Quests – Explorers' Expeditions
A QUEST is an educational outdoor game that combines fun and learning, a treasure hunt and the joy of discovery!
QUESTY – Wyprawy Odkrywców (Explorers’ Expeditions; from the English word quest – a task, a riddle) are outdoor games based on treasure hunting. They need no staff or waymarking in the field, so unlike scouting games or city games they can be played almost at any time. The game is a walk along the quest route. All you need is a leaflet or the free Questy – Wyprawy Odkrywców mobile app. Leaflets are available at selected tourist information points or as a file to download from questy.org.pl. Reading the rhymed clues, players follow the quest in the field and learn the secrets of the place. At the end of the route a “treasure” awaits the explorers – a final box containing a commemorative stamp and the Quest Book. The stamp imprint and an entry in the Book confirm that the route has been completed.
Quest portal
On the national quest portal www.questy.org.pl we provide over 1,000 quests all over Poland. They can be downloaded as a printable PDF leaflet, or played with the free “Questy – Wyprawy Odkrywców” mobile app for Android and iOS. A user account on the portal lets you, among other things, earn the national PTTK Questy – Wyprawy Odkrywców badge, take part in competitions and browse quest stamps.
Why Quests?
Life is a journey, and the point of travelling lies in constant discovery and in new ways of looking at what surrounds us. Real discovery – not a simulation of it in front of a computer screen in a dark room. How many young people now spend their free time without movement, sun or fresh air, absorbed in games that do not develop them physically and give no real satisfaction of reaching a goal?
We created quests, outdoor games, to give people a treasure: adventure. To make it available anytime and free of charge. We wanted them, while playing, to discover the most precious treasures hidden in the world around them: the heritage of generations and the priceless works of nature and human hands, which truly enrich those who get to know them. And we wanted all of this to take an attractive form that draws them into an adventure – the kind the authors of the most gripping stories instinctively reach for, where rhymed, puzzling verses force the hero to prove worthy of the secret.
We were not alone – we were inspired by the American Steven Glazer, the creator of questing worldwide, who granted us a licence to develop questing. But that was only the beginning of our adventure.
Quest workshops
We usually create quests together with local communities – young people, adults and seniors alike. Workshop participants share their knowledge of the place, design the quest route together, and create rhymed clues, riddles, drawings and a stamp. Along the way they discover new facts about their town – and their own talents. Thanks to their involvement, they also become ambassadors of the game they have created.
