This article is about the Proxi admin app at app.proxi.co.
A scavenger hunt is the most engaging thing you can run downtown: clue by clue, players hunt for locations they don't know yet — which means they walk into businesses they've never entered. Here's the full build for a "Discover Downtown Hunt" with 12 stops.
Hunt or Passport? Pick the Right Game First
Quick gut check: in a Passport, players see all the locations and try to visit them; in a Scavenger Hunt, locations are hidden behind clues and players have to figure them out. Passports maximize total visits; hunts maximize engagement and discovery. Competitive crowds and mystery themes want a hunt; "visit them all" promotions want a passport (see Running a Restaurant Week Passport for that build).
1. Create the Hunt
Go to Scavenger Hunts in the sidebar and click New Scavenger Hunt.
Name it and choose where places come from — Use existing collection if your downtown businesses are already a collection, or Start fresh and add the stops in the next step.
2. Write the Clues
On the Places tab (labeled Clues for hunts), expand each location:
Clue — up to 140 characters. The craft: reference something players can only verify in person. "Find the mural with three birds, then look across the street" beats "the coffee shop on Main."
Hint — the escape valve for stuck players. In Hunt Settings you can set a Hint Point Deduction so hints cost points.
Clue Image — a cropped photo detail makes a great visual clue.
Point Value — weight the far-flung or tricky stops higher.
Also in Hunt Settings: Display One Clue at a Time (a guided chain instead of a free-for-all) and Give Up Behavior — skip to the next location, or reveal the answer.
3. Set Up Check-Ins
In Settings → Check-in Methods, pick how players prove they found it: QR Code Check-in (print codes via Export Codes → PDF — Branded and hide them at each stop — by the register is the classic, since it walks players inside), Code Check-in (staff share the word when asked — great for making players talk to shopkeepers), Geolocation, or Photo Check-in for a photo-safari feel.
4. Style and Tune the Experience
All in the hunt's Setup → Settings tab:
Branding — upload your Logo and a Cover Image (this is the hero on the registration page, so make it good); check White background behind logo if your logo needs it.
Action Button Label — the default is "Check In," but a hunt can say "Found It!"
Display Options — pick the Default Participant Tab players land on, keep Show Leaderboard on, and turn on Show Photo Feed if you're using photo check-ins.
Visit Frequency — leave it on "Once ever (most common)" for a hunt.
On the Places tab, the toolbar's Activate All switches every stop live at once, and each stop can individually skip validation — handy if one location's GPS is unreliable indoors.
5. Prizes, Registration, and Launch
In Awards & Badges, add milestones and a "Solved It All" finisher award with a Completion Message for prize redemption.
Build the Registration Page: heading, description, and under Form Fields turn on Require Username so the leaderboard shows chosen names. Flip the header's Registration switch on early — sign-ups can open before the hunt does.
Click Share for the registration Link, an Embed snippet for your site, a downloadable QR Code for posters, and the Join Code players type at play.proxi.co.
Register yourself, click Make Tester, and solve the first three clues for real — clue difficulty is impossible to judge from your desk. Reset your progress, set the Schedule, and flip it Live. (See Testing Your Challenge or Scavenger Hunt Before Launch.)
6. Bring the Businesses In
Each stop's shopkeeper should know: the hunt is running, where their code lives, and the one-line answer to "am I in the right place?" A win-win framing gets enthusiastic hosts: the hunt delivers new faces; all they do is keep a card by the register. Afterward, per-location check-in counts (Participants & Activity → Locations) show each business exactly how many hunters they got.
Worth a read on the Proxi blog: how to run a downtown scavenger hunt, digital scavenger hunts for main streets, 10 fun hunt ideas, and passport or scavenger hunt — choosing the right adventure.