is a frame. Or rubbing - a picture.

Invite the children to solve the anagram, telling them that the answer will be the clue. Let's say the word "Fist" will indicate a doll, in whose dress the next element of the quest is hidden.

Acrostics

These are poems in which the first letters of each line, when read together, make up a meaningful text. For example:

Draw a large recognizable moon on a scrapbook sheet, write down the following clue on the back side, and hang the picture on, say, the refrigerator.

Examples of acrostics are easy to find on the Internet. But if there is no time to look for a suitable literary work, you can simplify the task. Schematically draw Under each other, put, a skirt, a leaf, a watermelon - this will be "whirligig".

Photo-riddles

Take two photos of the same place with a few changes. For example, in the first photo there are two bananas, an apple, a book and a bowl for sweets on the table, in the second there are no sweets. The disappeared element will be a hint.

Musical clues

Tell the children, "Your ears will help you find the answer." And then, while they figure out what this means, play a popular song, which is the clue. For example, “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” will indicate that the next element of the quest must be found under the Christmas tree. And "Clouds are white-maned horses!" It will help if you decorate in advance with stickers-clouds the door of the closet, behind which the participants will find the desired find.

QR codes

A picture or text with a hint is on the Internet. And the link to the desired page is encrypted in a QR code that children can scan with their smartphones. If, of course, they pay attention to the QR code.

Prepare a place to play

If the game will take place indoors, if possible, free it and make it safe - remove extra chairs and tables, hide fragile things, make sure that the furniture does not wobble, and the door cannot be clap.

The outdoor play space also requires preparation. At the very least, make sure there are no holes or nettles in the selected area. Also, think about how to limit the search area so that small participants don't get lost. It might be worth pulling a string of paper flags between the trees, or drawing a border with chalk on the asphalt.

Map out caches with clues

Caches, on the one hand, should not be too obvious (that is, a noticeable hollow in a tree is not an option), and on the other, such that children can definitely find them.

For example, if a hint with a task is written on a piece of paper, a vase of sweets in paper wrappers will be a good hiding place. The photo can be placed on the refrigerator, fixing it with a magnet among other pictures.

For a quest in which very little ones participate, 5–6 caches are enough, otherwise there is a risk that the children will get very tired. But with teenagers, you have to show your imagination: outline at least 10-15 places for hidden clues.

Decide where the grand prize will be hidden

It should be a real hiding place so that children don't stumble upon it by accident.

The prize will require more space than the clue. After all, if the last piece can be a piece of paper, then the "extraction" should include a surprise for each participant in the quest. So the final cache must be roomy.