Hiding

The first thing that starts a round is that the Hider (or hiders) must travel to their hiding zone. The hider must start from in front of a defined transit stop and then has [S 30 mins] [M 1 hour] [L 3 hours] from their notional start time to find their hiding zone. At the start of the game, the hider must start from the agreed starting point.

Summary

In Large games, no photo questions in the first 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Small and Medium games

In small and medium games, in the second and subsequent rounds, the hider must start from the location where they found the previous hider. They normally have 15 minutes to rest, and do the card exchange, though this may be extended if the other players agree. The hiding time starts from the moment the hider starts moving.

Large Games, and Time and Location Shifting

In large games, the second and subsequent rounds must start in front of the transit stop on which the previous hiding zone was centered.

For 🇩🇪 Germany games: The hider must choose a location near their hiding zone where there is at least one ICE train per hour, and reasonable hotel rates nearby. This will be the starting stop for the next day’s run.

In large games, we optimise for maximising seeking time. As such, the hider should hide outside of game time. The hider can hide the night before their round, or may choose to hide on the same day as their round.

We acknowledge that we are not early risers, so if the hider chooses to hide the day of their round, then they can be travelling during the start of seeking time.

The players will agree a start time for the round, and a start time for the seekers, which will normally be an hour later. The hiding time will start, however, when the hider gets on the first train. So if the round starts at 9:00am, and the seekers start at 10:00am, the hider can get on a train at 9:37, and their hiding time will end at 12:37.

Whilst travelling to their hiding location, the hider must answer all questions as if they were at their destination transit stop.

For the first 2 hours and 30 minutes, the seekers may not ask any photo questions. For fairness, this applies whether the hider chose to hide the night before or on the same day.

We allow a certain amount of flexibility in the total hiding time if the hider has a location in mind that would give a better game experience for all the players.

If the hider is unable to reach their hiding zone within a reasonable amount of time from the start of their hiding time, then they must choose a new hiding zone. If the answers to any questions asked have changed, then the hider must inform the seekers of the new answers as soon as they have decided on a new location, for no extra cost in terms of cards.

Hiding Zones

The hiding zone is a [S 500 m] [M 500 m] [L 1 km] circle located somewhere within the game map.

A hiding zone must be centered around a transit stop; there may be other transit stops within your zone, but the hider has to choose a particular stop to be the hiding stop. Many of the seekers’ questions will reference this stop or force the hider to take pictures around it, so it’s important to know which stop this is. The hider must stay in this circle for their entire round.

For 🇩🇪 Germany games: We allow any railway station included in an Interrail ticket, including S-bahn stations. We also allow detached railway lines and heritage railway lines, but the round trip cost should not exceed 20 €. We allow funiculars if their stops are included in the standard taibeled filters. Metro and tram stops are disallowed. We specifically count the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, the Düsseldorf SkyTrain, and the Dortmund H-Bahn as railway lines, but the Dresden Schwebebahn as a funicular.

For 🇳🇱 Netherlands games: Any railway station is allowed. We also allow Rotterdam Metro Line B. Other Metro Stops or Tram Stops are disallowed. We also allow detached railway lines and heritage railway lines, but the round trip cost should not exceed 20 €.

The players may walk or use other means of transportation such as metros, trams, busses, funiculars, ferries, cable cars and so on to get to their stop, but the hider can only hide at the stops that are defined above. In the case that these transit systems are used in the hiding zone, such as to cross a canal, the transit system must have a minimum frequency of 15 minutes for the duration of the game time, or the seekers must be able to reach the hider by foot without exiting the game zone. If there is a cost to using such a system, and it is necessary, the round trip may not cost more than 20€

In all cases, the transit stop that is the centre of the hiding zone must have a frequency of at least one vehicle per hour for the duration of the game.

When the hider is in the hiding zone, they’re free to do whatever they like–go shopping, eat a meal, see the sights–but they should be online and available to answer questions at all times. They can also spend some time pre-caching questions, see Caching Questions

Changes in the size of the Hiding Zone

Certain curses and power-ups can change the radius of the hiding zone, or allow the hider to move it completely.

Curse of the Prosperous Home will increase your radius by 50%. Curse of the Tiny Home will decrease it by 50%. The calculations are therefore as follows:

The Move Power-Up allows the hider to move to any other station on the network within [S 10] [M 20] [L 60] minutes of their current zone. Any expansion or decrease of the hiding zone will continue to apply to the new zone.

Exiting the Game Map

The hiding zone must be centered on a transit stop that is in the game map.

The players may exit the game map in order to get to the hiding zone, as long as the form of transit they are on re-enters the game map, or they change at the first station outside the map onto a train that heads directly back into the game map.

This is mostly for 🇩🇪 Germany games, to allow travel through stations such as Basel Bad Bf, which can be an interchange station outside the game map. The players can change onto a different train in Basel Bad Bf that continues onto Germany directly, but they cannot go to Zürich and then change onto a train to Singen.

Similarly, they can take an RE3 from Erzingen (Baden) to Singen (Hohtenweil) passing though Schaffhousen, Switzerland, if they don’t get off the train.

Hiding Spots

The hider must choose a spot to hide in their hiding zone.

As the end game can be long, sometimes several hours, the hiding spot should be somewhere comfortable for the hider.

The hiding spot may be hidden from casual view, but the hider must be clearly visible from a marked path. Hiding inside of a bush or thicket does not count, but hiding behind one, such that they are only visible from a certain angle on the marked path is allowed.

Hiders are encouraged not to hide inside of buildings. That being said, if the hider wishes to do so then the hider must at all times be visible from a marked path, such as by sitting by a window, and must be at the level of a marked path (generally street level). If weather is inclement in a way that fogs up windows, then the hider must stand in plain view of the path in the doorway.

If the seekers pass in front of the hider but don’t see them, then the hider is encouraged to let the seekers know this has happened. When it is or isn’t appropriate depends on the game, but the Prime Directive applies.

Hiders may choose to hide in a location that is reached by swimming or in a boat or other vehicle, as long as the conditions laid out above are kept to, or as long as the seekers can reach the hider through an alternative path, without exiting the hiding zone.

If the hiders choose to hide in a body of water, they must be clearly visible from a marked path, may not duck under the water to avoid the seekers’ gaze, and must continue to answer questions and handle cards as normal. The hider is allowed to enter and exit the body of water during the end game, but should have a fixed reference point on the shore or water body edge that they cannot move substantially from.

The End Game

The End Game begins when the seekers have arrived at the hiding zone and are off-transit. There is no requirement for the hider to inform the seekers that the End Game has begun. If the seekers leave the hiding zone, then the players are no longer in the end game.

If the players are not in the End Game, then they are considered to be in the Long Game.

As soon as the end game starts, the hider must stop moving and cannot move from their chosen hiding spot. Some cards, such as Curse Of The Untethered Spirit, may allow exceptions ot this rule.

If the seekers exit the hiding zone, then players are no longer in the end game, and the hider may choose to move freely in their zone. The hider is strongly discouraged from changing the answers to already established questions in this case.