The Armchair Treasure Hunt ClubHunts for the General Public
The Armchair Treasure Hunt ClubThe Armchair Treasure Hunt Club publishes its own exclusive hunts for its members but also keeps track of current hunts available to the general public - through the bimonthly newsletter and online bulletin board. Public hunts come in many shapes and sizes and are published for a number of reasons. Some are devised to promote charities or causes, many are written by budding hunt-setters on a non- or low-profit basis, whilst others are commercial. But with hunts you often don't get what you pay for, so don't assume the free hunts are any less well-crafted and enjoyable that the commercial hunts.
Armchair treasure hunts have been popular for some time now - ever since the ground-breaking Masquerade - and new hunts are released all the time. Some hunts are designed for a specified period of time and have a closing date, whilst other continue indefinitely.
Below are links to our summaries and background information on a number of hunts available to members of the general public. All of these hunts are published in English. We have a list of websites containing details of a number of non-English hunts.
The following (listed in reverse chronological order of date published) is a small selection of hunts that are 'current' - unsolved and the closing date (where one applied) has not passed. Click on the names for more information. A more complete list can be found on the quest4treasure bulletin board or Mysterious Writings
Although these have been written/published independently by club members, these hunts are open to all members of the public.
| Name | Format | Type | Prize | Published | Closing Date | Written by |
| The Dark Arks of the Covenant | pamphlet | written solution | bronze statuette of Moses | February 2002 | Terry Lydon |
| Name | Format | Type | Prize | Published | Closing Date | Written by |
| Cloud Quest | PDF document | Puzzle solutions | 25% of enrolment fees | 2014 | P. U. Kekoe | |
| The Ultimate Quest | illustrated book | guarded treasure | oak cask with replica Grail cup | 2001 by Roland Oliver | 30 June 2011 | William Lynhope |
The following hunts (listed in reverse chronological order of date solved or closed) have now closed - they are either solved and/or their closing date has passed. Click on the hunt names for more information.
| Name | Format | Type | Prize | Published | Closing Date | Written by | Solved |
| Dragonigma | illustrated images of cards | buried token/deed | Dragon of Gold - gold, ruby and diamond jewel | Autumn 2002 by the Treasure Hunt Club (not related to this club) | The Dragonigma Team | August 2012 by Paul Harkin | |
| Menagerie | three web based illustrations and text | buried map and treasure | silver replica of Kit Williams' Golden Hare | July 2005 | Dillon Waugh | July 2008 by Paul Harkin | |
| The Red Herring | illustrated pamphlet | buried token | engraved silver plaque | February 2002 in aid of Deafblind Scotland | None, but postal claims accepted after 31 March 2003 | Charles Cunningham | February 2007 by Brian Souter |
| Dennis - A Treasure Hunt Adventure | illustrated book and website(s) | hidden treasure | 24ct gold figurine values at £10,000 | September 2005 by Piranha Studios | Pete Underhill | September 2006 | |
| Quest: A Zetetic Treasure Hunt | illustrated book | written answer | golden chest valued ay £30,000 | September 1992 by Tree House | Martyn Lambourne | March 2006 by Shaun Whitehead | |
| Text4Treasure III | three regions: daily text-message clues | buried prizes/token | two golden brooches (runners up) and a single golden apple with diamond | 20 June 2005 | none but typically solved within a week | Shaun Whitehead | 25 June 2005 by Martin Dennett, Deborah Hatton and Phil Evans |
| Lucky 7 | a simple illustration | buried treasure | 1oz solid gold krugerrand | March 2005 | None, but anticipated to be solved quickly | Paul Harkin | March 2005 by 'Beer Monster' |
| Quest of The Grail | Email clues and website illustrations | hidden token | half the gross subscriptions | May 2004 by Grailquest.tk | April 2005 | Grailquest.tk | November 2004 |
| Smugglers' Gold | illustrated pamphlet | buried treasure | £3000 jewel | December 2000 | Shaun Whitehead | July 2004 by Paul Harkin with the assistance of Matt Edwards and Brian Souter | |
| Menagerie (taster) | web based illustration and text | email answer | signed print and advance copy of new hunt | February 2004 | Dillon Waugh | April 2004 | |
| Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic | illustrated book with code embedded in text | buried token - golden orb inside a stone (USA) | gold coins valued at US$100,000 | October 2002 by Villard Books (USA) and Channel 4 Books (UK) | 1 Jan 2005 | David Blaine (and Cliff Johnson) | March 2004 by Sherri Skanes from Ventura, California, USA |
| Text4Treasure2 | text message clues | buried treasure | artefacts & trinkets | 21 July 2003 | about 1 week | Shaun Whitehead | July 2003 by A: Anthony Perry, B: Martin Dennett, C: Clive Weatherley |
| Text4Treasure | text message clues | buried treasure | Golden key | 19 May 2003 | about 1 week | Shaun Whitehead | May 2003 by Clive Weatherley and Martin Dennett |
| The Towers of Eden | illustrated book | hidden tokens / wriiten solution | 12 jewelled brooches / jewelled suit of armour | Originally slated for mid 2002, but currently unpublished | armour only: originally end 2002 | Christopehr Nightingale & Duncan Storr | Project on hold and as yet unpublished. |
| 2nd Forest of Dean Gold Leaf Quest | real hunt | visible token | golden leaf in oak case | August 2002 by Forest of Dean Tourism | November 2002, by club members Rob and Diane Farmer | ||
| Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island | hardback book with map | random draw from written solutions | antique sovereigns valued at £5000 | October 2001 by Orion Children's Books | 1 August 2002 | Francis Bryan | August 2002 by Mrs Parr from Lancashire (random draw) |
| 1st Forest of Dean Gold Leaf Quest | real hunt | visible token | golden leaf in oak case | March 2002 by Forest of Dean Tourism | 31 October 2002 | July 2002, by club members Rob and Diane Farmer | |
| Apple Punch | audio | hidden token then written answers | 9ct Golden Apple | 1998 by Diabetes UK | 31 March 2002 | Terry Pitts Fenby | March 2002, by club members Shaun and Alison Whitehead |
| The Merlin Mystery | illustrated book | written answer | jewelled alchemist's wand and £75,000 | 1998 by Voyager (HaperCollins) | end 2001 | Jonathan Gunson and Marten Coombe | unsolved |
| Island Treasure | electronic book | email solution | £1,000,000 | July 1999 by Island Treasure Ltd | end 2001 | unsolved | |
| The Code Book - The Cipher Challenge | Paperback non-fiction with 10 ciphers | written answer | £10,000 | September 1999 by Fourth Estate | Simon Singh | October 2001 by team of 5 from Sweden | |
| Charlie's Christmas Gift | 3 page pamphlet | buried instructions and treasure | silver and gold statuette | 1995 by Dan James/Sandra Young | Dan James | December 2000 by Frances Morgan | |
| The Edgar Allan Poe Cryptographic Challenge | cipher | written answer | US$2500 | February 1993 | Edgar Allan Poe | October 2000 by Gil Broza | |
| A Fairy Story | illustrated pamphlet or web page | buried instructions and treasure | Gold fairy atop a silver bell | 1997 | Stephen Parkes | April 2000 by Martin Dennett | |
| Aureum | Interactive CD-ROM | written answers | £20,000 in gold coins | 1999 by Attica Interactive Ltd | Withdrawn 12 May 2000 | Dan James | February 2000, Years I and II solved by club members Shaun Whitehead and Paul Harkin |
| Chasing Charlie | illustrated book | hidden treasure | 1000 bottles of Scotch | 1996 by Black Raven Publishing | Closed December 1999 | Richard Henderson | unsolved |
| Quest: In Search of the Dragontooth | illustrated book and map | written answer | tusk mounted on bronze handle | September 1994 by Running Press | Closed | Michael Green | unsolved |
| Treasure | illustrated book | hidden tokens | 40 gold coins, 5 original paintings, and £250,000 | 1994 | Dan James | Tim Button | |
| The Key to the Kingdom | illustrated playing cards and book | written answer plus tie-breaker | Golden Key and US$10,000 | September 1992 by Pavilion Books | Tony Meeuwissen | Susan Kavanagh | |
| Search for the Lost Railway Engine | illustrated book | written answer | golden railway engine | 1989 | June 1992 | Pauline and Steve Bane | unsolved |
| The Golden Key (original book) | illustrated book | buried token | £50,000 | November 1982 by William Maclellan Ltd | Withdrawn 1987 | Don Shaw | unsolved Relaunch in 2004/5 under new ownership |
| Untitled | illustrated book | submitted answer without using written words | inlaid wooden box with titled book | May 1984 | May 1985 | Kit Williams | May 1985 by Steve Pearce |
| The Last Fairy | illustrated book | buried treasure in UK & USA | Golden statuette of a fairy with a wand | 1983 by Fantasy Publications | Fred Hancock | unknown | |
| Conundrum | illustrated book | hidden tokens | 12 golden eggs | 1983 by Cadbury's | 1984 | Don Shaw & Nick Price (ill) | unknown |
| The Piper of Dreams | illustrated book | buried treasure | golden jewelled flute | October 1982 by Hodder & Stoughton | 1983 | Terry Pitts Fenby and Bill Bruce | 1982 |
| Masquerade | illustrated book | buried treasure | golden jewelled hare | September 1979 by Jonathan Cape | Kit Williams | February 1982; treasure found by Ken Thomas; puzzle solved by Mike Barker and John Rousseau |
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