Treasure Hunt: are you in for the "treasure", or for the "hunt"?

For some time now, I've been "hunting" for Treasure Hunt Games... :))) Somehow that's funny 'cause it seems I'm not doing a good job as a treasure hunt game-hunter :D (yup, wrote it on purpose :P) Only recently, I got the chance to take part into one!

As I noticed, they are quite popular... Also part of the team-building activities provided to companies. But, as usually, my colleagues wouldn't vote for "such activities".

One day I learnt about a treasure hunt by bike :) that was music to my ears, as I very much enjoy bike-riding... As I was reading the event details in parallel to getting my hopes up :P I noticed it was organised for children. Someone "Treasure hunt" - game provider should really consider this idea!

Treasure hunt for tickets to concerts. This was last month, but I was at work :-) oh well... I didn't feel so much regret when paying the concert ticket, as I felt for missing out on the Ticket-hunt fun and excitement!

Sooner or later I was going to find one suitable for me, my schedule, my adult age, my friends :-) and I did!
Initially, I evaluated the treasure hunt as a fun activity! After trying it, I'd like to assign also exciting, adrenalin rush and must try :D as #tags to this activity!
It all depends pretty much on the quality of organization, but I enjoyed it, in spite of the flosses,
I feel we lost precious time due to some organisation topics, but let's assume we all did (equal disadvantage for all teams :))) seems fair)

Most of the teams were parents & children. Were the adults in, only for the children? or also a little bit for them? :-) cause in the essence... we are all children somewhere deep down in our souls... Some of us keep a strong connection with the inner-child, others may get way too carried away by daily tasks and loose this connection; stop "feeding" the child; stop playing... And once we've stopped playing, we start aging; we grow old; the soul looses it's vitality!

And that's why... I was in, for the hunt! Not for the treasure, not for the prizes, not for the winner-cups. I was in for the mission, I was in for the new experience, for the adventure: collecting clues from different places of the old city center.
I was in, for the adrenaline rush; in my mind I was running from one location to the other :-)

We didn't win any prize, but we completed the quest successfully... Yay!!! :D
I was amazed to find out that, a lot of teams gave up the quest, as soon as all the prizes were taken, by the first 3 teams (when all treasures had been hunted :D)... Those people were in for the "treasure", the prize, the material gain (not so much worth, by the way!); they were not in for the "hunt"; and I'm not even sure they were in for the fun... Because highly competitive people never get to really enjoy the game... or do they? I believe  that the stress of not failing and the fear of loosing will darken the "fun" part and throw it into question.

I didn't feel like we (my team) lost, just because we didn't complete the mission on the first three positions (on the clock). But, I would have felt we lost if we hadn't completed the quest at all. But we did! We gathered all clues from around the city and found the final Password... we were just not as fast :D as the winner teams... should have brought running shoes :-) then, the adrenaline rush wouldn't have been only in my head :-)))

All in all, my prize was completing the mission, a prize for the soul, that brightened my day... as each day, in which I try some cool activity-thing, becomes brighter and full of positive energy! :-D