Holiday Scavenger Hunt

Christmas and the Holidays are quickly approaching and you may be trying to think of a more unique way of presenting your gift to loved ones, instead of the typical “under the tree” theme.  What better way to give your gift through a surprise text message scavenger hunt, using a tool such as TextClues?  Not only will the individual receiving the gift be so happy to receive your gift at the end, but they will have a blast trying to find it in the first place!

Let’s get this started!

Clue: Merry Christmas, baby! Thought I didn’t buy you a gift this year? Think again! What year was the photo taken that is sitting on the fireplace?

Answer: 2008

Clue: Great! Now head on over to where that mistletoe is hanging in the house. What did you get?

Answer: A kiss

Clue: That’s right. Don’t worry, that’s not your gift :) Look inside the cookie jar in the kitchen. What is the odd one out in there?

Answer: A chocolate kiss!

Clue: More kisses for you! Take a look under your favorite sofa. What is there?

Answer: Slippers

Clue: Yes! Your feet are always cold so here are some slippers to keep them warm. Speaking of warmth, could you use a cup of hot chocolate right now? Head to the kitchen.  How many marshmallows are floating in your cup?

Answer: 4

Clue: Right! Enjoy that cup :) Ok, head over to your night table drawer. What’s inside?

Answer: A key

Winning Clue: Yes, and what jewelery box does it unlock? Look inside for your surprise! Hope you have a great holiday. Love you! xx

Try out our text message scavenger hunt demo for free.

2012 London Olympics Quiz

London OlympicsThe London Olympics were a tremendous success and awesome event. If you and your friends followed every twist and turn and you want to have some fun with an after the event quiz to test your friends recollection of the event using a cell phone based quiz then TextClues is for you. TextClues allows you to set up a series of questions and answers in advance, the options are almost limitless, you are simply limited by your creativity and the time and effort you want to devote to the quiz. The TextClues website provides user friendly guidance on how to set up a quiz or scavenger hunt, it is very simple to use. Below is a short sample of some very easy Olympics questions to illustrate how the quiz would work. Questions are sent by text to the participants’ cell phones and when answered correctly a new question is texted, this process continues until all questions are answered correctly. Nothing could be simpler. To provide an incentive for all participants a clue to find the winning prize could be set up as the final text. See the TextClues demo and FAQ for more information and to answer any questions you may have.

Question: How many Gold Medals did Michael Phelps win in the 2012 Olympics?
Answer: 4

Question: Who won the Gold Medal in tennis in the 2012 Olympics?
Answer: Andy Murray

Question: How many medals did the USA Team win in the 2012 Olympics?
Answer: 104

Question: The USA Women’s Soccer Team beat what country to win the Gold Medal?
Answer: Japan

Obviously many more questions could be asked depending on the group’s area of interest and knowledge. The questions can be made as easy or difficult as you want although clearly you don’t want to make them so difficult that no one stands a reasonable chance of answering them all. On the other hand if the questions are too easy there would be no challenge. Use your judgement to determine the best questions to ask.
After all the 2012 Olympics Quiz questions have been answered correctly a text message could be sent to the winner advising him or her of the winning prize. Good luck and if you have any questions that the TextClues website doesn’t appear to address simply send an email message to the TextClues support team at support@textclues.com

Word Puzzle Scavenger Hunt

Send your friends a text scavenger hunt full of word puzzles with TextClues. Here’s a fun example to give you some ideas:

Question: What’s the 14th letter counting backwards in the alphabet?

Answer: M

Question: Rearrange these scrambled Tente Gonflable Pas Cher letters into a word (hint: you use it on water): Lab Iotas

Answer: Sailboat

Question: What’s an 8 letter word for mental pressure: ______ed. When spelled in reverse it’s a tasty treat.

Answer: Stressed

Question: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. It is greater than God and more evil than the devil. If you eat it you will die. What is it?

Answer: Nothing

Question: Rearrange these scrambled letters into a word (hint: you may climb up to this): Stereo Hue

Answer: Treehouse

Question: What word describes: a slab-like top supported on one or more legs or other supports

Answer: Table

Question: This word spells another word when reversed. Fill in the blanks to solve: de _ _ l

Answer: devil, vi

Question: What word is the same word when viewed backwards and upside down? Hint: You do it in a water

Answer: swims

Question: Solve this palindrome (spells itself when read backwards. hint: can be used on water): k _ _ _ k

Answer: kayak

Question: Solve this Caesar Cipher by shifting each letter by 4. hssvfipp

Answer: doorbell

Try creating your own text message puzzle with our free demo.

A Scavenger Hunt for Food Lovers

Do you live in an area filled with an abundance of restaurants, pubs, and lounges? Are you and your friends or coworkers lovers of all food? Why not make a game out of it for your next foodie adventure! With a tool like TextClues, you can create a scavenger hunt using text messages on any mobile phone to have your group scavengering around town looking for the latest eats ;)

Before the scavenger hunt begins, you’ll need to inform the group that for each clue they must pick up a take-out menu of the restaurant in order to complete the clue.  If the restaurant Parc Aquatique Gonflable Pas Cher does not provide take-out menus, be sure to tell the groups ahead of time to bring a camera. If the restaurant has a menu posted on the outside of the restaurant, taking a photo of the menu item would be just as good to satisfy a clue.

Let’s see how this would work:

Clue: Welcome to the City vendita gonfiabili per bambini Food Scavenger Hunt! Find a place that serves apple crumble on the menu. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that serves fois gras on the menu. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that serves milkshakes. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that has a dessert for under $5 on the menu. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that has a “Menu for 2” or “Menu for 4” dinner combo. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that serves a bottle of wine that cost more than $100. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a place that serves stuffed chicken as one of its menu options. Reply “done” when complete.
Winning message: Head back to Bob’s place to enjoy some wine (winner gets a free bottle!) We’ll go through the menus to decide our next dinner place to check out!

With TextClues, you can also make use of the “scramble” functionality so that groups won’t necessarily be going to the same places in the same order! Of course, the scavenger hunt above can be varied in so many different ways to satisfy your food lovers. You never know, but you can find a restaurant out there that you may never have even considered before. Try it out today and you will be craving for more!

Coronation Street Trivia Game

Here’s an idea for all you fans of the TV show Coronation Street.  If you’re anything like me you’ve been watching this soap for years, well how about you set up a trivia game for your friends and family who are also fans and test your knowledge.  You could have your mother playing the game from her home and other family members and friends living in their hometowns all playing against each other, all they need to participate is the use of a cell phone.

 

With Textclues you can organize all the questions and answers ahead of time and then have them texted to your friends and family anywhere in Canada or the UK all at the same time, this means that everyone starts playing at the same time too.

 

Everyone could play individually or as a team.  Most Coronation Street fans have been watching the show for years so there is plenty of scope for questions.  You could have prizes of some Coronation Street memorabilia to be given/sent to the winner.  This could be a fun way to connect  your out-of-town friends and family.

 

Maybe everyone decides to play on a particular Sunday evening at 7pm.  Your first text could say something like “Welcome to the Coronation Street trivia game, reply “great” to start the game off.”  Once they text “great” as their reply the first question of the game will be texted to them.  Start off with a few really easy questions and then make them harder as the game goes on.

 

Question:  Who is married to Ken Barlow?

Answer:  Deirdre, Deirdre Barlow

 

Question:  Who runs the hair salon?

Answer:  Audrey, Audrey Roberts

 

Question:  What is the name of the pub on the Street?

Answer:  Rovers Return Inn, Rovers Return

 

Whoever finishes first would be texted the winning message “You’ve won the Coronation Street trivia game!”

You can make the trivia game as easy or difficult as you want depending of the interest of the participants, what’s great is that you can input your questions and answers when you have time and on the day you decide to play everything is all ready to go.

Hope this gives you a few ideas of how you can set up your own trivia game.  Try out the free demo here.

 

A stroll in the mall

Mall walking – a great way to exercise while taking in the various surroundings of the mall! The types of products being sold, the different store displays, the people that go by…  If you and your friends like to go on walks around the mall every now and then, or if you have a mall walking group that you are apart of, why not change things up a little and make a scavenger hunt out of the walk?

No need to use pencil and paper when you are using a tool like TextClues to create a scavenger hunt. TextClues allows all of the clues to be sent to you via text on any cell phone so there will be absolutely no disruption to your regular walks! Even better – although you may be the one setting up the scavenger hunt for your friends or group of mall walkers, you can still take part too, as you never know what you might encounter in the mall!

Let’s take a look at an example of a mall scavenger hunt!

Clue: Welcome Walker-of-the-mall. Find a store that has a BOGO sale going on. Reply with “done” without quotations once complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a store that has a mannequin with a red shirt on display. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find the area in the mall that sells candy from a candy machine. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a store that sells a black shoe with 4 inch heels. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find an area in the mall that has flowers on display. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a store that sells pet food. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Find a store that sells drinks for under $2. Reply with “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Winning Message: Great job! Go buy that drink to quench your thirst now that you have been all over the mall :)

If you’re making the above as part of a challenge, and plan to break the group into smaller groups, have someone in each group have a camera handy and tell them they must take a photo upon finding the clue in order to proceed to the next destination.

You can make mall walking and time spent at the mall just a little bit more fun and exciting by turning it into a challenge and a scavenger hunt! If you are part of a regular mall walker group, create a challenge similar to the above once a month or bi-monthly and all of you are bound to have a great time while walking the mall. Or, if you and your friends just generally like to make trips to the mall to hang out, change things up a little by making it into a game! Try this with TextClues today and you will all be asking for more!

Music Text Quiz

Do you know someone who’s a huge fan of a music band? How about sending them a text message quiz with TextClues!

Here’s an example for someone who loves The Beatles:

Question: Welcome to The Beatles quiz. Are you ready? Reply “start” to play.

Answer: start

Question: In what English city were The Beatles formed?

Answer: Liverpool

Question: In what year?

Answer: 1960

Question: What German city did The Beatles spend years playing in before they became popular?

Answer: Hamburg

Question: What was the name of their manager?

Answer: Brian Epstein

Question: What was their first single in the UK?

Answer: Love Me Do

Question: Who was their producer?

Answer: George Martin

Question: When was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band released?

Answer: 1967

Question:  What was the band’s final album release?

Answer: Let It Be

Question: Last question! When did The Beatles break up?

Answer: 1970

Winning Message: You’ve won! Congratulations. Come see me for your prize :)

To create your own text quiz try out our free demo.

Scavenger Hunt around Town

Scavenger hunts can be used for so many different occasions and events including:
– Easter Scavenger Hunt
– Birthdays
– Anniversaries
– Team Building
– Bachelorettes
– For some general fun
and many more events…

There are so many different ways that you can run a scavenger hunt these days, however now that the majority of the population has access to a cell phone, why not save yourself some trouble setting up a scavenger hunt with paper clues all over the city and have automatic clues sent via the cell phone? This can be done through an easy-to-use tool called TextClues. With TextClues, all you have to do is input the cell phone #s of who will be participating in the event, enter all of the clues, schedule the scavenger hunt and away you go!  If you want scavenger hunt teams to not necessarily set off on the hunt in the same order, you can use the Shuffle feature to mix up the clues so everybody will be running around town in all sorts of different ways.

Once you have the teams setup, and everyone setup on TextClues, it is time to start the scavenger hunt around town. Away you go!!!

Clue: Collect a take-out menu from a pizza shop. Reply “done” without quotations when found.
Answer: Done
Clue: Collect a coaster from a local pub or restaurant. Reply “done” when found.
Answer: Done
Clue: Take a group photo with a statue. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Collect a flyer for an upcoming event in the city. Reply “done” when found.
Answer: Done
Clue: Take a photo with a man or woman wearing a pink shirt. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Purchase an item that cost less than $0.50 and keep the receipt. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Take a photo with someone’s pet. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Clue: Collect the business card for a chinese restaurant. Reply “done” when complete.
Answer: Done
Winning Clue: Head on back to Joe’s apartment to see if you are the first one back to win the prize!!!

The clues can so easily be tailored to places that might be convenient and accessible around your city or town.  A scavenger hunt can be created within a matter of minutes, but can provide fun and entertainment for a group of people for hours! Use TextClues and a scavenger hunt for your next event, and we guarantee you will have a very satisfied group of people that will be craving for more!

Text Message Math Quiz

You can use TextClues to send your son or daughter a text message math quiz to test the skills they’ve learned in the classroom. Here’s an example with some geometry questions:

Question: Welcome to the cell phone math quiz! No calculators are allowed. First question, how many sides does a pentagon have? Reply with the answer.

Answer: 5

Question: What’s the sum of angles inside a triangle?

Answer: 180, 180 degrees

Question: What’s the square root of 36?

Answer: 6

Question: What’s the remainder when dividing 22 by 10

Answer: 2

Question: What’s 3 x 4 + 7 – 8 x 2?

Answer: 3

Question: What’s pi to two decimal places?

Answer: 3.14

Question: What’s the area of a square with side lengths of 7?

Answer: 49

Question:  What’s the perimeter of a square with side lengths of 8?

Answer: 32

Question: Give a circle has a radius of 5. What’s the circle’s diameter?

Answer: 10

Question: For a rectangle with side lengths 4 and 3, what’s the length of the diagonal from one corner to the other? (Hint: use the Pythagorean theorem)

Answer: 5

Winning Message: Congratulations! You’re a math whiz! Come to the kitchen to get your prize

To create your own fun text message math game try our demo.

Fun Scavenger Hunt Clue Ideas

Today we’re going to give you some ideas for great clues and riddles for your scavenger hunt. Whether you are using the TextClues service or making your scavenger hunt by hand we hope that you will find these ideas helpful and fun. If you haven’t heard of out text message scavenger hunt service you might want to read more about it here. Now onto the clues!

Online Research Clues

This type of clue is great for adding some education into the fun of a scavenger hunt! It will not only help teach kids interesting facts, but it will also help with their ability to research facts on the internet. This type of clue asks very specific questions about subjects that the participants are interested in or that they are learning about in school. Some examples are as follows:

Clue: In what year did the tyrannosaurus Rex get its name?

Answer: 1905

Clue: How old was Christopher Columbus when he discovered the new world?

Answer: 41, forty one

Clue: How many planets are in our solar system?

Answer: 9, Nine

It’s easy to find facts such as the ones above by typing the topic of interest into Google and reading the educational websites that come up. You’ll find lots of interesting questions to ask the kids and might even learn something yourself.

Rebus Clues 

Rebus Clues are great riddles for kids and are really easy to make. Sometimes they are take a little time to answer which is a great way to add some difficulty to the hunt without making it too hard. It may also help with the children’s spelling. An example for a simple Rebus Clue for “Toaster” is:

OR

TV – V + O + AXE – XE + LOBSTER – LOB

You can easily make these clues on Festisite and clicking the rebus option on the top right of the webpage. You can choose to either print out the clue and hide it for the hunter or write out the clue to send over text message. This is a really fun clue to add to a scavenger hunt and we think you should try it soon!