Treasure hunts and riddles have fascinated humankind for centuries. The thrill of solving cryptic clues to find hidden riches never seems to get old. This article features 83 riddles all about uncovering treasure, with the answers provided at the end. Test your deductive skills and see if you can figure them out before peeking at the solutions.
Why do we love treasure hunt riddles so much? For starters, they appeal to our sense of adventure. Imagining yourself as an intrepid explorer tracking down long lost loot is exciting. These brainteasers also let us flex our mental muscles. Figuring out the twisted hints and unraveling each puzzle gives our minds a stimulating workout. Additionally, the reward of finally decoding the riddle to uncover the prize is extremely satisfying. Solving the mysteries and collecting the treasure, whether real or imaginary, gives us a great sense of accomplishment.
Treasure hunt riddles come in all shapes and sizes. Some provide cryptic clues leading to a hidden prize. Others are lateral thinking puzzles where you need to look at the words from creative angles. Some rely on plays on words while others employ rhymes and riddles. The common thread is they all take some mental maneuvering to arrive at the solution.
Are you ready to decipher some treasure hunt brainteasers? Grab your thinking cap and see if you can untangle these 83 mystifying riddles before checking the answer key.
Riddles
1. Many have heard, but nobody has seen, this treasure inside Hallow’s Green. What is it?
2. This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down. What is it?
3. You bury me when I’m alive and dig me up when I die. What am I?
4. I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for over five minutes. What am I?
5. I have cities with no people, oceans with no water, and mountains with no land. What am I?
6. You can find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?
7. I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
8. I run but cannot walk. Wherever I go, thoughts are close behind me. What am I?
9. You heard me before, yet you hear me again, then I die, ’til you call me again. What am I?
10. I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
11. What gets wetter the more it dries?
12. Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
13. What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you?
14. The more you take away, the larger I become. What am I?
15. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
16. What has a neck but no head?
17. What starts with ‘e’ and ends with ‘e’ and only contains one letter?
18. You see me once in June, twice in November and not at all in May. What am I?
19. What 8-letter word can have a letter taken away and it still makes a word? Take another letter away and it still makes a word. Keep on doing that until you have one letter left. What is the word?
20. What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
21. I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can never touch me. What am I?
22. What never asks questions but is often answered?
23. The maker doesn’t need it, the buyer doesn’t use it, and the user doesn’t see it. What is it?
24. What has a head and a tail but no body?
25. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and water but no fish. What am I?
26. What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
27. I’m light as a feather yet the strongest person can’t hold me for much more than a minute. What am I?
28. I have a head like a cat. My foot is used for measurement, and I sleep with my tail in my mouth. What am I?
29. What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it?
30. I can point without hands, but I cannot speak without a mouth. What am I?
31. What has words but never speaks?
32. I am weightless but you can still see me. Put me in a bucket and I’ll make it lighter. What am I?
33. What is seen in the middle of March and April, that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
34. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
35. What can you catch but not throw?
36. I have four wings, but cannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; On the same spot I’m always found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?
37. What flows and has banks and beds but contains no water?
38. What has hands but can’t clap?
39. What has one eye but can’t see?
40. What stays where it is when it goes off?
41. I have one eye but cannot see. I feel around in darkness on woven feet. I follow the tracks of man and beast. I grow each night and vanish each day. What am I?
42. I run cold and hot, above and below. I crack and moan, but I never go. What am I?
43. I follow you wherever you go. What am I?
44. I’m bigger than an elephant but lighter than a feather. What am I?
45. I have rivers with no water, forests without trees, and mountains without rocks. What am I?
46. What comes down but does not go up?
47. What gets broken without being held?
48. What’s full of holes yet still holds water?
49. I am a seed with three letters in my name. Take away the last two and I still sound the same. What am I?
50. I come one in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years. What am I?
51. Though liquid in nature, don’t push me too far, for then I will break, and the damage may scar. What am I?
52. I am always around, but never seen. I’m often avoided, but you can’t outrun me. What am I?
53. The eight of us go forth, not back, to protect our king from a foe’s attack. What are we?
54. I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone, and cities with no buildings. What am I?
55. Sitting on my nest, you may think me at rest, until I spread my wings and up through the sky I soar. What am I?
56. What climbs up the walls as you lower it?
57. What sits in a cave by a moonlit lake under a sea of stars?
58. Add me each night and remove me each dawn, and I’ll be very strong in a week. What am I?
59. In a marble hall white as milk, lined with skin as soft as silk, within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple doth appear. No doors are there to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold. How is this possible to do?
60. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
61. I am a protector. I sit on guard. I will let you pass only if you say the magic word. What am I?
62. I am sometimes white and always wrong. What am I?
63. You can drop me from the tallest building and I’ll be fine, but if you drop me in water I die. What am I?
64. I can be long or I can be short. I can be grown and I can be bought. I can be painted or left bare. I can be round or square. What am I?
65. I am where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow’s in the middle. What am I?
66. The more places I be, the less you can see. What am I?
67. You can sow me but not reap me. What am I?
68. I run but I have no legs. I have a mouth but I do not eat. What am I?
69. I go around in circles, but always straight ahead. Never complain, no matter where I am led. What am I?
70. I go up but never come down. What am I?
71. I have a mouth but cannot chew. What am I?
72. I always run but never walk, often murmur but never talk, I have a bed but never sleep, I have a mouth but never eat. What am I?
73. What word begins and ends with an ‘e’ but only has one letter?
74. A head and a tail I may have, but never hair and I’m not a coin. What am I?
75. Money I am, but not gold or jewels. I’ve been called mad and paper fools. I rise and fall and rise again, yet never in value obtain. What am I?
76. I am many and one. I shine brightly in the sky. I cast a shadow at night. I am essential to life. What am I?
77. What can fill a room but takes up no space?
78. I have no mouth but I can cause howls. I have no legs but I can walk. I expand but can vanish at any time. What am I?
79. What goes up but never comes down?
80. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
81. I am born in the morning, die at night, and am reborn at dawn. What am I?
82. What has a neck and no head, two arms but no hands?
83. There are three sisters: one gives birth to the other, and the second gives birth to the third. Who are they?
Answers
1. Rumour
2. Time
3. Plant seeds
4. Breath
5. A map
6. The letter ‘a’
7. A candle
8. A river
9. An echo
10. A bank
11. A towel
12. Ton
13. Your name
14. A hole
15. A keyboard
16. A bottle
17. Envelope
18. The letter ‘e’
19. Starting
20. Short
21. Shadow
22. A doorbell
23. A coffin
24. A coin
25. A map
26. Stairs
27. Breath
28. A riddle (or catfish)
29. Teapot
30. A finger
31. A book
32. A hole
33. The letter ‘r’
34. Footsteps
35. A cold
36. A windmill
37. Traffic
38. A clock
39. A needle
40. An alarm clock
41. Shadow
42. Ice
43. Your shadow
44. A cloud
45. A map
46. Rain
47. A promise
48. A sponge
49. Pea
50. The letter ‘m’
51. Trust
52. Tomorrow
53. Chess pawns
54. A map
55. A bird
56. Water
57. A thief
58. Tide
59. An egg
60. The letter ‘r’
61. A lock
62. A mistake
63. Paper
64. A nail
65. Dictionary
66. Darkness
67. Wild oats
68. A river
69. A wheel
70. Age
71. A river
72. A river
73. Envelope
74. A worm
75. Currency
76. Stars
77. Light
78. An echo
79. Age
80. Silence
81. Day
82. A shirt
83. Dawn, day, night
Conclusion
How did you do with these cryptic treasure riddles? Some are simple plays on words, while others require looking at things from an unconventional perspective. A few rely on lateral thinking to arrive at the unexpected solution. Solving riddles flexes mental muscles and builds critical thinking skills. The thrill of finally working out the “Aha!” moment is very rewarding.
Treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, and riddle games have been popular for centuries. They appeal to the explorer spirit in many of us. There is something magical about following a trail of clues to uncover a prize at the end. The more cryptic the clues, the sweeter the reward of discovery feels when we decode the riddles.
Treasure and riddle themes show up often in books, film, games, and party activities. They let us imagine embarking on an epic quest for riches and adventure. Figuring out puzzles along the way taps into our competitive streak and lets us show off our wit and deductive abilities. Playing with others builds camaraderie as you work together to unravel the clues.
Riddles are ageless, fun for old and young alike. Inserting a riddle treasure hunt into stories helps build suspense and engagement. The sense of mystery and discovery is timeless. So gather friends,family or co-workers and try solving some treasure riddle games together. Just be prepared for some head scratching, creative thinking and plenty of “Aha!” moments along the way.
