A real treasure hunt, and a game that follows you home
Families solve hand-built puzzle quests for real, at New England’s Renaissance faires and on the streets of Salem, then keep playing the heroes they unlock in a free game at home.
X Treasure Hunt makes real-world treasure-hunt quests, at Renaissance faires and on the streets of Salem, that unlock heroes in a free adventure game families keep playing at home.
In one paragraph
Founded in 2023 in Marshfield, Massachusetts, X Treasure Hunt turns a day out into a puzzle adventure families solve together. At New England’s Renaissance faires, a printed map and a cipher wheel lead players around the grounds to a locked chest; finishing a quest unlocks heroes in a free adventure game that plays in the browser at home, with no app, no ads and no loot boxes. Quests are made for ages 6 and up, from $10. In 2026 the company ran quests at three New England faires, and its first town trail, the Salem Hold in Salem, Massachusetts, is opening soon.
Why it exists
“Every summer on the beach in Chatham, Massachusetts, my Uncle Chuck turned our family vacation into a real treasure hunt: a hand-drawn map, handwritten clues rolled up and hidden across the sand, each one leading to the next, until we were digging up a chest he’d built and filled with toys and candy. I started X Treasure Hunt to give every family that same feeling — solving it together, and the moment the shovel hits the chest.”
Tino, founder of X Treasure Hunt
Fast facts
Founded
2023, Marshfield, Massachusetts
Founder
Tino
What
Real-world puzzle quests that unlock heroes in a free adventure game at home
Who it’s for
Families, ages 6+ · Beginner 30–45 min, Advanced 60–90 min
Price
Faire quests from $10 · the game at home is free, no app
The game
24 painted heroes · no ads · no chat · no loot boxes
2026 faires
Robin Hood's Medieval Faire (Harwinton, CT) · Maine Renaissance Faire (Acton, ME) · Connecticut Renaissance Faire (Lebanon, CT)
Salem
The Salem Hold, two puzzle trails, opening soon · main trail 6 stops, 2 km flat loop
At the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, families in costume crack the cipher wheels and open the chest. Finish any CT quest and the Corsair, a pirate hero, joins the crew in the game. Bonus prizes at the booth all weekend, in Pirate Cove.
A printed map and a cipher wheel lead families station to station around the faire grounds to a locked chest. A Beginner quest takes 30–45 min, an Advanced quest 60–90 min.
The quest doesn’t end at the gate: the heroes a family unlocks carry on in a free browser game, with 24 painted heroes, worlds to explore, and trophies that are earned, never sold.
A lantern-lit scavenger hunt through 1800s maritime Salem. Your phone unlocks each stop. Two trails: The Lost Journal of the Autumn Star, 6 stops on a 2 km flat loop (ages 9+ with a grown-up), and Barnacle’s Lantern Walk, a shorter walk for ages 6–9. October weekends are Haunted Happenings: downtown streets close to cars from mid-morning. Arrive early, or come by train.
Salem is the first Hold: a puzzle trail on a town’s own streets that visitors walk with their phones, with a new story each season and no staff on the street. More towns follow in 2027.
