Fugitive (game)

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The game of Fugitive combines elements of a number of outdoor games such as capture the flag, cops and robbers, and Sharks and Minnows. In Fugitive, players divide into two teams, with each team playing the part either of the "fugitives" or of the "police". Each of these sides is further comprised of "runners", "drivers", and "riders."

Basic fugitive fundamentals – A straight line is not always the best route for a fugitive to take from Point A to Point B.

[edit] Game Basics

The fugitive's objective is to run from a starting point to a finishing point without being tagged by any of the riders. The fugitive must remain on foot, no vehicles or alternate modes of transportation. There are no boundaries as to where the fugitive may go; he/she can cut through yards, over fences, on roofs, through businesses, houses, roads, beaches, woods, etc. A time limit may be established for the fugitives based on the distance and difficulty, meaning they have to pace themselves in their travel.

The drivers role is to transport the riders around town trying to find the fugitives. The riders and drivers may use cell phones or walkie talkies to plan their pursuit. The drivers may not hit the fugitives; they should remain within reasonable limitations of traffic law. The riders or the drivers try to "tag" the fugitives visually with a flashlight, vocally by calling their name or yelling out their postion, or physically by touching them. In some games, if a fugitive is caught before the safe zone surrounding the finish point, he/she becomes a rider, making the game more difficult for fugitives. Other times, the tagged fugitives may be shuttled to the finish point to wait for the game to end (if the cops have no room in their car, they may still have to continue on foot).

If a time limit is being used, all remaining fugitives are considered busted once it is up. Once the whole group of players has convened, a new route is chosen, and another game may begin from the finish point. Often, five or more games are played in one night.

In some areas the actual police are aware of this activity^[1][2][3][4], and they have been known to deliberately interfere with the game. In some cases up to five police cars, including a K-9 unit, have arrived at a destination. During game play, players stay away from main thoroughfares and exposed areas^[5], as not to draw attention to themselves^[3].

In order to prevent legal trouble, players aim to avoid the real police by wearing dark clothing^[6]. Additionally, players tend to stay out of private property^[4]. Except for Andrew Kezele, he hops property lines without hesitation.

Note: While Fugitive can be played during the day, it is intended only as a nighttime activity.

[edit] Variations

In some instances of the game, fugitives attempt to smuggle items to the destination. If a fugitive successfully reaches the objective point with a smuggled object, that fugitive gains a predetermined amount of points. Smaller objects that are easily concealable are considered easy to smuggle and have a low point value in comparison to larger items (i.e. a box, broken chair).

Other areas require fugitives to be in teams. Teams can range from pairs or massive "unigroups." Teams are competing against another to accumulate the most points. Riders, or Cops, may also be in teams competing against other rider teams. Full points are awarded for fugitives, usually 10 points, while cops receive half points for a capture, like 5 points per fugitive. This concept adds an additional degree of difficulty especially if one fugitive team is familiar with a cop team and decides to inform the cops of other fugitive teams' locations.

A game known as "Zombie" incorporates basic Fugitive principals but involves the spreading of a zombie disease, that once tagged, you get it. All players are identified by armbands^[7].

The game is known by several names. In certain parts of Arizona and in Chicago, the same game is often called "Manhunt". In Fargo, North Dakota, it is known as "Slip". In some places, it is referred to as "Commando". In several areas of southern California, especially Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, the game is referred to as Bond or Car Bond. Huntington Beach police officers are known to dramatically overreact to complaints related to this game. In Oak Park, Northern Newm Mexico, and many other areas it's simply "Fugitive."

[edit] History

Fugitive in its current form was first played in 2004 in the town of Los Altos, California, but is now played in many metro areas across the country. The game was originally played in the downtown area of Los Altos late at night. Initially the Los Altos Police confronted the players but after some negotiation allowed the games to proceed. The only confirmed locations are where authorities have discovered people playing. News outlets have reported this "game called 'fugitive'" in cities like: Ventura, California, Oak Harbor, Washington, Kent, Washington^[1], Roseville, California^[2], Prineville, Oregon^[8],Bend, Oregon, Gresham Oregon, Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, Utah ^[3]. Currently Longmont, Colorado has held some of the largest fugitive games, reaching up to 300 people. Games of this size are often organized through Facebook or sports teams, mostly Skyline High School's swim and cross-country teams. The small town of Ashland, Oregon is also know to have very large games of fugitive, with 100-150 high school students attending on average. It is traditional at Ashland High School for the upper class men to assume the roles of cops, while the Freshmen and Sophomores cautiously sneak their way across town. In the semi-urban town of Gresham, Oregon, two rival high schools, Sam Barlow High, ang Gresham Union High, form fugitive games of up to 200 students.

In the Summer of 2004, residents Tyler Apel and Tim Hoffman of small town Augusta, Kansas, caught wind of Fugitive. In a matter of weeks, dozens of people ranging from 13-22 years old were showing up at the local First Baptist Church to play.The weekly game of Fugitive would be played throughout the town, usually ending in Garvin Park. Nearly a year after reaching the small town of Augusta, the Augusta Senior High graduating class of 2005 played as they were nearing graduation. Five years later, it is still played at Garvin Park.

Larger games are known to happen in Glendale, Arizona by Mountain Ridge High School, by employees of Golfland Entertainment Inc. working at Waterworld and Prescott, Arizona^[9] by Prescott High School.

It is believed that the first organized Fugitive match originated in Oak Park, CA, at OPHS.

Fugitive is played weekly on Wednesday in Denver, Co. Games have ranged from 12 - 100 players with ages 14 - 25. Games are organized by Adam Stark through this Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=85736724764#/group.php?gid=85736724764

Mansfield, Texas students ranging from 16-21 have played night time matches in the Joe Pool Lake area.

Games (anywhere from 20-100 players) are held in Santa Fe, New Mexico during the spring, summer, and fall seasons.

In Newport, Oregon, students from NHS organized a 200+ person game from the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Students of Fremont_High_School_(Sunnyvale,_California) began playing Fugitive in late 2007. Games have historically began at the back parking lot of the high school and have ranged in size from 8 to 45 players. Since its introduction, students from many schools in the immediate area have joined in on the games which generally range in distances from two to five miles from start to finish. More than 100 games have been completed to this day and are most frequent during the summer.

In Bellingham, Washington a group of students from Sehome High School have organized a few games with 60-80 participants each game.

In Bend, Oregon students from Summit High School have organized a game involving 60+ people starting at the second floor of the parking garage.

Bluewater Bay, Florida has managed to develop a Fugitive group of socially awkward kids who play in an upscale neighborhood, normally disobeying speeding laws and jaywalking across a major highway.

Near Tahoe City, California, students from North Tahoe High School and other neighboring schools have recently started playing Fugitive, with games of up to 50 people.

High school students in Cave Creek, AZ have known to have an average of 30 people playing and even have had the real cops called once.

[edit] References

Port Townsend, Washington is also known for playing this game "fugitive"

[edit] External links

• http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fugitive