The short version
- The host draws a zone on the map and sends the invite link.
- A roulette picks Patient Zero, the first hunter. Everyone else is a target.
- Targets get a head start to scatter while the hunters count it down.
- Every so often, a ping shows the hunters where the targets are.
- A tag is a touch. A tagged target turns into a hunter.
- Targets win if one of them survives the clock. Hunters win if they tag everyone.
What you need
- A group of friends, each with an iPhone or Android phone and the Manhunt app (free). Friends join from your link, no account needed.
- A play area: a park, a campus, a few quiet blocks. No roads, railways, water or private property inside it. See the safety rules.
- Location and notifications on, so the game works and a tag reaches you with your phone in your pocket.
The host picks a preset (Quick, Classic or Long), tunes the rules to the group if they like, and either plays or sits out as referee to watch the whole game and settle arguments.
Hunters and targets
Hunter
- Hunts as a pack and sees fellow hunters on the map.
- Gets pings: a flash of where every target is, which fades as they move on.
- Coordinates in the hunter chat with one-tap callouts.
- Earns coins for every tag.
Target
- Survives, hides and keeps moving with the other targets.
- Feels hunters through the danger meter: a heartbeat that quickens as one closes in.
- Knows the moment they've been pinged.
- Earns coins just by staying free.
Tag and turn
A tag is a touch. A tap on the shoulder or the arm. Never a grab, a push, a trip or a tackle, and never a tag across a road.
Touch a target, then tap TAG. Their phone asks "Did Sam tag you?", even from a pocket, and they confirm or dispute it. Disputes go to the host or the referee. Tagged and nobody noticed? Own up with I got tagged.
A confirmed tag starts the turning: the INFECTED screen plays, and moments later the old target is a hunter, with a new chat and a new team. When only one target is left, everyone sees LAST ONE STANDING.
The shrinking zone
The zone is the board: everyone sees it on the map. With the shrinking zone on, it closes in late in the game, step by step, with a warning before each one, until the last targets have nowhere left to hide. A target who strays outside shows up on every hunter's map, so get back in fast.
Crates, coins and items
Crates drop across the zone all game. Walk up to one to crack it open for coins or an item, and watch for the golden crate in the endgame. Spend coins in the shop, mid‑game, on items for your side. Coins reset every game.
- Ghost Vanish from the pings.
- Decoy Send the hunters the wrong way.
- Radar Catch a glimpse of the hunters.
- Shield Shrug off a tag.
- Scan Ping everyone, right now.
- Tracker Lock on to the nearest target.
- Blackout Silence the danger meters.
Last one standing
- Hunters win when every target is tagged.
- Targets win when time runs out with at least one of them free.
Then the results: awards for the Last Survivor, the Top Hunter and Patient Zero, a replay of every path, tag and crate on the map, and a one-tap rematch.
Tips for both sides
Targets
- Move right after a ping, not right before it. Hunters are chasing where you were.
- Heartbeat picking up? Get off open ground and break line of sight.
- Grab crates early, while the hunters are few.
- Save something for the endgame, and get inside the next circle early.
Hunters
- Spread out. One hunter flushes, the others wait where the target will run.
- Check how old a ping is: the older it is, the further they've gone.
- Use callouts ("Spotted one!", "Need backup") instead of typing while you run.
- Work the pack. Every tag adds a hunter, so the endgame belongs to you.
And for everyone: stay off roads, play somewhere you're allowed to be, and read the safety rules before your first game. More questions? See the FAQ.
