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Printable Manhunt night kit

Everything to print for a Manhunt night, free: an event flyer with blanks to fill in, role cards to deal out, leader cards, a JAIL sign, a scoreboard and a host checklist with a headcount roster, plus a Halloween flyer. Six pages, black and white, US Letter or A4. It works with no phones at all, for any group with adults running it. Free to print, copy and share; if you post it online, please link back to manhuntgame.com.

Download the PDF (6 pages) One-page rules

Tip: in the print dialog, turn off "Headers and footers". Print page 2 once per eight players.

What's in the kit

  1. Event flyer. Fill in the date, the place and who's hosting, and pin it up. The QR code opens the rules, never a game.
  2. Player role cards. Two hunters and six runners per page. Deal them face down: about one hunter for every three or four players.
  3. Leader cards and a JAIL sign. A referee at jail, two boundary marshals, and a headcount and first-aid lead. Tape the sign to the jail post.
  4. Scoreboard. Rounds, winners and the stories of the night: the best hiding spot, the closest call, the best jailbreak.
  5. Host checklist and headcount roster. Before, at the start, every round and at the end, plus the one-minute leader script.
  6. Halloween flyer. The same flyer for a Halloween night, with the costume rules. Its QR code opens the Halloween night plan.

Read the safety guide before a night game, and the guide for your group: youth groups, camps, campus nights or parties. Running it on Halloween? Use the Halloween night plan with this kit.

You're invited to a

MANHUNT NIGHT

Hide. Hunt. Break your friends out of jail.

When
Meet at
Hosted by
Questions

Bring

  • Shoes you can run in
  • A small flashlight
  • Clothes for the weather

The rules that matter

  • Touch tags only. No grabbing or tackling.
  • Stay inside the boundary.
  • “FREEZE!” stops the game for everyone.
QR code that opens manhuntgame.com/rules
Scan for the rules
manhuntgame.com/rules

Free printable from manhuntgame.com

Player role cards

Cut on the dashed lines. Deal one to each player, face down. 4–5 players: 1 hunter · 6–8 players: 2 hunters · 9–12 players: 3 hunters · 13–15 players: 4 hunters · 16–19 players: 5 hunters · 20–22 players: 6 hunters.

  • Hunter

    Tag every runner. You win if they're all in jail at once.

    • Wait at jail with your eyes closed until the head start ends.
    • A tag is a light two-finger touch on the shoulder or back. Not sure? It didn't count.
    • Guard jail only standing in the open, where runners can see you.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Hunter

    Tag every runner. You win if they're all in jail at once.

    • Wait at jail with your eyes closed until the head start ends.
    • A tag is a light two-finger touch on the shoulder or back. Not sure? It didn't count.
    • Guard jail only standing in the open, where runners can see you.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

  • Runner

    Stay free. Runners win if anyone is free when time runs out.

    • Hide inside the boundary. Roads, water and yards are always out.
    • Tagged? Walk straight to jail. You can't be tagged or free anyone on the way.
    • Reach jail untagged, tag a prisoner's hand and shout “Jailbreak!” Everyone inside is free.

    Safety word: FREEZE · manhuntgame.com

Leader cards

One leader per job. On a big night, one set per zone.

  • Referee

    Runs the game. Doesn't run.

    • Stands at jail with the roster, a whistle and a light.
    • Starts and ends rounds, settles arguments, watches the jail guards.
    • Three long whistle blasts: everyone back to jail. Pauses for anything that looks wrong.

  • Boundary marshal

    Keeps the edge safe.

    • Stands with a light on the edge nearest a road, water or a building.
    • Turns runners back at the boundary, kindly and every time.
    • Can shout “FREEZE” to stop the game for everyone.

  • Boundary marshal

    Keeps the edge safe.

    • Stands with a light on the edge nearest a road, water or a building.
    • Turns runners back at the boundary, kindly and every time.
    • Can shout “FREEZE” to stop the game for everyone.

  • Headcount & first aid

    Knows where everyone is.

    • Beside jail with water, the first-aid kit and the sign-in list.
    • Counts every player at the end of every round, before anything else.
    • Holds the end time and the meeting point.

JAIL

Tagged? Walk here. Stay within about 20 big steps of this sign.

A free runner who reaches jail untagged frees everyone inside. Freed runners get a 20‑second head start.

Scoreboard

Versions: Classic, Infection (tagged runners become hunters), Jailbreak, Flashlight. Rules for each at manhuntgame.com/variations.

Round Version Hunters Minutes Caught Jailbreaks Winner Headcount
1☐
2☐
3☐
4☐
5☐
6☐
7☐
8☐
9☐
10☐

The stories of the night

Best hiding spot
Closest call
Best jailbreak
Hunter of the night
Last runner standing

Rules, variations and the free app that referees the game and replays every route: manhuntgame.com

Host checklist

For the leader in charge. Follow your organization's own rules where they're stricter.

Before the night

  • Permission for the place and the time
  • Walk the boundary in daylight; note roads, water, holes
  • Pick a lit jail near the middle
  • A note to parents (youth groups) or a heads-up to neighbors
  • Lights, a whistle, a first-aid kit, water
  • A leader for each job on page 3

At the start

  • Sign everyone in on the roster
  • Walk the boundary with the group
  • Read the leader script (below)

Every round

  • Headcount at jail before anything else
  • First caught become the next hunters
  • Water break

At the end

  • Final headcount against the roster
  • Everyone leaves the way they arranged to
#NameR1R2R3R4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

The leader script (one minute)

“Here's the boundary: ______. The parking lot, the street and the inside of the building are out. Jail is ______. Leaders on the edges have lights; if one of them says stop, you stop. A tag is a light touch on the shoulder or back. No grabbing, no tackling. If you're tagged, walk to jail. If you're free and you reach jail without being tagged, you break everyone out. If anyone shouts ‘Freeze,’ everybody stops. Three long whistle blasts means everyone comes back to jail. Hunters, eyes closed. Runners, go!”

You're invited to a

HALLOWEEN MANHUNT

Flashlights. Zombies. A graveyard jail.

When
Meet at
Hosted by
Questions

Bring

  • A costume you can run in. Masks off while playing.
  • A flashlight and a glow band
  • Shoes you can run in. No toy weapons.

The rules that matter

  • Touch tags only. Zombies may groan; they may not grab.
  • Stay inside the boundary.
  • “FREEZE!” stops the game for everyone.
QR code that opens the Halloween Manhunt night plan on manhuntgame.com
Scan for the night's rules
manhuntgame.com

Free printable from manhuntgame.com