RULES AND GAMEPLAY
Welcome to the Downtown Bounty Hunters Guild
Galactic Fringers is proud to present "Downtown Bounty Hunts", a live-action, fully interactive hide-and-seek style game, in which players participate in the thrill of a real bounty hunt. Chase down and capture or eliminate targets, using stealth, cunning, street savvy, and your cell phone camera; but be careful... sometimes the targets strike first. Each hunt will require a modest buy-in, and the winner of each hunt will receive a portion of the buy-in pot as their bounty, with the remainder of the funds being donated to a local charity.
HOW TO JOIN THE HUNT:
Register with the Bounty Hunters Guildmaster/Game Moderator. Please supply the following to JinZenKane@galacticfringers.com, with the subject header “re: Downtown Bounty Hunts Registration”
Name (actual name, and preferred in-game name)
Age
Team (if applicable; see below*)
Cellular phone number capable of receiving text messages
Photo of yourself in the Galactic Fringer garb/costume you plan to wear for the Hunt
Liability waiver and Photo consent form.
Pay the Bounty Hunters Guild Dues:
This will be a per game buy-in (buy-in cost may vary from hunt to hunt). This game is not intended to generate profits for Galactic Fringers or any of its members, prizes notwithstanding; see below.**
The funds collected from player buy-ins will be split as follows:
10% will be allocated to Galactic Fringers as needed to cover any expenses incurred in the promoting and hosting of each Downtown Bounty Hunt.
A significant percentage will be allocated toward a REWARD for the successful Bounty Hunter (Prizes may be presented as cash, goods, or services).
The remainder will be allocated for DONATION to the CHARITY of the winner's choice. If no choice is made, the funds will be donated to HOPE REFUGE.
In the event that a Target successfully evades capture or elimination for the duration of the predetermined time limit, they will receive as the reward intended for the Hunters and a certificate of survival.
Arrive in the designated hunt zone, at the indicated time and date, wearing your Galactic Fringer garb, and await further messages from the Guildmaster.
ROLES:
GUILDMASTER: The Guildmaster is the Game Moderator, responsible for the collection of all buy-in fees, the distribution of all pertinent game information (dates, times, places, clues, and "Targets"), and the pay-out of all bounties.
BOUNTY HUNTER: The Bounty Hunters are all of the properly registered players of the game (all that is, but one...)
TARGET: The Target will be randomly selected from all properly registered players of the game. The Target will not know they are the target, unless they successfully solve all of the clues and report the proper code phrases to the Guildmaster. Once a player's status as a Target is revealed, their goal is to avoid capture or elimination until the designated end time of the Hunt. Being made the Target is not all bad though. (See Gameplay Rules below)
RULES:
No unregistered players will be allowed to participate.
The Hunt occurs in public areas, with many civilians and non-participants present; all local, state, and federal laws, as well as general public decorum must be followed and maintained at all times during gameplay. **FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THIS RULE WILL RESULT IN TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OR PERMANENT BANNING FROM ALL FUTURE GALACTIC FRINGER EVENTS**
All registered players must play in the same Galactic Fringer garb/costume that was submitted by photo during registration.
Players may participate SOLO or in TEAMS:
Solo players must be 18 years old, or 14 years old with a signed parental consent form.
Teams may have players of any age with at least one registered adult player who is a family relation to at least one minor player.
If a member of a Team is chosen at random as the Target, the WHOLE TEAM will be designated as Targets, but only the capture or elimination of ONE Target will be required to collect the Bounty.
GAMEPLAY:
The Hunt will occur in a predesignated area (generally several city blocks, in which all publicly accessible areas will be considered fair use), at a predesignated date and time (generally a weekend day, over a 4 hour block of time).
All properly registered Bounty Hunters/players must be in the predesignated hunt boundaries at the predesignated start time of the hunt, wearing pre-approved Galactic Fringer garb, and armed with a photo/video and text capable cellular phone (with the same phone number used to register). (HINT try not to start too close to other Players, in case YOU are revealed to be the Target).
At the designated start time, a group text will go out to all Players with a clue about the whereabouts of an informant with information pertaining to the hunt. Once a Player finds the informant, they will be given a code phrase. Text the code phrase DIRECTLY to the Guildmaster to receive your next clue (be careful not to text the phrase over the group text, to prevent rival Players from snatching your bounty).
Once all clues are successfully collected, the "Target" will be revealed to the Player (in the same message thread as the code phrases are sent; again, be careful to have DIRECT contact with the Guildmaster to prevent other Hunters from snatching your Bounty). The Player will then know whether or not they are a Hunter, or the Target. (If you are the designated Target, don’t fret, you can still win the day.)
Once a Target is acquired, Hunters must capture or eliminate them using their cell phone camera. **NOTE: Only photos taken by and of players AFTER they have unlocked their own “Active” status are eligible for use in capture/elimination.**
If a Player is identified as the Target, the Target will be supplied with another clue as to the location of another informant with a code phrase. This new code phrase will reveal the identity of the first Hunter on the Target's trail, as well as another clue to another informant with the code phrase to identify another Hunter. This will continue until such time as the Target has been captured or eliminated, OR all Hunters have been eliminated (in the same manner as a Hunter eliminates a Target). **NOT APPLICABLE IN DATA THIEF VERSION**
Capturing or Eliminating Players
To “Capture” a Target "Alive", a Hunter must convince the Target to pose for a SELFIE with them (please feel free to ham up the photos and make them as fun as possible, as we will be posting them to Galactic Fringers social media pages) (**NOTE only Targets can be Captured; SELFIES will ALWAYS be credited to the Hunter)
To "Eliminate" a Player a clear photo of the Player's face must be sent to the Guildmaster.
The FIRST clear photo of a Player received by the Guildmaster captures or eliminates the Player.
The FIRST photo to capture or eliminate the Target claims the bounty. The Guildmaster will then post the photo via the original group text to indicate that the Hunt is completed.
The photos must not contain any other Player or "non-player" people with any part of their body in front of the Player being eliminated. Photos that do not meet this criteria will be considered "obstructed" or "collateral damage" shots. ("collateral damage" means that if multiple Players are captured in a shot, the one most "in front" will be eliminated.) **NOTE eliminating Players that are not Targets is NOT PROHIBITED, but is considered bad etiquette, and may cause ill-will between Players**
If a Hunter submits a "non-player" collateral damage shot, they will be branded as "criminals" and immediately reclassified as secondary "Targets" in the Hunt.
The photo may contain inanimate objects in front of the Player's body, as long as the eliminated Player's full face is clearly visible ("full face" is defined as from the neck up, and anything ranging from profile to full facial exposure).
If a Player is wearing a Mask or Helmet that was preapproved through proper registration, said mask or helmet will count as the Player's "full face". Players who register with a Mask or Helmet may not remove the Mask or Helmet from their person during gameplay (Brief removal is permitted as long as the Mask or Helmet is clearly visible by casual observation). **FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THIS RULE WILL RESULT IN THE FORFEITURE OF ANY POTENTIAL PRIZES, AND MAY RESULT IN TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OR PERMANENT BANNING FROM FUTURE DOWNTOWN BOUNTY HUNTS EVENTS**
Run and Keep Running.mp4HAPPY HUNTING
DATA THIEF VARIATION RULES:
“Data Thief” will be a version of “Hide and Seek/Capture the Flag”. Players will solve clues and puzzles, as in previous games to unlock their “Active” status.
The first Player to unlock this status will receive an “Encrypted Data Transmission” (a text from the Guildmaster making them aware that they are the target). “Data Couriers” must report their location in the form of a Google Maps Screenshot, which must include your cellphone clock for authentication, to the Guildmaster every 15 minutes. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DELETE THE ENCRYPTED FILE.
If the “Encrypted File” is deleted due to failure of the “Data Courier” to report their location to the Guildmaster, all “Active” Players will receive new “Encrypted Data” coordinates.
The first “Active” Player to send a selfie from the new coordinates becomes the new “Data Courier”. **NOTE: ALL “ACTIVE” PLAYERS WILL RECEIVE THE SAME COORDINATES AT THE SAME TIME; BE FAST, AND EXPECT MANY CELLPHONE SHOOTOUTS.
One minute after receiving the “Data Courier’s” GPS location with selfie authentication, the Guildmaster will release that intelligence to all “Active” Players.
As other players unlock their own “Active” they will receive a Bounty Puck Holo Transmission informing them which Player(s) possesses the “Encrypted Transmission”.
Players will then hunt and eliminate the “Target” just as in the standard Bounty Hunt Rules.
Once a Target is eliminated, they lose possession of the “Encrypted Data” to the Hunter who got them. That Hunter then becomes the designated “Target/Data Courier”.
The eliminated Player is now “Stunned” and reverts to “Inactive” status. Stunned Players must solve another clue/puzzle to reset their “Active” status, at which point they may attempt to recapture the “Encrypted Data”.
The Data Courier in “Possession of the Encrypted Data” at the end of the designated game time will be the winner.
WAYS TO OBTAIN THE ENCRYPTED DATA:
-Be the first Player to unlock “Active” status
-Unlock the “Active” status and eliminate the
“Data Courier” currently in possession of the
“Encrypted Data.”
**NOTE: ALL Players who unlock “Active” status will receive a Bounty Puck Holo Transmission of the current Data Courier in possession of the Encrypted Data.**
**NOTE: Bounty Puck Holo Transmissions will be updated as the Encrypted Data changes hands.**
**NOTE: Only photos taken by and of players AFTER they have unlocked their own “Active” status are eligible for use in capture/elimination.**
DOWNTOWN BOUNTY HUNTS TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
READ ALL DIRECTIONS THOROUGHLY, AND ARRIVE TO THE PREDESIGNATED STAGING AREA AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE HUNT TO ADDRESS ANY CONFUSION ABOUT THE RULES AND GAMEPLAY.
PAY ATTENTION TO ALL (GROUP/PRIVATE) TEXT MESSAGES AND PICTURES SENT BY THE GUILDMASTERS; EVERYTHING IS A CLUE!!!
THIS GAME IS FULLY INTERACTIVE, AND SPANS MANY CITY BLOCKS. PLAYERS CAN EXPECT TO WALK UP TO FIVE MILES PER GAME. THINGS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR BOUNTY HUNTERS KIT ARE:
COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES (INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR PRE-APPROVAL PHOTO IF APPLICABLE)
SUNSCREEN; THIS GAME IS MOSTLY OUTDOORS
WATER BOTTLE
EXTRA POWER CELL FOR YOUR PHONE/DEVICE
POCKET NOTEBOOK AND PEN