This Feb. 27, Miami residents should clear their schedules and mark their calendars: Treasure Quest Adventures is hosting a city-wide treasure hunt, open to all ages and COVID-friendly. The prize? $10,000 in cash.

Ian Lovejoy founded Treasure Quest Adventures in Aug. 2020, with the first treasure quest designed for the Washington, D.C. area. 

“I wanted to create a fun, family-friendly activity that combined elements of a trivia night and an escape room, but that allowed you to experience your community in a way you never have before,” Lovejoy said. 

Since the D.C. treasure hunts, TQA has hosted six additional hunts in locations such as Montgomery, Fairfax, Prince William and Dallas Counties. When the weather gets warmer, TQA plans to offer even more events, as, thus far, participants have responded positively.

“We are going to continue to roll out in various cities and hope to do 10 events in 10 weeks through summer and spring,” Lovejoy said. “People love the unique way we deliver clues, how diverse they are and to explore their community.”

TQA designs the clues so anyone can participate, but the quests are still challenging. 

“We try to focus on clues and riddles that are hard or impossible to Google so that it’s truly a game of your own wits,” Lovejoy said. “The questions range from math puzzles to trivia to audio clues and are geared towards a broad age range.” 

On top of being a fun way to show off trivia knowledge and quick-thinking skills, the hunts are well-suited for a pandemic age, designed for “individuals or small groups,” according to their website. In addition, the nature of a city-wide treasure hunt means that participants can easily spread out, but TQA still had to be mindful of where they put clues.

 “We had to make sure the physical locations we use are accommodating to larger groups so people can social distance,” Lovejoy said. 

TQA also takes care to use interesting, unusual locations to make the questing more exciting.

“When it comes to physical checkpoints, we [have a] bias towards locations that are off the beaten path,” Lovejoy said. “We do a site visit to map out the events and talk to locals then.”

The opportunity to spend time outdoors, safely explore and discover the community and work with friends and family is invaluable, especially during COVID-19. 

“Knowing that people are using our platform to explore with friends and family [is most rewarding],” Lovejoy said.

Anywhere from two to three-and-a-half hours long, the upcoming Miami quest is free for participants under the age of 18; anyone older needs to buy a ticket ($55). To sign up, register at https://finishthequest.com/registration. At 11 a.m. on Feb. 27, participants receive access to the Clue Portal and can begin the quest.

If unable to make it on the 27th, TQA has scheduled a few more events for the South Florida area, including in Fort Lauderdale/Broward on Mar. 6, West Palm Beach on Mar. 13 and Miami-Dade again on Mar. 20. The prize for each of these hunts is $1,000, with tickets costing $35.