Captain ClueHow to use these clues
Pick one clue per hiding spot, and put each card at the answer of the clue before it. The first clue goes in the children's hands; the treasure sits at the answer of the last one. Choose from two or three rooms so the hunt moves around, and use the easy version for ages 4 to 6, the harder one for 7 and up.
Read the easy ones aloud for children who can't read yet. Older kids can read the harder ones themselves.
Kitchen clues
Keep kitchen cards away from the hob, the oven, the kettle and knife drawers. These spots are all safe to tape a card to or tuck one under.
- Easy: “I'm big and cold and I keep the milk.” Harder: “Open my door and a light switches on, but close it and I hum alone in the dark, keeping things chilly.” Answer: the fridge.
- Easy: “Apples and bananas sit in me.” Harder: “I'm a round bowl that's never used for soup; I hold a colourful crowd that grew on trees.” Answer: the fruit bowl.
- Easy: “We sit here to eat our dinner.” Harder: “Four legs, no feet, and every meal is served on my back.” Answer: the kitchen table.
- Easy: “Bread goes to sleep in me.” Harder: “I keep yesterday's loaf from going stale under my rolling lid.” Answer: the bread bin.
Living room clues
The living room is usually the best place to start and finish, because everyone can gather there for the story and the treasure.
- Easy: “Everyone sits on me to watch TV.” Harder: “I have arms but no hands, a back but no spine, and cushions that hide what falls down the side.” Answer: the sofa.
- Easy: “Books stand in rows on me.” Harder: “I'm full of stories, but I can't tell you a single one.” Answer: the bookshelf.
- Easy: “I'm green and I live in a pot.” Harder: “I drink but never eat, I grow but never walk, and I'm happiest by the window.” Answer: the plant.
- Easy: “I'm soft and you walk on me.” Harder: “I lie flat all day while everyone steps on me, and nobody says sorry.” Answer: the rug (tuck the card under a corner).
Bedroom clues
If guests don't know the house, open only one bedroom and say which one in the clue (“in the birthday child's room…”).
- Easy: “You sleep in me every night.” Harder: “I have a head and a foot but no body, and I'm made every morning without being built.” Answer: the bed.
- Easy: “Your head goes on me.” Harder: “Soft and square, I hear all your dreams but never tell.” Answer: the pillow.
- Easy: “Your clothes hang inside me.” Harder: “I have doors but no house, and hangers but no coats of paint.” Answer: the wardrobe.
- Easy: “All your toys go to bed in me.” Harder: “I swallow teddies, blocks and cars at tidy-up time, and give them back in the morning.” Answer: the toy box.
Hallway clues
Every guest has walked through the hallway, so it is the one room nobody needs directions to. Pockets and boots make excellent hiding places.
- Easy: “Shoes stand on me in pairs.” Harder: “I hold many pairs but never dance.” Answer: the shoe rack.
- Easy: “Coats hang on me.” Harder: “I wear everyone's coats, but I never go outside.” Answer: the coat hooks (a pocket makes a good hiding place).
- Easy: “Look at me and you see you.” Harder: “I copy every move you make, but always the wrong way round.” Answer: the mirror.
- Easy: “You go out through me.” Harder: “I'm opened by everyone who arrives and everyone who leaves, but I never move from my spot.” Answer: the front door (on the inside, and keep it shut).
Garden clues
Only use the garden if it's enclosed and an adult is outside too. Keep away from ponds, water butts, tools and the road.
- Easy: “Sit on me in the garden.” Harder: “I have a seat for three but no room inside.” Answer: the garden bench.
- Easy: “Flowers grow in me.” Harder: “I'm made of clay and full of earth, and something green lives on my head.” Answer: the flower pot.
- Easy: “I go back and forth, back and forth.” Harder: “Push me away and I'll always come back.” Answer: the swing.
- Easy: “I keep the garden tools.” Harder: “A little wooden house where nobody lives but the rake and the spade.” Answer: the shed (put the card on the outside of the door).
Sample hunts room by room
Four complete sample hunts below show how a full trail looks in one or two rooms. The Birthday Pirate Quest stays in the kitchen for ages 6 to 8. The Mystery of the Birthday Vault is a bedroom detective case for 7 to 9. Galaxy Explorers Space Quest uses the hallway and living room. The Secret of Pirate Island is played mostly in the garden.
Each has its own story, clue cards, hints and an answer key, and downloads as a free PDF. We don't ask for your email.
Clues written for your rooms
No list fits every house. Tell Captain Clue which rooms you'll use and tap the furniture you have, and every clue in the hunt points to your sofa, your shoe rack, your fruit bowl, at the right difficulty for the ages playing. Preview it free, then print it (€9) or play it on phones (€19).