A contest is a fun, time-boxed game where employees compete for a prize, like solving a puzzle, guessing a code, or showing off a costume. Employees enter right in Bonusly, and winners earn points they can spend on rewards. You set the rules, the deadline, how many people can win, and who picks the winners.
This guide walks you through a Feed Treasure Hunt from start to finish. Once you’ve run one, you can reuse the same setup for trivia, bingo, costume contests, and more.
At a glance
Goal | Bring some fun to work and get people reading and celebrating each other’s recognition |
Who can join | Everyone, or a group such as one department, location, or team |
What you’ll set up | A place for people to submit answers, clues hidden in real recognition posts, and a launch message with a one-click way to enter |
Who runs it | Admin, with a few leaders who help hide the clues |
How often | Monthly or quarterly. Regular contests keep the feed lively, so pick the most frequent cadence your prize budget allows. |
How to measure | Number of entries, number of correct answers, and how much recognition happens during contest week |
Example: Run a Feed Treasure Hunt
In this example, five clues are hidden in recognition posts over five days. Each clue reveals one letter of a secret code, the winners will get a prize such as points or gifts. Participators will be able to claim incentive
Step 1: Collect everyone’s guesses in one place
A contest needs a fair, simple way for people to enter and for you to review the answers. Bonusly makes it easy to set up a single entry point where employees submit their answer, limit each person to one guess, and hold every entry until you’re ready to pick winners. In Bonusly, this is called an Incentives.
Here’s how to set it up:
Go to Admin > Recognition > Incentives and click Create new.
Describe the contest: name it Feed Treasure Hunt: Contst Challenge, add an image, and explain the rules, like “Find the five clues hidden in this week’s recognition posts and submit the secret code.
Choose who can join: leave it open to everyone, or click Filter audience to run it for one department or location first.
Set the prize and the one-guess rule: enter the points each winner earns, then choose Limit claims per employee, set it to 1, and choose lifetime.
Decide who sees each entry: write the message that posts when a winner is approved, like “Cracked the XYZ code!” Keep proof hidden from the feed so nobody can see other people’s answers.
Turn on approvals: choose Specific people must provide approvals and add yourself. This step matters. With automatic approval, every guess, right or wrong, would earn points immediately.
Click Create.
Step 2: Hide the clues in the feed
Hiding clues in recognition posts gets everyone reading the feed, and every clue comes with a real thank-you. Bonusly makes it easy for anyone to add a line of text to a recognition they’re already giving, so your clue keepers don’t need any special setup. In Bonusly, these are recognition posts.
Here’s how to set it up:
Pick five clue keepers, like team leads or executives, and give each one a day. If your leadership is busy or out of office, they can assign you (admin) as Delegate
Send each keeper their riddle and ask them to add it to the end of a real recognition they give that day.
Keep the answer key to yourself.
Use these riddles, or write your own. The first letter of each answer spells the code.
Step 3: Launch the hunt
People need to know the hunt is on and how to enter. Bonusly lets you post a message at the top of everyone’s homepage with a Claim button, so entering takes one click. You can also send it by email or to Slack. In Bonusly, this is called an announcement.
Here’s how to set it up:
On Monday morning, click Announce from the Givebox on your homepage.
Explain the hunt. For example: 🔎 Something mysterious is happening in our Bonusly feed! Every day this week, a 🔑 clue will be hidden inside a real recognition post. Solve each riddle and collect the first letter of its answer. By Friday, you’ll have a five-letter secret code. Click Claim Incentive below to submit it. ⚠️ You only get ONE guess!
Attach Feed Treasure Hunt: Contest from the incentive drop-down. A Claim Incentive button will appear on the announcement.
To reach a specific group, add a team handle in Who should see the announcement post. To reach people by email too, check Email from Bonusly, or choose to send it to Slack.
Click Post Learn more: Announcements. If employees ask how to enter, point them to Claiming Incentives.
Want a fun extra twist? Invite people to share their funniest wrong guesses in a Slack channel, without revealing their actual answers.
Step 4: Pick the winners and reveal the code
Holding every entry until the hunt ends keeps it fair: everyone gets the same chance, and nobody gets a second guess. Bonusly collects every entry in your approval queue so you can review them all at once.
Here’s how:
Wait until the hunt closes on Friday. Don’t approve or deny any entries before then. A denied entry frees up that person’s claim, so they could guess again.
Open your approval queue from the Action Items email or the Action Items page.
Post a new announcement revealing the code and celebrating the winners.
Learn more: Reviewing Pending Recognition Programs
More ways to run it
The same setup works for other contests. Change the name, what people submit, and how you pick winners.
Idea | What changes from the example | Learn how |
Photo contest | Ask for a photo as proof, like your best desk setup or pet in a costume, then give the best entry an award | |
Halloween costume or ugly sweater contest | Let employees nominate their favorite costumes, then give the winners an award | |
Sports bracket | Run the bracket outside Bonusly, then give the winner an award, like March Madness Champion | |
Hackathon | Let a panel of leaders give the winning team an award, with a gift attached | |
Raffle | Let everyone enter once with no proof, then draw winners from the entries and approve only them | |
Emoji or letter hunt | Make each clue a single emoji or letter instead of a riddle, for an easier hunt | |
Trivia | Post the questions in an announcement and ask for the answers as proof; approve everyone who gets them all right | |
Bingo | Share a bingo card in your announcement and let people claim once when they complete a row |
Measure it
A healthy contest draws more entries each time and gives the feed a visible bump in recognition during contest week.
What to check | Where to find it | When |
How many people entered and how many got it right | Your approval queue on the Action Items page, or Admin > Recognition > Incentives > Export to CSV | When the contest closes |
Whether the contest got people recognizing each other | Points Activity Report, comparing contest week with a normal week | After each contest |
Whether every team is taking part | Quarterly |
If entries drop, make the next contest easier, try a new format, or offer a bigger prize.
Note: You’ll need to be a global admin or have awards admin permissions, and contests can be run on the Organization plan.
FAQ
Can I limit everyone to one guess?
Yes, you can limit everyone to one guess. Choose Limit claims per employee, set it to 1, and choose lifetime. Leave every entry pending until the contest ends, because denying an entry lets that person claim again.
Can winners get a gift instead of points?
Yes, winners can get a gift instead of points. Set the incentive’s points to 0, then give each winner an award with a gift attached. Learn How to gift a reward