The Hunt

The Hunt- A Guide

A Quick and Useless Guide to The Hunt

By Charlie Hughs

The Hunt is an international sport that originated from England, spread all over mainland Europe and eventually hit it big in America. Its history is a bloody one and rooted in pagan ritual sacrifice.

Long ago, a man or woman would be painted gold and sent into the forest to run- a team of warriors would soon follow and whoever brought back the golden head first was deemed to be blessed by the god of abundance. These days however, the Hunt consists of two-three teams entering Sacred Grounds (the forest/arena) and battling it out to bring back the Golden Idol (a statue not someone's head).

Team Positions:

Captain- The one who studies the map of the Sacred Grounds, the one who must memorise routes and prepare strategy. The leader of the team.

Trackers- There are two trackers in each team, once they were used to actually track down the sacrifice, now they track the enemy team and look for clues of the whereabouts of the Idol. (they often fight or cause diversions against opponents)

Brawn- Brawn is the only member of the team who can eliminate anyone from the game. Only one player may be Brawn and they can only eliminate another player by knocking them to their back. Best to stay away from these powerhouses of rage.

Runner- The Runner is expected to do just that: RUN! Once the idol has been found it is then given to the runner and placed in their wicker backpack. He/she is then to run as fast as humanly possible back to the exit of the Sacred grounds as an alert is given to the entire arena that their team has found the golden idol. They must outrun all other teams who will chase, attack and fight for the idol. Only when a Runner places the Golden Idol on the exit podium does the game end.

European Hunt is far different from American Hunt. The EU version is often played in large natural forests and focused more so on endurance. There is no arena, but large screens are placed in nearby fields and people watch from there or on television. The American version is far more action packed...

The US Hunt is mostly based in huge arenas, often themed for the state they are in. Drones and hidden cameras watch the teams battle it out in almost full contact sport. There are no rules, only guides of sportsmanship. Teams do fight, and often. The only solid rule about fighting is it cannot be ruled excessive or unnecessary- something the refs would argue over for days, and all players must be 18+ due to the violent nature of the game.

Whichever team places the Golden Idol on the podium wins, how they managed to do it mattered very little but the American audience paid a lot more for excitement and the teams knew that. There are three tiers for The Hunt, 1,2 and 3. Each team is allotted points and moves up and down the board- the team at the top of tiers 2 and 3 move up one tier at the end of the season. The winner of Tier 1 is given the huge Golden Doe and a shit ton of investments and accolades.

Glossary-

Sacred Grounds- The arena or area the game is played in.

Golden Idol- The small statue of a deer's head placed randomly by Hunt Commission.

Aggy- meaning a team is going far too aggressive with their play, often an insult.

Stridin- Means a team is rushing, often a sign they have found the idol.