armchair treasure hunt

An armchair treasure hunt is any activity that requires solving puzzles or riddles in some easily portable and widely reproduced format (usually an illustrated children's book), and then using clues hidden either in the story or the graphics of the book to find a real treasure somewhere in the physical world.

History

The first widely popular armchair treasure hunt was Masquerade by Kit Williams, an illustrated children's book which had an elaborate border filled with letters. By deciphering a code hinted at through the story, a reader could find clues within the borders' text that described the location of a bejeweled golden hare. Williams had buried it a few months before the publication of the book. Readers were told only that the prize was somewhere in the United Kingdom.

Readers became obsessed with the hunt, and even began digging up private property in their search for the hare. The prize was eventually found, albeit by a man who used information obtained from Williams' ex-girlfriend rather than by legitimately solving the puzzle.

Examples

Other examples include:

• A Treasure's Trove (2004) by Michael Stadther, an illustrated children's book which gives clues on the whereabouts of 12 bejeweled insect brooches.
• Mysterious Stranger by David Blaine and Cliff Johnson
• The Publius Enigma based on the Pink Floyd album The Division Bell (unsolved as of August 2007)
• Perplex City - a Card Based Puzzle game with a $200,000 reward for whoever finds "The Receda Cube"
• The LogicaCMG ATH - an annual hunt set by volunteers from the IT firm LogicaCMG. The ATH is funded by the LogicaCMG Sports and Social Club. External entries are excepted but are not eligible for prizes
• Scroll Quest by Jason King, illustrated scrolls that lead to the location of coins which win one of many valuable treasures.
• Secrets of the Alchemist Dar (2006) by Michael Stadther, an illustrated children's book which gives clues on how to claim 100 bejeweled Fairy Rings of Eternal Life.

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