In an era where meaningful alumni engagement is more important and more challenging than ever, top universities are turning to a surprising yet effective solution: scavenger hunts and gamified tools.
What might seem like lighthearted fun on the surface is, in fact, a smart engagement strategy. When designed thoughtfully, scavenger hunts offer a perfect blend of nostalgia, teamwork, campus exploration, and tech-enabled tracking. From Ivy League alumni reunions to orientation activities in Asia, gamification is transforming how institutions strengthen bonds with their communities, especially alumni.
For decades, alumni engagement strategies have relied on the classics: gala dinners, speaker panels, fundraising campaigns, and annual newsletters. While these still hold value, they often fall short in appealing to younger, digitally-native graduates and in creating the kinds of shared emotional experiences that truly rekindle school pride.
Gamification, such as scavenger hunts, campus quests, and location-based missions, offers a powerful alternative. They help alumni relive their university days, explore familiar and new parts of campus, and reconnect with peers through a format that is active, collaborative, and fun.
Major universities are already proving the point with creative implementations. At Harvard, for instance, class committees routinely build multi‑weekend scavenger quests into their Reunion agenda. Stanford’s campus offers guided hunts through its sculpture gardens and historic quads as a way to bond alumni and even incoming students.
In Texas, a viral campus mystery known as “Aggieland’s Secret Scavenger Hunt” has students and alumni scrambling to decode hidden plaques around Texas A&M’s campus. In each case, the hunt becomes a shared experience, alumni relive the places they love, work together in teams, and root for classmates, just as if they were undergraduates again.
With stories like these, industry insiders estimate roughly 85% of U.S. News Top 50 universities now incorporate scavenger hunts or similar gamified events into their alumni programs. In other words, scavenger hunts have become a mainstream alumni-engagement strategy at leading schools.
The reason is clear: scavenger hunts turn reunion weekends and homecomings into fun, team‑based games. Gamification experts note that these activities tap core human drives. As one marketing article explains, gamification “leverages our psychological predisposition to engage in gaming”, it appeals to alumni’s desires for achievement, status, and self-expression. In practice, alumni teams compete for points and bragging rights, trading trivia and photo challenges. This healthy competition “fosters a sense of community and connection among alumni”.
At the same time, scavenger hunts are steeped in nostalgia: alumni revisit landmarks and traditions from their college days, deepening emotional bonds. Research shows that nostalgia-driven campaigns strengthen loyalty and engagement. In short, a scavenger hunt gives grads a playful reason to relive campus memories together while meeting new people, forging the social connections they crave.
Most reputable institutions in Singapore, like the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Polytechnic (SP), Singapore Management University (SMU), and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP,) have reimagined how they welcome new students. Instead of relying solely on traditional campus tours or welcome talks, these universities are turning to web-based scavenger hunt apps to deliver immersive orientation experiences.
A standout example of gamified engagement in action took place during Nanyang Polytechnic’s Open House 2025, where thousands of prospective students and parents experienced the campus through a web-app scavenger hunt platform called PlayTours. Without the need to download an app or create an account, participants simply scanned a QR code to dive right into the experience, making access nearly instantaneous and hassle-free, even during peak crowd hours.
One of the more innovative moments involved a large-scale task where participants had to submit selfies to contribute to a national record attempt. To handle the volume efficiently, organizers used an image validation feature powered by AI from PlayTours scavenger hunt app to instantly verify the photos. This not only streamlined the process but also ensured fairness and accuracy in task completion.
The result? An open house that didn’t just inform, but immersed and inspired. It culminated in a successful entry into the Singapore Book of Records for the largest digital avatar collage, a perfect example of how thoughtful gamification can turn a traditional campus event into a record-breaking, memory-making adventure.
The reason scavenger hunts work so well in the academic context comes down to intrinsic motivation. Unlike traditional formats that require passive attendance, scavenger hunts invite alumni and students to:
Gamification taps into the same dopamine loops that drive video games and fitness challenges, but it applies them in ways that are grounded in school pride and community values. The result is a deeper, more meaningful sense of participation, especially when the game includes inside jokes, campus trivia, or nostalgic locations that only alumni will recognize.
Today’s technology only makes it easier to run and measure these hunts. Modern scavenger-hunt platforms let organizers map out routes and clues in an admin interface, then track every answer and photo submission automatically. For example, PlayTours’ web-based scavenger-hunt app provides an interactive map of campus and consolidates all team submissions (answers and image uploads) on a single dashboard.
For event planners and alumni directors who want to replicate this success, the path is clear. A powerful web app like PlayTours makes it easy to build your own alumni scavenger hunt. No coding is required: you simply drop pins and write clues on an online map, then invite alumni teams via a shareable link. Participants join on their phones, solve location-based puzzles or photo challenges, and upload their responses through the app. PlayTours then handles everything else from scoring to the backend analytics.
In an era where universities compete for alumni attention, scavenger hunts combine creativity with community and deliver the kind of data-savvy insights that advancement offices crave. If even 85% of top colleges are turning their campuses into playgrounds for alumni, there’s no reason your institution can’t do the same. Whether you’re planning a reunion or a virtual homecoming, consider gamifying the experience.
Platforms like PlayTours let you create custom campus hunts without any tech headache. Sign up for a demo, drop in your favorite campus spots, and launch your own alumni scavenger hunt and watch your engagement soar.
That's it! If you need help, do email us at hello@playtours.app
