Couples Scavenger Hunt

How to play

1. 1Open the card and go. No route planning.
2. 2Photograph every square as you tick it.
3. 3Both of you have to agree a square counts.
4. 4Five in a row is a line. A full card is the whole day.
5. 5Look at the photos together at the end. That is the point.

Why couples love this game

It changes what you notice. Walking somewhere with a list makes you look up, go down streets you would not have, and talk to people — and couples consistently report finding things in their own town they had walked past for years.

A scavenger hunt gives an ordinary day out a spine. Instead of wandering around wondering what to do, you are both looking for something — which turns a walk into a game without requiring anything to be organised.

The squares work in a city, a town, a park, or entirely inside a house on a wet Sunday. Some are objects, some are photographs, and a few are things you have to persuade a stranger to help with.

Photograph each one as you tick it. The camera roll at the end is the actual prize.

Example squares

• Something older than both of you combined
• A stranger's dog. Ask first
• Something the exact colour of their eyes
• A door you both want to go through
• The worst piece of public art you can find
• Something that reminds you of your first date

The full game has 25 of these, shuffled every time you play.

Who this game is best for

• —A day out with no plan
• —A new city, or your own after too long
• —Rainy days indoors, using the flexible squares
• —Anniversaries where neither of you wants a restaurant

Tips to make it better

• ✦Photograph everything. The camera roll is the actual output.
• ✦No planning a route. Following the list is what makes it work.
• ✦Both must agree a square counts. Arguing about it is part of the day.
• ✦Works indoors too, if you interpret generously.

Frequently asked questions