A snipe hunt is a joke played upon an unsuspecting person, usually by a group of people. In its original form a snipe hunt is taking out the person to be duped to join in hunting or capturing snipes, a creature that does not actually exist. The methodology to find a snipe may be odd, and the humor is based upon the recipient attempting to find the non-existent snipe before later being told it was all a hoax. Snipe hunts are often associated with Boy Scout troops.
Ironically, there are birds called snipes that actually exist.[1]