New Treasure Hunt Coming In January

So December has been a little crazy, what with getting ready for Christmas and all. Sorry there hasn't been a treasure hunt this month. There will be a new one coming in January. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and remember to...

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How to use riddles, trivia, and other puzzles to make treasure hunt clues

You've probably noticed that the answers to most riddles, trivia questions, or puzzles are not thing or places around the house (or elsewhere for that matter) where you would hide a treasure or a clue. So how can you use these things to make a treasure hunt? Well, here are a couple of ideas how you might use riddles, trivia, and puzzles to make clues for a treasure hunt.

The first way that you might use the answers is to have them answer several riddles, questions, or puzzles and then line up the answers so that certain letters will reveal the hidden location. You can use the first letter of each answer or you can line up the answer in such a way that you use different letters from each answer. Here is an example where if you correctly answer three riddles, you are led to where the next clue or treasure will be...the bed.

Another way to use and answer to lead to a location is to remove some letters from the answer so the letters that are left spell out a location. For example, the answer to the following rebus puzzle is split personality.

If you remove the letters spltpesality (split personality) you're left with iron, which would be the next clue. Look for where the iron is that you press clothes with.

You could make the clue a little more tricky by removing the explanation and just use pictures.

You can also play around with the letters that need to be removed. Using an anagram we can make the name Sally Tippets so instead of saying cross out spltpesality you can say cross out Sally Tippets

This can still be a little difficult to find answers that will work with the letters in the right order. It will be a bit easier to find answers that work if you tell the treasure hunters that they will need to unscramble the letters that are left to find the next location. The answer to the following rebus puzzle is "hitting below the belt". If we remove the letters from the phrase "the low tight ten" we are left with the letters i-b-b-e-l which can be rearranged to form the word bible. The next clue is hidden in the bible. Here is an example of how you might do this clue.

Treasure Hunt Clues: Rebus Puzzles

Rebus puzzles are picture puzzles that represent words or phrases. Rebus puzzles are fun to use for clues for a treasure hunt because they add a visual component to the treasure hunt. Here are some rebus puzzles that you can use for clues when making a treasure hunt. The first group of clues are for things around the house. You should be able to click on each image to make it bigger if you want. Then you can print it and cut it out for your treasure hunt.

BATHTUB

BED

CHAIR

CLOSET

CUPBOARD

DRYER

SHOWER

TOASTER

TABLE

WASHER

Treasure Hunt Riddles For Around The House

If you are making a treasure hunt and are looking for some good treasure hunt clues for around the house, look no further. These are all in traditional "what am I" riddle form. Some of them are fairly easy and some are much more difficult. If you are looking for easy rhyming clues for kids you should check out our treasure hunt clues for around the house easy rhyming clue page.

This isn't your traditional riddle page. It's not built to let you read the riddle and try to figure it out. I've listed the answer right above the riddle. This is so that you can quickly scan the riddles and find things or places that you may have around your house that you could use as hiding places for clues or treasure. Hopefully this will help you be able to make your treasure hunt easier, quicker, and with less work. ENJOY!

Things You Might Find Inside the House

An arrow
I have many feathers to help me fly.
I have a body and head, but I'm not alive.
It is your strength which determines how far I go.
You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown.
What am I?

Bananas
A time when they’re green, a time when they’re brown,
But both of these times, cause me to frown.
But just in between, for a very short while,
They’re perfect and yellow, and cause me to smile!
What am I talking about here?

Bathtub
Boats sail the high seas in me,
But not a man is lost at sea!
My shores are shiny and slick,
But my waters won’t make you sick!

A Bed
I have a head but never weep,
I have a foot but never walk,
You come to me for what you need.
or
What has a head and a foot but no body?

A Book
I have no voice and yet I speak to you.
I tell of all things in the world that people do.
I have leaves but I am not a tree.
I have pages but I am not a bride or royalty.
I have a spine and hinges but I am not a man or a door.
I have told you all, I cannot tell you more.
What Am I?

A broom
I have a many legs, but cannot stand.
I have a long neck, but I have no head.
I cannot walk and I cannot see
But I keep things neat and tidy as can be.
What am I?

Candle
Little Nanny Etticoat
In a white petticoat,
And a long red nose;
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.
or
My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.
or
My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.
What am I?

Carpet
What goes up and down stairs without moving?

Chair
What has arms but can't hug?
or
I have two arms and four legs. I am not a person. What am I?

Chimney
Black within and red without;
Four corners around about.

A Clock
This thing runs but cannot walk, sometimes sings but never talks.
Lacks arms, has hands; lacks a head but has a face.
What Am I?
or
What has a face but no head?

A dictionary
I'm where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow's in the middle. What am I?

An egg
What has to be broken before it can be used?
or
A container without hinges, lock or a key, yet a golden treasure lies inside me.
What am I?
or
In a marble hall white as milk
Lined with skin as soft as silk
Within a fountain crystal-clear
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in to steal its gold.

Fan
I have hands that wave at you,
Though I never say goodbye.
It's cool for you to be with me,
Especially when I say, "HI."
What am I?

Fire
Feed me and I Live
Give me Drink and I Die
What Am I?
or
No legs have I to dance,
No lungs have I to breathe,
No life have I to live or die
And yet I do all three.
What am I?
or
Give it food and it will live;
give it water and it will die.
What am I?
or
I am always hungry,
I must always be fed,
The finger I lick
Will soon turn red.

Glove
When I am filled,
I can point the way;
When I am empty,
Nothing moves me.
I have two skins,
One without and one within.
What am I?
or
As I walked along the path I saw something with four fingers and one thumb, but it was not flesh, fish, bone, or fowl.
or
What do you fill with empty hands?
or
What has fingers but can't type?
or
I have no feather, nor flesh, nor scales, nor bones. But I have fingers and thumbs of my own. What am I?

A Jigsaw Puzzle Piece
I come in different shapes and sizes.
Part of me are curves, others are straight.
You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me.
What am I?

A kitchen strainer
Big as a biscuit, deep as a cup, Even a river can't fill it up. What is it?

Lamp
I shine, I wear a hat, and have a tail. What am I?
(A Lamp; the bulb shines, the hat is the lamp shade and the tail is the power cord)

A Lock
It doesn't bark, it doesn't bite but still won't let you in a house. What is it?

A Match
Take out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red.

Mirror
I look at you, you look at me, I raise my right, you raise your left. What am I?
or
What turns everything around, but does not move?

Needle and thread
Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,
And a long tail which she let fly;
And every time she went over a gap,
She left a bit of her tail in a trap.
or
I had but one eye and a long tail which I let fly;
Every time I went through a gap, a bit of her tail I left in a trap
What Am I?
or
An iron horse with a flaxen tail.
The longer the horse runs,
the shorter his tail becomes.
What is it?

Onion
You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I?
Take off my skin, I won't cry, but you will. What am I?

A piano
I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet my keys can unlock your deepest senses.
What am I?

Piggy bank
My body has a dozen heads or more,
My tails don’t wag when you walk in the door.
Count the ways you can hold me tight,
Or use me for a special night!

Popcorn
What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket, becomes larger but weighs less?

Potatoes
What has eyes but can't see?
or
What has a skin and more eyes than one? It's very nice when it is done.

A ring
It has no top or bottom but it can hold flesh, bones, and blood all at the same time. What is it?

Shoe
I run over fields and woods all day. Under the bed at night I sit not alone. My tongue hangs out, up and to the rear, awaiting to be filled in the morning. What am I?

A sponge
I have holes on the top and bottom. I have holes on my left and on my right. And I have holes in the middle, yet I still hold water. What am I?
or
I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right, and also in my middle. But I can still hold water.
What am I?

A Stamp
What goes around the world and stays in a corner?

A Stapler
With pointed fangs it sits in wait,
With piercing force it doles out fate,
Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might,
Eternally joining in a single bite.
What am I?

Table
What has legs but can't walk?

Teapot
What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?
or
I start with a T, end with a T, and have T in me.
What am I?

A telephone
You answer me, although I never ask you questions. What am I?

A telephone book
What book was once owned by only the wealthy, but now everyone can have it? You can't buy it in a bookstore or take it from the library, it is usually given to you.

A tennis ball
What do you serve that you can't eat?

Towel
What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

A Watermelon
There was a green house.
Inside the green house there was a white house
Inside the white house there was a red house.
Inside the red house there were lots of babies.
What am I?

A yardstick
What has a foot on each side and one in the middle?


Things You Might Find Outside the house Or In the yard


Mailbox
What one word has the most letters in it?

Tree
I have a bark, but I have no bite. I'm rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?
or
In spring I am gay in handsome array
In Summer more clothing I wear
When colder it grows I fling off my clothes
and in winter quite naked appear.
What Am I?
or
I am mother and father, but never birth or nurse. I'm rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?
or
Reaching stiffly for the sky,
I bare my fingers when it's cold
In warmth I wear an emerald glove
And in between I dress in gold

A See-Saw
I go up but at the same time go down,
Up toward the sky and down toward the ground.
I’m present tense and past tense too,
Come for a ride just me and you.
What Am I?

Treasure Hunt Ideas, Clues, and Help

Would you like to make a treasure hunt but need a little help? Well you've come to the right place. Get help with treasure hunt ideas as well as help with writing treasure hunt clues. We have several articles about how to make a treasure hunt and also treasure hunt ideas. We have lots of treasure hunt clues you can use to make your own treasure hunts.

Treasure Hunt Clue Ideas
Treasure Hunt Clues For Around The House (Easy Rhyming Clues)
Treasure Hunt Riddles For Around The House (Trickier Riddles)
Treasure Hunt Clues For Around The House (Rebus Puzzles)
How to use riddles, trivia, and other puzzles to make treasure hunt clues

Treasure Hunt Clues

In order to make a fun and exciting treasure hunt, you need to have great clues. Some may say that the treasure is the most important part of the treasure hunt. I disagree. While it is exciting to find the treasure, the real thrill of a treasure hunt is the hunt. That’s why we enjoy them. In order to have a great hunt, you need great clues. There are a lot of different ways that you can make clues for a treasure hunt. Some are more appropriate for some ages than others, but the key is to make clues that are a bit challenging, but not so hard that the treasure hunters get frustrated. Here are some ideas for different kinds of treasure hunt clues.

Picture Clues
This type of clue can be used for all ages depending on how you take the picture. If you are making a treasure hunt for small children just take a picture of where you have hidden the next clue. If you are making a hunt for older children or adults, you can zoom in on the object and just take a picture of a part of the object. Another strategy you can use with pictures is to take a picture of where the next clue is or the treasure and then cut it up and have the treasure hunters have to put it back together like a puzzle so they can find where their next destination is.


Rebus Puzzle
Rebus Puzzles are picture puzzles usually made with words or letters. They cryptically represent a word, phrase, or saying. Probably most of us have seen Rebus Puzzles at one time or another but didn’t know what they were called. The following are typical examples of a rebus puzzle.

(For Instance)

(Too funny for words)

Often times rebus puzzles are created by adding or subtracting parts of words. These are probably the easiest to turn into clues.

(bathtub)

Ciphers
A cipher is a way to make a word or message secret by changing or rearranging the letters in the message. There are lots of different types of ciphers. One of the most basic ciphers that many of us may have used when kids is a number cipher, in which each letter of the alphabet is represented by a number. For example a=1, b=2, c=3, and so on. Using this method, can you figure out what the following cipher text says?

24 13 1 18 11 19 20 8 5 19 16 15 20

Word Search
This type of clue is a variation on a normal word search puzzle. You create a word search pattern using letters from the word of the clue as well as letters from another word or phrase. Then you have the treasure hunters cross out all the letter found in the other word or phrase and the only letters left make the words of the clue. Depending on the age of the treasure hunters, you can put the letters in order, or mix them up. If the treasure hunters are a bit more advanced then mixing the letters up and having them unscramble them would be a bit more challenging.
Here is an example. The instructions of the clue might read, cross out any letter found in the phase “I am cool”



Once this is done, the only letters left (from left to right on each row) are u-n-d-e-r-t-h-e-b-e-d (under the bed).
Rhyming Clues
Using rhymes is a very popular way
to write clues for a treasure hunt today.
There is just something about a clue that rhymes,
feels more like a treasure hunt from olden times.
The difficulty of the clue you should gauge,
depending on the treasure hunter’s age,
A simple description and quite direct,
or a difficult riddle to create a challenging effect.

Word Clues
There are a few different ways that you can disguise words to make clues. One way is to hide a word in a sentence. For example the word SOFA could be hidden without the underlining in a sentence like...”There are three features of a telescope that enable them to extend the power of our vision.” The clue would read something like... "Your next clue location is hidden in the following sentence. The letters are written side by side and sequentially, but may involve more than one word in the sentence."

You could also write a clue location with dashes in the place of every vowel in the sentence or phrase. For example, “under the bed” would become _nd_r th_ b_d. You could increase the difficulty a bit by removing the spaces. _nd_rth_b_d


The possibilities for writing clues are endless. There are so many different kinds of puzzles out there that you can adapt for clues to treasure hunts. Other things I’ve used for clues include sudoku puzzles, crossword puzzles, trivia, GPS coordinates, maps, brain teasers, logic puzzles, and math.