The University Scavenger Hunt
That Maps Your Campus
Turn orientation week, open days and campus events into a game. New students tap hidden NFC checkpoints in their phone browser — no app to download — and learn where everything is while chasing a live leaderboard.
Deployed at NOVA IMS: Future Maker, Spring Bootcamp and the Data with Purpose Summit
Why it works for campus events
A university scavenger hunt does two jobs at once: it breaks the ice for new students and it teaches them the campus by sending them to the buildings, departments and services they will actually use.
Built for orientation
Send first-years to the library, the labs, the student union and the cafeteria. They learn the campus by visiting it, not by reading a map they will forget.
No app download
Students sign in and start playing in the mobile browser within about 30 seconds. Nothing to install on day one, when nobody wants another app.
Breaks the ice
Roaming the campus to find checkpoints gets new students talking and moving together instead of waiting in a hall for a welcome talk to start.
Showcase the campus on open days
On open days a scavenger hunt pulls prospective students and families to every department and facility you want them to see, not just the main entrance.
See where they go
A real-time dashboard shows which checkpoints get traffic and which buildings get missed, and you take home a full post-event report.
Rewards they keep
Points convert to real merch in an in-app store, so the hunt ends with branded swag in students' hands rather than a forgotten leaderboard.
How a campus hunt runs
Map the campus
We place NFC checkpoints at the buildings, departments and services you want students to find — library, labs, union, faculties, registry.
Students tap to play
They tap a checkpoint, sign in on their phone and start the hunt. No app, no registration desk queue, no waiting for staff to hand anything out.
You watch it live
Track finds and foot traffic across campus in real time, reward the leaders at the closing event, and get a full report afterwards.
University scavenger hunt FAQ
Is a university scavenger hunt good for orientation week?
Yes — it is the most common use. New students learn the campus by visiting the buildings and services they will use, and they break the ice with each other while doing it. We run it across NOVA IMS for exactly this.
Do students need to download an app?
No. The whole game runs in the mobile browser. Students sign in and start tapping checkpoints within about 30 seconds, with nothing to install.
Can we use it on open days for prospective students?
Yes. On open days the hunt pulls visitors and families to every department and facility you want them to see, instead of letting them cluster at the entrance.
Which phones work?
Modern iPhones and Android phones read NFC tags out of the box. Where a phone can't tap, the same checkpoint also works as a QR code, so nobody is left out.
How many checkpoints can a campus have?
From a handful to hundreds. Our Future Maker event at NOVA IMS ran 115 checkpoints with more than 2,500 finds across the campus.
Can it be team-based for cohorts or societies?
Yes. We ran the NOVA IMS Spring Bootcamp as a team game, and individual play works just as well. Either way the leaderboard updates in real time.
What do we get after the event?
A full post-event report: total finds, unique players, the busiest checkpoints and time-of-day patterns across the campus.
Bring a scavenger hunt to your campus
Tell us about your campus and dates — orientation, open day or any event. We'll put together a plan and a quote.