Chica has always wanted to go on a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt planned by someone else. So as a surprise, our other good friend and I planned an “Amazing Race” type game for us to play while on vacation in Sanibel. We used some of the ideas from the television show and combined it with a traditional scavenger hunt theme to come up with our own fun game to play.

The tasks in this game were of course chosen to fit the sights and businesses on Sanibel Island but you can easily customize the lists to fit your own favorite vacation spot or hometown. This is a great idea for church groups, family reunions or vacations.

First, we had to come up with some basic rules for the game. You can download our rules here for easy customization and printing.

The rules:

• You will get $25 for the WHOLE GAME – no subsidizing this process!
• The team that reaches the checkpoint first will get the full alloted time and the better DETOUR KIT. All other teams must subtract 5 minutes from the total alloted time for the next leg.
• If the whole leg is completed, the team will receive an additional 10 bonus points. A complete leg means that you score at least one point for each bulleted item.
• No splitting up! Teams must stay together and all photos must have all team members.
• All purses, wallets, money clips, etc. will be left behind.
• If you are late to the checkpoints, points are deducted per minute you are late. Time starts for both teams when the first team is allowed to leave the checkpoint. Judge’s cell phone is THE OFFICIAL timer.

Starting supplies:

Drivers License, $25 cash, a digital camera, cell phones, and the Amazing Sanibel Race T-shirts (if you choose to make them).

Extra Point Opportunities:

• Spot judge NOT at a checkpoint (5 points for each pictured sighting)
• License plates from your home state (1 point for each pictured plate)
• Picture of a Sanibel Police car (3 points, 10 if you get the team’s picture with the officer)

The crafty part:

To make the rule sheets and task lists for each leg even more fun, you can do a few simple steps to make them look like pirate treasure maps! First, print the rules on some pale yellow or tan card stock. Carefully, tear all of the edges of the paper. Then, here comes the fun part…crumple the paper up! Smooth the paper back out and then take some Distress Ink or regular brown ink and lightly rub the ink pad over the top of the crumpled card stock. The ink will just catch on the raised parts of the paper if you rub lightly, making the paper looked aged. Then, rub the ink pad along the edges of the paper where you ripped it before. Roll the papers up and tie them with ribbon. Either use different ribbon for each leg of the race or write a number on the outside of the scrolls so you know which is which!

The legs:

We then decided on how many legs we wanted to do and the specific tasks within each leg. We thought three was a good number because any more would involve too much time and participants might get too tired and any less wouldn’t make it worthwhile. Each leg has its own set of tasks to complete.

Below are links to sample Word documents we used for each of the legs of the race. For your race, you can start with these, but optionally change the destinations and tasks to fit things that are important to your group. Then print out however many copies you need to be able to give one to each team. When you make your task lists, be sure to allow for enough time to complete everything. We learned that lesson the hard way on the first leg — Chica’s team was 15 minutes late to the checkpoint and lost a lot of points!

Some examples of the tasks the teams had the most fun with included finding silly glasses to wear for a team picture in a local shop, having a picture made with a local police officer, getting a ticket stub from the theater, and mailing a post card back home that they bought in a previous leg!

The teams were met with smiles and cooperation by shop owners at island landmarks including the Bubble Room, Pandora’s Box, J.N. “Ding” Darling Refuge, Camp Sanibel, Blind Pass, McT’s, Huxter’s Liquor, and The Sanibel Bean. We would like to thank those shop owners who went above and beyond to help accomplish tasks. Everyone who saw us were intrigued and wanted to help in some way, making it even more fun!

The finish line:

The final leg of the race ended at Cheeburger, Cheeburger, where Jo awarded the winning team (that included Chica) with trophies and everyone enjoyed a big meal of burgers, fries, and shakes. Everyone had a fantastic time and we are already thinking of ways to improve our game for our trip next year. The winning team is enjoying gloating and the losing team is conspiring on how dethrone the champions next year!

The press:

Those of you living in Sanibel (or lucky enough to be visiting right now) can also read about our racing adventures in the June 6th edition of Island Sun, Sanibel Island’s local newspaper.

We are honored to have been included in their publication and we welcome our new readers.