About

Dedicated to Outstanding Adventures and Superior Scavenger Hunts

Watson Adventures sprang from the mind of Bret Watson, a veteran writer and editor (and occasional stand-up comedian), who started creating scavenger hunts in the early ’90s for friends as a way to share his unique take on the lighter side of museums. As word of the unusual scavenger hunts spread, companies began to ask Bret to let them get in the game, and a business was born.

Since then, Watson Adventures has grown to span the nation, with more than 200,000 people participating in hunts, including employees of more than 1,000 prestigious corporations. All the while, Watson Adventures’ scavenger hunts have received more media raves and other acclaim than any other company of its kind. Below, you can learn more about the creative, clever crew who’ve made our success possible.

Bret Watson, owner of Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts

Bret Watson

Founder & President

Bret found the inspiration to create his first scavenger hunt on a 1993 visit to one of his favorite haunts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon discovering humorous details in works of art—like a woman spanking her husband on a medieval brass bowl—Bret realized that scavenger hunts would be a smart, amusing way for his friends to have fun while seeing the quirkier sides of interesting places. Corporate groups soon took notice, and requests for privately staged hunts led to the birth of Watson Adventures in 1999. A Princeton graduate, Bret is a former journalist who has served as a writer and editor at Entertainment Weekly and numerous other magazines. Bret lives in New York with his wife, Nicole, and their two cats, who feel that the hunts could use more mice.

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Julie Jacobs

Chief Development Officer

When Julie became Watson Adventures’ first employee in 2001, her friends and family weren’t surprised—she’s always been a lover of games, and she used to organize her own scavenger hunts for friends. Previously she’d spent 12 years in the advertising and publishing industries, working for such companies as Time Inc. and Ogilvy & Mather. She lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband, A.J. Jacobs (Esquire writer and author of The Year of Living Biblically), and her sons, Zane, Lucas, and Jasper. Besides chasing after three young boys, her other hobbies include trying new restaurants and seeing movies (she’s seen every Oscar-nominated film of the last 50 years).

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Stacy King

General Manager

Her love of travel (Morocco! Greece! New Jersey!), combined with her smarts about the arts (she holds a BA in painting from the University of the Arts in Philly and a Masters in Art Education from the City University of New York), make Stacy a perfect fit for Watson Adventures. She has been keeping hunts running smoothly since 2002 and has donned just about every hat within the company. (You may have caught her as a hunt MC, though don’t be confused—her twin sister, Shannon, also MCs for WA in Boston.) Stacy lives with her husband Mark, daughter Vivian, and cat Stella in Astoria, Queens, where she enjoys toys and a good cup of coffee with a chocolate croissant.

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Rachel Duncan

Producer/Manager of Public Hunts/Customer Relations

You may not have seen Rachel Duncan’s work over the past ten years, but if you’ve been on a Watson Adventures scavenger hunt, listened to their voicemail, or engaged in video game mayhem on the streets of Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV, you have definitely been in the presence of her greatness. A superstar problem solver, Rachel fixes and manages all of Watson Adventures’ hunt materials, while also managing the public hunts and customer relations. A former marketing guru and current voiceover artist and mom, Rachel doesn’t have to be seen to be appreciated.

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Judy Reggio

Senior Writer

Once dubbed “The Barbara Walters of Puff Journalism” by some C-list comedian whose name escapes her at the moment, Judy began her career in writing shortly after earning her BA from Marist College in 1989. She cut her creative teeth working for a television entertainment publication, where perks included a lovely lunch with Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson (who taught her to always sit on the strap of her pocketbook while dining out), a titillating hour in a hotel room interviewing her former teen crush, Scott Baio, and a soul-crushing ten minutes on the phone trying to extract “Fun Holiday Tips” from Martha Stewart. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Cable Guide, TV Guide, Seventeen, Parents, and the Knot. She lives in New Jersey with her two sons, who thoughtfully help their mother keep her hunting skills sharp by constantly losing their homework, soccer cleats, permission slips, etc…

Stephanie Barnet, Watson Adventures administrative assistant

Stephanie Barnet

Hunt Coordinator

Able to say “Please do not touch!” in seven different languages, Stephanie joined Watson Adventures in 2011 after a stint in Visitor Services at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she developed a contagious enthusiasm for the hidden and not-so-hidden treasures within. A museum maven, Stephanie now devotes herself to helping Watson Adventures customers find just the right event for them while holding down the fort at Hunt Headquarters. A 2009 graduate of Williams College and two-time national squash champion, Stephanie lives in New York City, where she enjoys teaching younger players in her spare time.

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Maggie Murphy

Sales Representative

A lifelong game fanatic, Maggie Murphy joined the sales team at Watson Adventures in 2010 and quickly realized that she had found her niche. Always hunting high and low for fun, educational activities for her four children, Maggie found Watson Adventures to be the obvious place to transition from stay-at-home mom to working mom. Maggie loves talking about Watson Adventures’ scavenger hunts and the hidden treasures you will find, whether with your family or coworkers. She lives with her husband, two sons, and two daughters, and in her free time she enjoys playing tennis and golf.

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Tara Hunt Melvin

Sales Representative

Hunt is her middle name! Tara went on her first Watson Adventure at the Met almost ten years ago and found herself instantly smitten with the game. A former sales and marketing manager for Random House and museum educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, her favorite job (besides Watson Adventures, of course!) was as a Park Ranger at the Statue of Liberty. Working as a sales representative for Watson Adventures, Tara is having a blast combining her sales background with her love of history and museums. She lives on the shoreline and loves cooking and going to the beach with her husband, Charlie, and their three young children.

We are here to help you build the best experience! See our client raves.

“I think everyone had a great time with the scavenger hunt. We ended up with 12 teams of 10 people each, and everyone participated. I’ve heard great comments from everyone. My general manager said he came into it very skeptical but was pleasantly surprised at how well it went and how much fun it was. Rachel [the hunt MC] and her team did a good job with everything. It was good working with you and your team. I’m sure I and many others will be recommending you for future events. Thanks for helping to make our event a success.” —Bose

“Our agency had a great day yesterday doing the Secrets of Old Boston hunt. Most of the staff had never participated in a professionally facilitated hunt before, so it was a new experience for the majority, and ‘water cooler’ talk I’ve engaged in is staff thought doing the hunt was fun, the questions were tricky so it made it interesting, and made us look at Boston in a whole new way, although it’s streets we walk on every day.” —Big Brothers Big Sisters

See more testimonials.