How to Write Scavenger Hunt Riddle Clues

[tommyzeo]

Writing your own clues to riddles can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. With a little forethought, a little imagination, and the ability to search the web, you can create your own scavenger hunt Riddles with answers and even have fun doing it.

1. First, it is important to get organized. Sit down and write down a list of your hiding places. At home, it could be in the microwave, under the coffee table, in the bath, or under the bed. Outside, you can hide the clues in a mailbox, under a flower pot, in a birdhouse, or anywhere on your porch. Of course, you can make the hunt much more difficult and have the hunt in a city, park, community center, or trade show. It doesn't matter where you hunt or where your hideouts are; just write your list. Aim for a list of 10 and then move on to step 2.

2. Dictionary.com defines a riddle as “a question or statement formulated in such a way as to show ingenuity in answering it or revealing its meaning; a riddle, a puzzling question, a problem, or a question."

Thus, to write a clue to a riddle, you need to come up with a way to refer to the hiding place in a subtle or complex way (depending on the age of your hunters) without giving an answer. For very young children, a clue to the location of the mailbox might be: "Find the next clue where we pick up the mail." It's easy enough. But what if you need a more sophisticated prompt for teens or adults?

a. Try searching Google for "mailbox mystery" and see if anything stands out. In this case, the first puzzle that appears is...

“Take away my first letter and I haven't changed; Take away my second letter and I haven't changed; Take away all my other letters and I'm still the same! What am I?

Does this clue match the age of your hunters? If so, you can cross one riddle off your list. If not, try the same idea with some of your other hideouts and then move on.

b. Think of movies, popular songs, commercials, or phrases that might be related to your hideout, and try writing a question, poem, or statement about it.

In the case of the mailbox, the movie The Postman Always Rings Twice comes to mind. Whether linking to this old movie will work for your hunt again depends on the age of your participants. In this case, the clue might be...

In the past, this person may have always called twice, but now he just drops his delivery at the location where your next clue is.

in. Don't feel smart at all? Try it. Let's say you wanted to hide a clue in a shoe. Why not use a popular nursery rhyme or song to write a clue? For example: "Look for the next clue in the place where the old woman lived with too many children."

If you do a Google search for "shoe songs", the song "Footloose" will appear. Check the words. They are the perfect inspiration for another shoe clue.

If you're feeling free, you can fire up one of these Sunday items and find the next clue hidden inside.

3. Finally, if you want to give your clues an extra twist, find some free clipart to add to the clues. Even make one or two puzzle clues for more variety. The rebus represents a word or phrase using pictures. For example, the image of an apple minus the image of a monkey plus the image of an ant equals the word "plant".

The key to writing riddles is to think about your hiding places and what popular things might be associated with them. Then, with a little help from Google, you can compile a list of fun and challenging riddle clues written before you know it.