Kraken Bingo

Kraken Bingo · Scavenger hunt

A new hire scavenger hunt that gives the office tour for you

Instead of a hurried tour between two meetings, give every new starter a trail through the building: a code to scan at each place that matters, a question about it, and a few colleagues to meet on the way.

Create a hunt

Why this works as a scavenger hunt

On a first day, the office tour is usually squeezed between laptop setup and the first meeting, and a week later the new starter still doesn't know where the printer is or who to ask about expenses. A trail through the building gives the tour at their own pace, and every stop asks them to find something and answer something, which is how places stick.

It also does what a slide deck can't: it sends people to people. A question at the IT desk can only be answered by asking IT, and the stop at finance needs a name. By the end of the trail the new starter has spoken to five colleagues who now know their face. Leave the hunt running and it greets every future hire the same way, without anyone having to remember to give the tour.

Set it up in an evening

  1. 1

    Create a team

    Use the team your company already plays in, or create one. Its admins build the trail.

  2. 2

    Add a hunt and choose who plays together

    Create a game, choose Scavenger hunt and Everyone alone, and leave the deadline empty so the trail stays open.

  3. 3

    Write the steps

    Add the stops below and adapt them to your building: a place, a code to scan there and a question only that place can answer.

  4. 4

    Put out the codes

    Print the QR codes from the step list and stick them up at the places, somewhere the cleaners won't take them down.

  5. 5

    Set off

    Everyone who joins the team from now on is added to the running trail; anyone already in it, add on the Players tab. Send new starters off once their laptop works, and follow them on the Live tab.

A 8-step trail to start from

Players see one step at a time, in this order, and each hint arrives only when the step before it is done. Add these 8 as your steps, then swap in your own places and answers.

  1. 1Reception — scan the code at the front desk and type the name of the guest Wi-Fi
  2. 2Your desk — a photo of your setup on day one, to compare with in a year
  3. 3The IT desk — ask how to get help and pick the right answer: chat, ticket or phone
  4. 4The kitchen — find the code by the coffee machine and pick the day the fridge gets cleared
  5. 5The assembly point outside — check in by GPS so you know where to go when the alarm rings
  6. 6The biggest meeting room — type how many people fit in it, from the sign by the door
  7. 7Finance or HR — ask who takes expense receipts and type their first name
  8. 8Your manager's desk — a selfie together to finish the trail

Recommended setup

Length
8 stops on one or two floors: what a newcomer needs in week one, short enough for a first afternoon.
How long it takes
30 to 45 minutes, on the afternoon of day one or the morning of day two.
Worth turning on
Everyone alone, no deadline. Each new starter gets a trail of their own, and a hunt without an end date stays open for every hire after them.

What makes it work

Proof at every step

Each stop is proven with a QR code printed from the step list and stuck up at the place, so the trail works indoors, where GPS doesn't.

Questions that open the next step

A question at a stop is multiple choice or a typed answer that ignores capitals and accents. Retries are free, so nobody gets stuck on their first day, and the questions that need a colleague's help get people talking.

A live view and a ranking

The Live tab shows who has done which stop and when, with any photos. If a code has gone missing, you mark the stop done and the newcomer carries on.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take?

Most new starters finish 8 stops in 30 to 45 minutes. Nobody races anyone in particular: everyone plays their own trail, and the ranking compares points first, then each person's own time.

Can we use the same trail for every new hire?

Yes. Leave the deadline empty and the hunt stays open; everyone who joins the team is added to its running games. Players never see the right answers, so the questions keep working.

Does it work in a building with poor GPS?

Use QR codes for indoor stops: they're scanned with the built-in scanner or the phone's own camera and need no location at all. Keep GPS for stops outside, like the assembly point.

Can remote hires play?

Not this trail, which is made for being in the building. For remote starters, a bingo card of first-month missions works better: see the icebreaker bingo page.

Do new starters need to install anything?

No. It runs in a phone's browser with a built-in code scanner; the iPhone and Android apps add notifications.

What does it cost?

Creating the team and the hunt is free. HR or the team lead signs up as the organiser; new starters join with the invite link or QR code.

Plan your first hunt

Free to create, no card needed, and players join your team with one link.

Create a hunt

Other ways people play

Human bingo for new hires — without printing a single card

Sixteen small missions that get a new starter talking to people, spread across their first month instead of their first meeting.

A campus orientation scavenger hunt that shows freshers where things really are

Put new students into groups and send them from the library to the canteen to the sports hall, with a code to scan and a question at every stop. By lunchtime they know the campus, and each other.