35 Birthday Party Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids, Teens and Adults
Updated September 5, 2026 7 min read
A birthday scavenger hunt is the easiest way to give a party a structure without making it feel organized. Everyone splits into teams, everyone competes, and the birthday person gets to be the subject of half the trivia.
Pick 12 to 20 clues from the age group below and personalize the trivia. The hunt should take about an hour.
Run this list as a live hunt
One click loads every clue below into the hunt builder. Edit what you like, share one link, and every team competes on a real-time leaderboard. Free for up to 20 players.
Kids (ages 6 to 11)
One adult with a phone per team. Keep everything in the house and yard.
- 1.Photo: something the same color as the birthday cake
- 2.Photo: the whole team making the silliest face possible
- 3.Text: how many candles are on the cake?
- 4.Photo: a toy that is older than the birthday kid
- 5.Photo: everyone on the team hopping on one foot
- 6.Text: what is the birthday kid's favorite animal?
- 7.Photo: a leaf bigger than your hand
- 8.Photo: the team spelling the birthday kid's name with their bodies
- 9.Photo: something that rhymes with "cake"
- 10.Video: the team singing happy birthday as fast as possible
Teens (ages 12 to 17)
- 1.Photo: recreate the birthday person's profile picture
- 2.Video: a 15-second TikTok-style dance in a public place
- 3.Text: what was the birthday person's first pet's name?
- 4.Photo: a stranger holding a sign that says happy birthday (ask nicely)
- 5.Photo: the team in a shop wearing hats they did not buy
- 6.Trivia: what is the birthday person's most-played song?
- 7.Photo: something that costs exactly the birthday person's age in dollars
- 8.Photo: a group jump shot in front of a landmark
- 9.Video: everyone doing the birthday person's signature laugh
- 10.Photo: a receipt with the birthday date on it (any year)
Adults
Works for a dinner party, a bar crawl, or a weekend away. Add GPS stops if you are moving between venues.
- 1.Photo: recreate the birthday person's most embarrassing childhood photo
- 2.Video: a bartender wishing the birthday person happy birthday by name
- 3.Text: what city was the birthday person born in?
- 4.Photo: a stranger who shares the birthday person's first name (ID optional)
- 5.GPS: check in at the first place the birthday person ever lived in this city
- 6.Photo: the team ordering the birthday person's go-to drink at a bar they have never visited
- 7.Trivia: what was the birthday person's first job?
- 8.Photo: a piece of public art that looks like the birthday person
- 9.Video: the team performing a toast in rhyming couplets
- 10.Photo: something from the year the birthday person was born
- 11.Text: get a stranger to guess the birthday person's age. Closest team wins
- 12.Photo: the team recreating the birthday person's wedding photo or graduation photo
- 13.Video: a group rendition of the birthday person's favorite song, chorus only
- 14.Photo: a menu item that contains the birthday person's name or initials
- 15.Photo: the entire team in one photo booth or one bathroom mirror selfie
Tips for running it
- •Make the birthday person the judge. They approve photos from their phone and see everything as it comes in.
- •The last clue should be worth enough points to swing the game. It brings everyone back together for the finish.
- •Screenshot the final leaderboard for the group chat. It becomes the party recap.