FAQs – Clue & Compass

Clue & Compass creates family-friendly, story-driven scavenger hunts in New York City. You’ll get a mystery to solve, clues to follow, and real places to explore—designed for kids and grown-ups to enjoy together. Hunts are self-guided (no tour leader) and you go at your own pace.

All of the storylines behind Clue & Compass quests are fictional, but it's fun to be able to feel that you’ve stumbled into a real secret society or hidden inheritance. Participants don’t need to believe the stories are literally real to enjoy the puzzles and adventure, but we've tried our best to make the quests clever enough that both kids and adults feel like they are truly solving a mystery.

Absolutely. Clue & Compass hunts make excellent gifts—especially for families who want memorable experiences instead of more "stuff." Every hunt comes with a downloadable, personalized certificate that’s perfect for printing or emailing alongside a birthday or holiday card. Just look for emailed instructions for how to customize your certificate(s) after purchase.

No! Each hunt is designed for a team to play together. In fact, many of the puzzles and activities are intentionally crafted to spark group brainstorming and collaboration — solving mysteries together is part of the fun.

But for the quest to feel authentic, the story needs to flow to a single physical address (or one email address, in the case of Mini Quests). If the same quest is played in parallel by different teams, it takes away some of the magic: the messages won’t feel unique, the puzzles risk being “spoiled” a few minutes or days ahead, and the sense that your team has been chosen to solve the mystery can get lost.

That’s why each quest is directed to one group at a time. Once you’ve completed it, you’re welcome to recommend it to friends — but they’ll want to start fresh with their own copy of the adventure. To keep the mystery alive, we suggest sharing your enthusiasm, not any details. The fun comes from discovering the story, the challenge, and the locations step by step — and that magic only works if each team gets to experience it for themselves.

Quests are designed for a team to share one device and solve the mystery side by side. That means the ideal group size is usually limited to the number of people who can comfortably gather around a phone at once — big enough for collaboration, but small enough that everyone stays engaged.

For most families, that sweet spot is 3–6 players. Larger groups may find that some kids (or adults!) drift to the sidelines, while smaller groups will get the full experience of working together at every location.

NYC is home base. Additional cities and travel-destination hunts are planned—join our list to hear when new cities launch.

Signature Deluxe (our most popular): Includes pre-trip letters, puzzles, and immersive keepsakes delivered to your door. The participating family will select the first mailing date to start the pre-quest story 2–3 weeks before doing the physical hunt—so the adventure starts early! This timeline is part of the fun, but keep it in mind when ordering.

Mini Experience: The same on-the-ground hunt in NYC, but without the mailed story packets. Great for last-minute trips or families who want to jump straight into the action.

Hunts are designed for families with kids ages 4–12 in mind, but younger kids can tag along and even teens and adults enjoy them too. Puzzles range in difficulty so that kids can take the lead while adults help with reading, navigation, and trickier codes. Each quest also gives a suggested groups that might enjoy that specific storyline content the most. We’ve created every adventure thoughtfully so that all ages can participate and find something to enjoy—whether it’s solving a code, noticing a clue, or piecing the story together as a team.

Unless specifically noted (some find ghosts and spooky themes thrilling!), Clue & Compass' quests are mysterious and adventurous, but not frightening. Our primary aim is family fun, not horror.

Nope—we keep the surprises secret. Part of the magic is not knowing exactly what’s coming until you’re there.

That said, we completely get it that you might want to know what you're getting ahead of time, especially if it is a gift. Check out our How It Works page for further details about how our quests work, without giving away the actual storylines or mysteries.

For Signature Deluxe, you’ll be able to choose from our available mailing start dates. The exact delivery day is in the hands of the post office, but letters usually arrive within 4–7 days. Deluxe includes two mailings: first a letter to set the stage and kick things off, then an activity packet about a week later.

Technically, you can start the on-the-ground quest at any time once you have your access code—but it’s much more fun if you’ve already received and completed the mailed activities first (that’s part of the magic!).

For the Mini Experience, there are no mailings at all—so you can begin your quest within minutes of purchase.

In both versions, your quest code will stay valid for 3 months after purchase.

If you choose the Signature Deluxe, the adventure starts at home with a handful of pre-trip activities. These can be done at your own pace—expect a few short puzzles or projects that take about 5–10 minutes each, depending the age of the child[ren].

For both the Deluxe and Mini versions, the in-person quest is designed to take a couple of hours from the time that you arrive at the first stop. This assumes a relaxed, steady pace: enough time to enjoy the clues and the city without rushing, but if you want to linger and explore each stop further, you can easily extend the fun.

With either version, you can pause whenever you like and even pick up on another day. That said, the storyline is most exciting when you follow it straight through—the momentum and anticipation build best that way!

Yes and no. Some of the mailed activities in the Signature Deluxe version are just for fun and not required to move forward in the quest. But for the most part, we’ve designed the quests so every action feels purposeful in unlocking the mystery. Don’t worry—everything you need to complete will be clearly marked, and there are always helpful hints available if you get stuck. We’ve worked hard to make things challenging enough to be fun for all ages, but never so difficult that you’ll feel lost.

No guide, no fixed start time. We generally assume that families will want to complete our quests during daylight hours for convenience and safety reasons, but participants decide what works best for their group. If a location has limited hours, we’ll note that up front.

Hints and answer checks are built in, so you'll never get stuck without a way out. Our quests are designed to provide a fun— and rewarding—challenge.

– A charged smartphone.
– Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate gear.
– A pen or pencil and a small notebook or scrap paper.
– For Signature Deluxe quests: bring the keepsakes/props when prompted (they’re part of the fun, not mandatory).

All of your quest materials are included in your purchase. The only possible extra costs are things like your own transportation between stops (subway fare, taxis, etc.), snacks, or souvenirs you might choose to buy along the way. Most of our hunts are designed to be walkable adventures—you’ll explore a neighborhood at a steady, family-friendly pace.

The one exception is Secrets of the Subway Society: this quest takes you underground into New York’s transit history, so you’ll need to budget for subway fare (an OMNY tap for each rider over 44"). We like to think of it as part of the story—you can’t join a secret subway society without actually riding the subway! 🚇

Unfortunately not at this time—our Signature Deluxe mailings only ship within the United States. We’d love to expand in the future, though! If you’re outside the U.S. and would be interested, please reach out—if there’s enough demand, we may add international shipping down the road.

That said, our Mini Experience has no mailings at all—so it’s available to anyone, anywhere. If you’re planning a trip to New York, Mini is a great way to jump right into the adventure without waiting for the mail.

Our goal is for every customer to be totally satisfied with their purchase. If this isn't the case, let us know and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right.

Email us anytime at support@clueandcompass.com. Just tell us your order number and/or which hunt you’re planning, and we’ll jump in as quickly as possible.

Frequently asked questions

🧭 About Clue & Compass

🎒 Choosing the Right Quest

🕵️ Completing QUESTs

🚚 Shipping & Order Support