Everything you need to know about hiding ducks, finding ducks, passes, privacy, and play. Still stuck? Email hello@aureniagroup.com.
It’s a community game built around the real-world “Cruising Ducks” trend. People hide little rubber ducks aboard cruise ships; whoever finds one scans its code, sees the duck’s profile, and “signs the log.” Around that we add collections, XP and levels, badges, ship-vs-ship leaderboards, a 3D finder map, and a quick arcade mini-game.
No. You can scan a duck and sign its log straight away — we create an anonymous account for you behind the scenes so there’s zero friction. When you’re ready (to keep your collection across devices, make your own ducks, or hear when someone finds yours) you can claim your account by verifying an email address. No password required.
Duck Hunter HQ is a web app — it runs in any modern phone or desktop browser, so there’s nothing to install. You can add it to your home screen for an app-like shortcut. The interface is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
Head to Hide → Flock HQ and use Make a Duck to design one — pick a skin, accessory, and colours, give it a name, and add a friendly note for whoever finds it. Each duck gets its own short code. You then attach that code to a real rubber duck and hide it somewhere fun (and safe!) on your ship.
Two easy ways. You can open a duck’s printable tag, which includes its QR code and short code, print it, and attach it to the duck or its bag. Or, lo-fi style, just write the short code on the duck (or a luggage tag) with a marker — a finder can type the code into the site instead of scanning. Either way it links straight to that duck’s profile.
Scan its QR code or type its short code into the site. That opens the duck’s profile, where you can sign the log: add the name you want shown, your city, the ship and where aboard you found it, and an optional photo and note. Signing earns you XP and can unlock badges — and it lets the duck’s maker know their duck made someone smile.
The finder chooses what happens next: re-hide it for the next person (it stays in play, optionally with a new hint), keep it as a souvenir, or take it home (it goes dormant and can sail again later). The duck’s journey and every find stay recorded on its profile.
Everyone can find and sign ducks for free, forever. The tiers differ in how many ducks you can make and how many sailings you can run:Free — up to 5 ducks every 30 days, one sailing.Voyage ($6.99, one-time) — up to 100 ducks for a single cruise window.Captain ($11.99/year) — up to 500 ducks every 30 days, unlimited sailings all year, and your flock stays alive off-season so you hear about every find and thank-you. Captains also earn a special badge that levels up with XP. See the passes page for the full comparison.
Yes, in the way that matters most. Anyone can find and sign ducks for free without a pass — so the whole family can play together on shared cruises and leaderboards. A pass is what lets a person make and hideducks at the higher limits. Many families run one Captain or Voyage pass for the duck-maker and have everyone else join their crew to find and compete together. There’s no hard cap on crew size.
Payments are handled securely by Stripe — we never see your full card details. The Voyage pass is a one-time purchase for a single cruise window; the Captain pass renews automatically each year and you can cancel anytime (you keep access until the period ends). Except where the law requires otherwise, purchases are non-refundable. Full details are in our Terms.
We collect what we need to run the game — your profile, the ducks and finds you create, gameplay stats, and (if you pay) limited billing details. We don’t sell your information, and we store find and home locations only roughly (rounded to about a kilometre), never your precise position. The full details, including the providers we use and your rights, are in our Privacy Policy.
Absolutely. When you make a duck you choose how you appear to whoever finds it: full (name plus home city/country), first name only, or fully anonymous. It’s your call per duck.
Account holders must be at least 13. Younger children can join in under a parent or guardian who adds them to their crew and manages their participation. Accounts marked as a minor have extra safeguards, such as no custom username or uploaded avatar.
You earn XP for signing logs and playing, which raises your level and unlocks badges for milestones. Captain Pass holders get a special captain badge that comes in three colourways unlocked by XP — so a seasoned captain looks different from a brand-new one.
Sonar Sweep is a quick radar mini-game that earns XP and feeds the accuracy and top-score boards. The leaderboards rank hunters and crews — and when you set your current cruise, most boards scope to the people on your sailing so you compete with everyone aboard (the overall ship-vs-ship ranking stays global). The 3D map shows where ducks are being found around the world in near real time.
You need a connection to scan and sign — onboard Wi-Fi or data works, and we keep pages light because connectivity at sea can be patchy. We support a large fleet across major cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Disney, Celebrity, Princess, MSC, and more). If your ship isn’t listed, let us know.
No — Duck Hunter HQ is an independent, fan-made community platform. We’re not affiliated with or endorsed by any cruise line. Ship and brand names are used only to identify where ducks are hidden.