"How does it feel to be hunted?" "You tell me!"

March 26, 2021 11:29 AM

I would like to try playing a hide/hunt sort of game; I pretend to be a fugitive and run into the woods, and someone else tracks me down-- if they can! Is this a thing people do?

I was watching James May's "Man Lab" where he does this and it look like tremendous fun! I can't be the only one to think so-- and surely law enforcement or someone need practice tracking suspects-- or maybe even Search And Rescue dogs could try to find me! I would do it for free as a volunteer. Any suggestions for how I can fulfill my dream of being hunted down like a wild animal?

posted by The otter lady to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

Journey to the end of the night and it's many open-source descendants feel similar to me, if less personal.
posted by eotvos at 11:34 AM on March 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

I might suggest calling your local paintball place and see if this is a something they can arrange. I'd suspect there's a whole bunch of dudes with high powered paintball guns who would be thrilled to live out their fantasy while also helping you live out yours.
posted by bondcliff at 11:34 AM on March 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

I would contact your local search and rescue organization, as this is definitely a thing you can volunteer to do. Based on the location in your profile, I found this one, and the page says they are looking for volunteers.

For an interesting read about these kinds of hunts, I love the memoir Scent of the Missing written by a woman about training her search and rescue dog.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 11:40 AM on March 26, 2021 [6 favorites]

We used to play a game called “fugitive” in high school. It was basically tag with cars (this is not an endorsement but simply reporting what was done; we were young dumb suburban kids). One person was “it” and had to make it from one of our houses to one of three or four 7-11 stores nearby; they were all about the same distance away but this way the folks seeking couldn’t camp out at each one. This person got like 20-30m head start and then it was on. Seekers got little handheld radios and we usually had four or five folks with cars and passengers. It usually took all afternoon to do. 7-11 was chosen because, slurpees are the perfect reward after a giant game of suburban tag.

It was super fun and super stupid.
posted by furnace.heart at 11:58 AM on March 26, 2021 [6 favorites]

The Scouts used to play "Manhunt" in the woods on campouts. They usually played in the afternoon, but the older ones preferred to play just around sunset and into the twilight.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:44 PM on March 26, 2021

If you're in an area with kinksters, they are almost certainly willing to help, especially primals
posted by Jacen at 1:40 PM on March 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Omg if journey to the end of the night is still happening doooo it, it’s SO much fun and totally captures this vibe.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 1:47 PM on March 26, 2021

Oh my gosh Jacen, I had to look it up and the idea of running through the woods being hunted by primals sounds like a nightmare!
posted by InkaLomax at 1:55 PM on March 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

If you can't find a way to do this IRL, maybe watching Mantracker will scratch that itch. There are also some full episodes on Youtube.
posted by foxjacket at 2:03 PM on March 26, 2021

Omg if journey to the end of the night is still happening doooo it, it’s SO much fun and totally captures this vibe.

Indeed. Nothing quite like ducking around cars parked on the streets to avoid people with red arm bands, and then finally escaping on a city bus... only to find it full of people who also have red arm bands, and they're all staring at your blue arm band. The bus is a safe zone, but the clock is ticking. How fast can you run once you pass through the door to get off and hit your next checkpoint?


(You've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk? )
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:04 PM on March 26, 2021

Omg if journey to the end of the night is still happening doooo it, it’s SO much fun and totally captures this vibe.

The people who ran most of the original ones have mostly moved on to other things, but it's still happening in several cities. Or, it was as of two years ago. COVID has probably put everything on hold. Here, very far from the poster's location, there have recently been two competing versions run by different people and called different things. I suspect it will pick up again once touching strangers isn't scary.

But, if you've got 10 friends, you can make your own. There are a lot of resources from past events that organizers would love to share with anyone who is interested in making one. (I've helped run a few and been a checkpoint or staff chaser for many.)
posted by eotvos at 2:25 PM on March 26, 2021

I would be uncomfortable doing this with unknown people- if you decide to, please make sure you have your phone and a whistle and a safe zone with a trusted friend and a meetup time afterwards, stuff like that, in case one is creepy!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:35 PM on March 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

Paintballers, definitely. You'll likely run into two types: kids/young adults who think they're the thing, and former military members who really can be, especially veterans.

It's unlikely you'll find very many, if any, Vietnam vets who are still up for the challenge, but if you know any, ask them for suggestions on how not to get caught, especially if you're playing in any kind of woodland. (Twenty-five years ago, my dad could give twenty teens & 20-somethings quite the day & night of games and never get caught once, despite actively taunting them, even.)
posted by stormyteal at 4:23 PM on March 26, 2021

We used to play a game called Manhunt in Toronto. You'd have two teams and you'd basically stalk each other through a prescribed area of city blocks. If you got caught (tagged) you were out and went back to the hangout spot. There was a fair balance between sneaking up on people and full-on racing through the city. Yeah, we were adults.
posted by transient at 5:21 PM on March 26, 2021

I volunteered to be found by search and rescue dogs once! It was a lot of fun, but may or may not be what you're looking for. In my experience, they told the different volunteers where to hide, and we were stationary while the different dog teams searched. I highly recommend it just for the fun of seeing how excited and pleased the dogs get when they find you - and because it's frankly amazing to see them working - but I'm not sure if you'd be able to actually run through the woods on a path of your own choosing, so I would definitely ask first if that's what you're envisioning.

When I volunteered, they did have a few "tougher" spots to hide in like on a log in the water near the shore, and they assigned you to those spots only if you wanted - I did and it was great ... that might scratch some of the itch?
posted by DingoMutt at 6:23 PM on March 26, 2021 [2 favorites]