The Manhunt Post

Last night I took Tom up on an invitation out to UCF to play Manhunt with a group of students. The game can best be described as a ‘grown-up’ version of hide-and-seek. A section of the campus is outlined as fair game at the start of the match and a ‘jail’ is designated. Teams are picked by the captains, one hunts and the other hides. The hiders are given 5 minutes to scatter while the hunters wait with chalk. After the 5 minute head start the hunters dash off in an attempt to catch the other team within the half hour time limit. If found the hiding-teamers can bolt and must be caught by the hunting team (tagged with chalk) before being escorted to jail. Jail breaks can occur if a hiding teammate manages to approach the jail un-apprehended and “free” his/her captured team.

The game sounds simple enough, but considering we had a huge section of the campus to hide/hunt in and the fact that it was a night made it a lot of fun. I’m a better hider than hunter I think, mainly because I’ve never been on campus before. I went undetected the first round, bothered only by the family of possum that apparently enjoyed hiding in the same place. Chasing someone at full pelt through bushes and across buildings is pretty cool. One guy busted through a fence after I gave chase and booked it right into some waiting teammates. I managed to make at least one catch in the last minute of the round when a guy made a dash for some bushes and up a wall. I assume he figured that by hiding out on a ledge none would bother going for him with only one minute left, but I leaped up after him and cornered him in the side of one of the student union buildings. I felt pretty cool making an obnoxiously large “X” on the guy with my chalk as he realized that a 2 story drop was probably not a valid form of escape.

I look forward to doing it again next time they have a meet. It was a pretty good turn out with a good 10 or so people on a team. Though I have to say hanging out with college students definitely makes me feel old by comparison, and somehow very mature, which is extra scary.