To witness footage of actual hunts, go to our video section. Or check out still photos on the images page.

Introduction to Our Clues      

At Whim, our hunts are more than a simple collection of individual clues. The path that the hunt takes and what happens along the way is just as important as the clues themselves. In order to give a good idea of what our hunts are like, this section gives a series of clues taken from an actual hunt that we've done. If you would prefer to look at a sample clue by itself, skip down to Part 4 of the sample hunt.

A Sample Hunt      

The following are clues from an actual treasure hunt put on in late 2003 for a group of people at UCSB. The clues, however, are representative of those that could be designed for any type of treasure hunt.

PART 1: The group has already gone through the first portion of the hunt. Now they find themselves by a collection of pay phones, waiting to see what happens. One of the phones rings, and no sooner is it picked up then the remaining three ring as well. From each receiver, a voice is heard, and each person is directed to a different location where, for the next 15 minutes, someone will be waiting with a part of the next clue. The group splits up and hurries to get each section of the clue.

PART 2: The group reassembles and examines their clue. There are four sheets of card-stock, each with a large amount of holes cut out of them. In addition, each sheet has a transparent bottom, with part of an image drawn on it. When all four sheets are placed on top of each other (pictured right), only a small amount of holes remain, and the image at the bottom takes on a coherent shape. It is a fire with the infinity sign in its center. It is not long before they realize that the clue is directing them to the eternal flame on the UCSB campus. Once there, they puzzle over what to do next. The eternal flame has three plaques on it in memory of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. After trying several unsuccessful combinations of the sheets on different plaques, they discover the solution. They place all four sheets over the section commemorating Dr. King. After some slight adjustment, the letters that show through spell out more than just a tangle of nonsense: they spell out the next clue.

PART 3: "Where is Woofie." They sit in contemplation for a bit before one of them remembers a lost dog poster that she'd seen earlier that day. They begin to trek across campus to the find it, when they see another one. They later realize that the posters are up all over the school. WHERE IS WOOFIE? the poster asks to anyone who passes. It goes on to describe a lost dog, and gives an e-mail address to contact should anyone find it. The dog, of course, is fictitious. The e-mail address was functional, however, and it led to their next clue.

PART 4: An auto-response is sent back when the treasure hunters send an e-mail to the address. It reads:

CONCLUSION: The treasure hunters continued on their way to more clues and more adventures. Their hunt lasted two weeks in total, with delays in between each set of clues.

Additional Samples      

Didn't find the kind of clue you were interested in? E-mail us at info@whimhunts.com and we'll be glad to send another sample clue.