Manhunt -- Wolves vs RAbbits

It’s dark. I’m in an alley downtown, and I’m being followed.


I watch the two figures in my periphery, unaware that I am being herded. Passing a dumpster, I nearly trip over a third body as an arm reaches up from the ground near my right leg. I leap to the left and bolt.


This is Manhunt.


Last Wednesday evening, I gathered with some 37 others downtown to play urban tag. For many, this is a weekly activity.


Participants wear white armbands to distinguish themselves from innocent bystanders. Games run a predetermined length of time, anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours, within strict course boundaries.


Serious players, like my would-be captors, lie in wait in dark alleys, scale walls and buildings, leap through water fountains, pretend to be hunters themselves or just plain book it.


The goal is to use agility, speed, smarts and trickery to evade capture until the clock runs out.


Since most of the “fugitives” have no way of knowing who is a hunter, paranoia compels players to keep their distance from each other. It was a huge relief to finally be caught and switch from prey to predator; I could walk without fear.


Some say the game evolved from a depression-era New York strategy game called Ringolevio. This particular incarnation of Manhunt was imported from Toronto three years ago and is currently organized by Knigel Holmes, 27, an ESL teacher by day.


For complete rules and upcoming events, head to manhunt-vancouver.com