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How to Choose a Team Building Game Platform
Choose a team building game platform by where your team will be and whether you order the event or run the games yourself. Here's how the three GPS game types, indoor mode and virtual events compare.
Choosing a team building game platform comes down to two questions. Where will your team be on the day of the event: in one place, remote, or split between the two? And do you want to order a ready-made event, or create content and run the games yourself? TerraHunt handles both paths, because it’s built on GPS games for tablets and phones, our own software and our own content.
At a Glance
Before you get into the details, here’s the whole decision boiled down to four situations.
- Your team will be together: you play outdoors, with indoor mode in a hall as backup.
- Your team works remotely: go for a virtual event of a story game, connected via Teams, Zoom or Meet.
- You want a ready-made event: you order full-service event management, and we bring the tablets and instructors.
- You want to run the games yourself: you get a license and create your own content in the platform.
What a Game Platform Is
A team building game platform is software that lets you create and manage team games and run them through a mobile app. That covers Treasure Hunts, quizzes, cipher games and interactive guides to a location. With TerraHunt, teams have tablets or phones running our GPS app and see a map with treasures on the screen.
You only need three words of vocabulary. A Treasure is a question or task that appears to the team on the spot. A Game is a set of treasures put together by game type, and an Event is the specific occasion when your group plays on a given day.
Treasures unlock as soon as the team reaches them. The activation radius is roughly 10 to 40 meters, depending on the terrain and the nature of the game.
Behind the platform is our own software and content we create ourselves. We’ve been running Treasure Hunts since 2013, and in that time we’ve played thousands of games across the Czech Republic and abroad.
Team building geolocation games for companies are team activities in which colleagues have to agree and solve tasks together. That’s exactly what makes them more than a walk with a phone in hand.
Who Is Behind the Platform
There are plenty of game platforms for Treasure Hunt activities. Some are built by professional software studios, others by individuals. Often the people behind them are IT specialists who see the platform as software and nothing more. They have no experience creating games, let alone running events in the field.
On the other side are team building companies that rent a game platform. They create great games, but they have no say in the software side of the platform.
We at Z-AGENCY, the operator of the TerraHunt game platform, do both. We run the platform development ourselves: several teams work on the game server and the game apps, and we test new features in the field ourselves. Our own team creates both field games and story games, and we revise the field games regularly. And we run corporate events on the platform ourselves.
That is why we get client feedback first, not only on the mobile app but also on the quality of the games and how the whole event went. Development, game design, operations and maintenance of the platform are all in one pair of hands.
Three Game Types
The platform runs three equal formats. They don’t differ in how hard the questions are, but in what the team sees on the map and whether it picks the order of the treasures itself.
In a Treasure Hunt, neither the smarter nor the faster team wins. The winner is the more patient and observant team, the one that explores its surroundings and finds the answer on the ground.
The number of treasures isn’t the main thing. Every game keeps a team busy for 2 to 3 hours, and more treasures mainly means more room for strategy (in other words, longer debates about where to head first).
- Treasure Hunt: all the treasures are visible on the map and the order is open, so the team plans its own route and strategy.
- Challenge Tour: all the treasures are visible but numbered, and the team works through them in a fixed order from start to finish. Photo Tour is a version of it.
- Mystery Trail: the map only ever shows the next of the treasures, and the route isn’t known in advance. Wrong answers add penalty treasures.
Outdoors, Indoors, Online
Story games have one script and three settings. The ciphers, rebuses, puzzles and quiz work outdoors, in indoor mode in a hall, and as a virtual event; we build the route for the outdoor version around your venue.
City games work the other way around. They exist for a specific location and the questions are tied to the place, so we don’t build anything; we just pick the best game in the location where you meet.
The virtual event is designed for a team that isn’t physically together. One person works from home, another from a branch abroad. Players run the game in a web browser, get the questions one at a time, and the team connects via Teams, Zoom or Meet.
A virtual event doesn’t make sense for city games. The answers to their questions are right there in the street, on a facade or by a statue, and you can’t get there from a screen.
Order It or Run It Yourself
The platform works with three roles, and each one fits a different need. Pick the one that matches how you operate.
For hotels and resorts, we create a game tailored to their surroundings. Guests start it with a QR code at the front desk and head out without an instructor whenever it suits them.
If you want an event for your own team every now and then, ordering one is enough. A license makes sense when you run games repeatedly and want to change the content yourself.
- Client: orders full-service event management. We bring the tablets and instructors, prepare the game and score it, and the team just plays.
- Creator: builds their own games in the platform under a license, creates their own content and runs the games themselves.
- Local partner: builds the TerraHunt brand in their country or region and becomes the local operator, typically a travel or event agency.
What If It Rains
The program goes ahead on the original date, whatever the weather. The guarantee is part of every order, with no surcharge and no exceptions.
When it rains, a story game runs in indoor mode instead of the classic Treasure Hunt. The team sits together in a hall, meeting room or restaurant, and the questions appear on screen one after another.
You hook the game up to a space you’ve already booked. The virtual version only comes into play when circumstances keep the team from meeting in person.
How to Choose a Platform
Start with where the team will be on the day of the event. A team that’s together plays outdoors with indoor mode as backup, while a remote team goes for a virtual event of a story game. With a hybrid team, decide whether you’ll meet that day and choose one of the two paths accordingly.
The second criterion is group size. Challenge Tour, with its fixed order, suits smaller groups, Mystery Trail handles a mid-sized event, and Treasure Hunt, with its open order of treasures, can carry events for hundreds of people.
The third is language. Games are routinely produced in Czech and English versions, but each event runs in a single delivery language that applies to all participants.
Before you send an inquiry, get clear on these points:
- Where will the team be on the day of the event: together, remote, or split?
- How many people will play, and should they compete in a fixed order or choose their own strategy?
- Do you want to order the event, or run the games yourself under a license?
- What language will the participants play in?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TerraHunt a Game Platform or a Team Building Agency?
A game platform. TerraHunt is a registered EU trademark, and the platform is operated by Z-AGENCY s.r.o. from Brno, which also uses it to put together full-service corporate events for companies.
Do We Need Our Own Tablets?
No, you don’t. With full-service event management, we bring the tablets and instructors, and the game can be played on tablets or phones with our GPS app.
What Happens If It Rains on the Day of the Event?
The event goes ahead on the original date. Instead of the classic Treasure Hunt, a story game runs in indoor mode and the team plays together in a hall or restaurant.
Can We Play with a Team That Works Remotely?
Yes, as a virtual event of a story game in a web browser, connected via Teams, Zoom or Meet. City games aren’t played remotely, because the answers are right there in the streets.
Can We Create Games Ourselves?
Yes. In the Creator role, you get a license, build your own content in the platform and launch games whenever you need to.
Planning a Corporate Event?
Send us the date, venue and number of players, and we’ll suggest a Treasure Hunt, Challenge Tour or Mystery Trail, complete with our guarantee in case of rain. Want to build and run games yourself? Ask about a Creator license. The software and content are our own, so we’ll customize the game for your venue and your people.
Sherlock Holmes’ Cases
Our instructors run the game with tablets, or you start it yourselves on your phones. Tell us the number of people and the date, we will get back to you the same day.
Summary
- A team building game platform is software that lets you create and manage team games and run them through a mobile app.
- Pick a platform by where your team will be on the day (together, remote or split) and by whether you order the event or run the games yourself under a license.
- The TerraHunt platform runs three game types: Treasure Hunt with an open order, Challenge Tour with a fixed order and Mystery Trail with an unknown route.
- Z-AGENCY develops the platform, creates and revises the games and runs corporate events itself, so it gets feedback on the software and the event first.
- If it rains, a story game runs in indoor mode instead of the classic Treasure Hunt. The guarantee is part of every order.
Want to order an event or try a Creator license? Write to us and we will tell you which path fits your team.
