Step-by-Step Guide: Create an Outdoor Treasure Hunt Game

(Prefer to watch this tutorial? Click here!)

If you haven’t done so already, create a free account with us and/or login. You’ll be taken to a dashboard where you can create a new project or find your existing ones. 

1. Create New Project

There are three ways to start a project in the Locatify Builder:

A. Blank Project – Start from scratch and customize everything to fit your needs.

B. From Template – Choose from our pre-designed templates for inspiration or use them as-is for a quick setup. (you can watch our template wizard tutorial here)

C. From File – Upload an existing Locatify project to continue working on it or make adjustments.

Skip ahead to the section that aligns with your project for the most relevant guidance.

A. Blank Project – Start from Scratch

Create a fully customized project tailored to your needs.

• From the homepage, click Blank Project in the center.
• Or, use the left-side menu: click the + symbol and select Blank Project.

Project Wizard

Now, you're in the project wizard. To navigate, follow each step and click as you go. 

• Step 1: Select the Project Type

 For this demo, click Treasure Hunt Game to continue.

💡 Tip: The icons in the top right of each tile indicate which app types support the project.
 

Shared Apps - TurfHunt and SmartGuide

Branded Native App

Web App

• Step 2: Select the Project Format

For this demo, click on Outdoor Map.

• Step 3: Choose the Activation Method

Decide how locations will be triggered. For this demo, select Automatic via GPS—this ensures content activates automatically when players enter the designated radius on the map.

Click Next to continue.

• Step 4: Select Settings

Optionally, add additional languages to your project. Note: You’ll need to provide translations for each selected language.

Next, give your project a name. For this demo, we’ll call it “New Project”.

Note: The title, activation method, languages, and other project settings can be changed at any time.

Click Add Project to proceed. (From this point, you can skip to 2. Main Information)

B. From Template – Start with a Pre-Designed Setup

Use a ready-made template to quickly set up your project or get inspired for customization. 

• From the homepage, click From Template in the center.
• Or, use the left-side menu: click the + symbol and select From Template.

Project Wizard

(Prefer to watch this tutorial? Click here!)

Now, you're in the project wizard. To navigate, follow each step and click as you go. 

• Step 1: Select the Project Type

 For this demo, click Treasure Hunt Game to continue.

💡 Tip: The icons in the top right of each tile indicate which app types support the project.
 

Shared Apps - TurfHunt and SmartGuide

Branded Native App

Web App

• Step 2: Select the Project Format

For this demo, click on Outdoor Map.

• Step 3: Select the Project Template

Browse the available templates and choose one that best fits your needs. Once you've selected a template, click Select to continue.

Note: Templates are in English by default. Additional languages can be added by entering translations within the project.

• Step 4: Select Settings

Optionally, add additional languages to your project. Note: You’ll need to provide translations for each selected language.

Next, give your project a name. For this demo, we’ll call it “New Project”.

Finally, place your project on the map. You can zoom in and out using the + and - symbols or use your mouse wheel.

Note: The title, activation method, languages, and other project settings can be changed at any time.

Click Add Project to proceed.

Customize the template as needed—add new content, adjust challenges, or refine project settings to match your vision.

(From this point, you can skip to 2. Main Information)

C. From File– Upload an Existing Project

Import a previously created Locatify project to continue working on it or make adjustments.

• From the homepage, click From File in the center.
• Or, use the left-side menu: click the + symbol and select From File.

A window will open. Follow the instructions to upload your project.

Note: The project has to be in a zip file.

2. Main Information: 

You have now entered your project.

The Main Information section contains the core details for your project. There you can find the information your players will see or hear when they first access your game in the TurfHunt app. It consists of 4 tabs:

   a) Front Page: Presentation Page (1st tab)

• Insert an image, like a logo or a photo.
• Add more languages if you want (just remember to provide translations at all points and challenges).
• Add an optional audio in your game introduction (to reduce download time for your players, keep any video files uploaded under 30 seconds).
• Adjust your project title if you need - the title (1) will be the name your players will see in the app while the alias on the left side is internal only (2).

• Add a Location Name/Subtitle.
• Add a description.
• Select the template of your choice to further customize your project's main page, or create your own template (developer tool - HTML and CSS).

The visual elements will show in the preview on the right side of the screen.

More info: How do I add a custom pin

3. Map Points:

In the ‘Map Points’ sections, you can include your location points (pins), establish connections between them to define the visiting order, create user-friendly paths to follow, or even upload your custom map. 

Map Points features:

Pan mode: Default mode. Navigation on the map.

Add Point: More info below (4).

Connect Pins: Establish the order of visiting locations by connecting pins. Using this feature, the location pins will be hidden from the map and will be revealed when within the designated radius with the aid of provided instructions or clues.

More in our help center: How to connect pins and hide the treasure locations from the map?

 Draw Path: How do I create a path between points on the map?

Custom map: How to upload a custom map?

4. Add Point (Location Point/Treasure Point):

• To add a point, on the "Map Points" page, click on "Add Point" or the blue + button.

• To edit the point name, simply click on the pencil icon.
• To add content and/or challenges to the point, you can either click ‘Open’ or directly press on the point to access its page. The green area around the point visualizes the triggering radius.

5. Add content to Points:

   a) Point Content and Popup Page:

Point Content:

Here, you can find the content your players will see and/or hear when the point opens. In the section: 

• Insert a thumb image, it can be a logo or a photo.
• Add more languages if you want (just remember to provide translations at all points and challenges).
• Add an introduction media: audio or video. This will play when this point is activated.

Popup Page:

Here you add a title to the point location/point treasure and some description text.

Select the template of your choice to further customize your point. You can use the default layout or choose a different one. For example, you can embed web content such as a YouTube video, showing store opening hours, and social media sharing.

   b) Activation:

Under the ‘Activation’ tab you can choose to enable the content activation through GPS or iBeacons. 

GPS:

• Longitude and Latitude: When adding a point, the coordinates of the point will automatically be set. Alternatively, you can add those coordinates yourself if you have them, you can find those coordinates using Google Maps.
• Activation radius: The radius is the triggering distance set around the location point.  When the player is within that set radius, the points’ information will trigger. More info: How do I configure the GPS triggering radius of a point?

iBeacons: Small wireless “beacon” devices which use minimal power and send frequent Bluetooth signals.

What are BLE Beacons?

What is UUID, major and minor number on Beacons?

Hide Pin Feature

   c) Add Challenge:

Now let’s add a challenge! Click on Challenges.

• Start by attributing a score for finding this treasure location.
• Select Add a challenge.

• Choose your challenge type from the list.
• Add content and describe the challenge when required. Examples: “you have 20 seconds to create a fun video”; or “match the pairs”; and so on.
• Select a score for completing the challenge successfully.
• Modify the order in which you want to show the challenges by dragging them and rearranging them as you want.

   d) Custom Pins:

Here you can upload your own customized pins for each individual points.

6. Settings:

Note: Specifying settings is optional. If not provided, the most common default settings will be applied. Otherwise, follow the instructions to customize your game.

a) General Settings: 

Note: Under the General Settings, you can find different sections. Some features are only accessible for customers who have a premium account or for customers who have their own branded apps. Amongst those options, choose if you want to collect players’ email addresses upon entering the game or import pins.

This is also where the Time-based game feature is. With Time-based game, players compete within a set time limit, and their scores is displayed on the scoreboard alongside the time taken. 

Finally, you can find the Author information and the Move Project options, handy feature if for example you want to assign your project to a member of your team (premium feature). 

b) Game Rewards:

Let’s move on to the 2nd tab of the settings section: Rewards. With this feature, you can reward players for finding a specific treasure location or earning a certain score.  

Watch our tutorial in the help center: How to add Rewards to a treasure hunt game?

   c) Publish Settings:

Here you can decide how the game will be played and how players participate.

• Players can start private games with multiple players
  When starting a private match, players can share an invitation code with their friends. Each private match creates a new game instance in the Game Control, meaning every match has its own separate scoreboard and results.

• Single-player game played offline
  Players can play independently without an internet connection. There is no shared scoreboard, and photos or videos will not be collected. All content and progress remain stored locally on the player’s device.

• One game for all players
  All players join the same match and appear on a shared scoreboard. With this option, you can also create teams. When teams are enabled, players collaborate to find location points and solve challenges together, and all teams are ranked within the same match and scoreboard.

7. Testing and Publishing

Now we’re ready to test our game. Select the Go Live button at the bottom of the left side panel.

First, you will want to make sure everything is set correctly in the publishing setting then click on Next in the right hand bottom corner. You will see the option to generate a test, so click on Generate Test. In this test mode you can test the game's content without the need for going on location. But if you want to test the accuracy of the challenge locations it is recommended to test the game on location as well.

Keep in mind that test games can only be used once, so if you making any edits or need to test the game on multiple devices, you will need to republish for testing again.