What would your strategy be?

[Lakebum]

I'm surprised this isn't already a category, since I've seen some plans posted in other threads.

Assuming we know all of the rules -- which is not a good assumption, unless the contestants are stupid even by reality-show contestant standards -- would be this:

I have pets: two dogs, two cats, four turtles and a snake. So I'm not going anywhere for 28 days without hiring a pet-sitter. A real, staying-at-my-house pet-sitter. That's not suspicious, because I would need one; I always get one, even for overnight trips (unless the dogs are coming along; the cats can handle being alone for a night.)

So after getting the "you're on the run" tag, I would hastily pack my bag (because having one already packed MUST be against the rules, right? Who wouldn't have a bag packed already, unless it wasn't allowed?) hit the closest ATM, and start driving towards my lake cabin, because that's where I would go if I was trying to get away from anybody. Except... I would trade cars with a friend, drive back towards my house, hide with another friend, and then, when I was sure the hunters had thoroughly investigated my house, I would sneak back home. (If I was really on it, I would have that first friend use the ATM card at a far-off location, just to make sure the coast was at least temporarily clear.)

Once I was safely inside, I would stay there for the duration. And I would tell the pet-sitter to stay, too, AND to throw a big party every night. That would confuse the scene with a bunch of extra activity AND be a way to have food brought in, because what's a party without food? (I wouldn't want to give the hunters a reason to think "That pet-sitter sure does buy a lot of food for just one person.")

No phone, no computer, no TV, no activity at all when the pet-sitter isn't home; just me sitting in a windowless room catching up on my reading. No talking to the pet-sitter when it's just us at home, which is another reason for the parties; they will definitely help alleviate the cabin fever and general stir-craziness.

Of course, my plan probably breaks several rules, the most important of which is "You're not following the script."

[Bryce Lynch]

If it is within the rules, after the first $100 withdrawal, I would give the ATM card to a friend/family member and have them drive 100 miles in the opposite direction I was going, to withdraw the next $100.  I would then have them mail the money and card to the address I was hiding at.  this would send the hunters on a wild goose chase.

Another tactic would be using the ATM card in a bus station and then heading to a train station.  Another option would be to buy a bus or train ticket, to a distant city, right after using the ATM (making sure the ticket seller would remember us) and then not use it, but go into hiding near the place I bought the ticket.  This would be even better if the tickets were refundable. 

How about making a some decoy phone calls?  Call people close to you, who the hunters would be expecting to help you and then have them call the real helpers from someone else's phone.  The hunters will be staking out the friends you call, but will know nothing about the real helpers.

Ask your Facebook friends to call in phony tips, when they post the wanted poster on your page. 

If you get them thinking you are out on the run, you might be able to hang out close to home and not be caught.  

Edited February 2, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[Nashville]

Regarding the ATMs - the runners are making this way too easy for the hunters.

1. Get two friends you can trust - one of them (Friend One) being someone who favors you in general body/build.
2. Have Friend One do the ATM withdrawal(s) wearing a ski mask - make them wonder if it's truly you, or a diversionary tactic.
3. Friend One then immediately meets up with Friend Two at a predetermined site out of view of any surveillance cameras, and hands over the money.
4. Friend Two then meets up with the runners at another location, and passes on the cash.

You could even add on a Friend Three - or Four - or Five - and repeat Step 3 as many times as you want.  Only problem with that being the "friends you can trust" caveat:

• At least some (most?) of the more people would likely be identified by the hunters as being within your circle of trust. 
• The more people you add to the mix, the more likely one of them is being monitored by hunters as a likely accomplice. 
• So there's probably some tipping point - dependent upon the number of people identifiable as your friends - where you get to a point of diminishing returns; any one breach anywhere in the daisy chain of cash-passing could put the hunters on your trail.

[Mystery]

It's hard to know what's allowed, because the show isn't transparent about the rules. But I believe it's already been established that the "ATM photos" are actually just shots by the camera crew. Whether the crew would go along with the masked friend, etc. (as opposed to filming the whole thing) is an open question. 

I'd definitely have everything I was going to bring packed already, all in one drawer or something like that. I'd bring my computer and phone with me and then dump them somewhere (assuming that's allowed). I have friends who abhor social media and wouldn't be caught dead on Facebook or Instagram or anything like that; if I depended on anyone, it would be those people. 

I'd go as far as I could in one or two days and then just do the minimum movement after that. I think the guys who got eliminated last night had a good idea about blending in with a crowd. I might head to a large college campus and just hang out. I worked in a library when I was in college, and although we checked to make sure that people who wanted to get out were out before we closed up at night, there were definitely times when people let themselves get locked in for the night, either as a prank or because they wanted to stay and study and use the library books. 

And those guys made it 15 days, I think. That was a pretty good run for just relying on strangers. 

[Wings]

I am pretty sure who uses the card is not relevant.  The bank sends notifications for any withdrawal including date, time and location.  Have a friend withdraw your money and send it to a friend of friend to pick up when you get there which has been arranged ahead, without using technology (is that even possible).  This takes planning and only if you know the tools  available to the hunters.   For season 2 perhaps but no one knows to do this now.  Very annoying.  

Blending in is impossible with a camera following you.  

Shaking the hunters is key for survival.  That is the first order of business and difficult to accomplish.  The hunters have been on the tail of everyone.  

Buying bus tickets for the opposite direction won't work; cameras will tell them you did not board the bus, or if head count is off.  

Definitely give your computer and phone to someone for safe keeping.  

Rules must state you cannot buy a burn phone until the game begins.  You cannot stay in the same place.  Right there you are a fish in a barrel.  You have to find strangers willing to take you in and not tell anyone.  With the wanted notices online with a reward involved this is not easy, though they don't say how much you get for snitching.  As we saw that is a deterrent.

I am rambling.  So in conclusion, I got nothin.'   

[Bryce Lynch]

8 minutes ago, wings707 said:

I am pretty sure who uses the card is not relevant.  The bank sends notifications for any withdrawal including date, time and location.  Have a friend withdraw your money and send it to a friend of friend to pick up when you get there which has been arranged ahead, without using technology (is that even possible).  This takes planning and only if you know the tools  available to the hunters.   For season 2 perhaps but no one knows to do this now.  Very annoying.  

Blending in is impossible with a camera following you.  

Shaking the hunters is key for survival.  That is the first order of business and difficult to accomplish.  The hunters have been on the tail of everyone.  

Buying bus tickets for the opposite direction won't work; cameras will tell them you did not board the bus, or if head count is off.  

Definitely give your computer and phone to someone for safe keeping.  

Rules must state you cannot buy a burn phone until the game begins.  You cannot stay in the same place.  Right there you are a fish in a barrel.  You have to find strangers willing to take you in and not tell anyone.  With the wanted notices online with a reward involved this is not easy, though they don't say how much you get for snitching.  As we saw that is a deterrent.

I am rambling.  So in conclusion, I got nothin.'   

Good point about not being able to blend in with the cameras following.  This would make strategies that involve either getting indoors or totally off the grid in the woods, as quickly as possible make sense.  I wonder how many times the hunters will actually spot the camera crew first, rather than the fugitives.

If a bus/train diversion is done right, it might work.  I don't think most of them do head counts.  The drivers/train crew would generally have no idea how many people bought tickets, plus a lot of such tickets are open ended.  If you walked toward the bus, and out of the site of the ticket seller, they would not be able to tell the hunters it was a ruse. 

I suspect the mysterious rules require leaving your computer behind.  Did any of the couples not leave computers behind?

Edited February 2, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[Skyfall]

Give card to friend to make 5 withdrawals in 5 different towns. Then slowly hike a mountain trail with a hiker friend of mine for a month. I'm not a hiker so they wouldn't suspect it and I don't talk to this friend as often as I used to so he wouldn't be easily pinged.

[Wings]

17 hours ago, Skyfall said:

Give card to friend to make 5 withdrawals in 5 different towns. Then slowly hike a mountain trail with a hiker friend of mine for a month. I'm not a hiker so they wouldn't suspect it and I don't talk to this friend as often as I used to so he wouldn't be easily pinged.

That would mean you would have to live for 28 days on your initial withdrawal of $100.  Since you are not allowed to tell anyone you are on a reality TV show, it would be difficult to convince someone to feed you.  I would like to know how they explain the camera.  I have no doubt they have been told what to say. 

The camera often films them getting into a car so there is some staging involved.  There has to be a sound guy, too.  Does this mean they have their own car or the fugitives have to get rides from vehicles large enough to accommodate them. 

On 2/2/2017 at 2:58 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

If a bus/train diversion is done right, it might work.  I don't think most of them do head counts.  The drivers/train crew would generally have no idea how many people bought tickets, plus a lot of such tickets are open ended.  If you walked toward the bus, and out of the site of the ticket seller, they would not be able to tell the hunters it was a ruse

Cameras are on all buses.  I assume they could check this given all their ridiculous means of tracking, most of which I question.  

[MarkHB]

12 minutes ago, wings707 said:

 Since you are not allowed to tell anyone you are on a reality TV show, it would be difficult to convince someone to feed you.

I hadn't realized that until I read the post that was just linked in the Media thread.

[Wings]

14 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

I hadn't realized that until I read the post that was just linked in the Media thread.

Yes. Seems the only way we can know the rules is though an occasional nugget dropped in an article.  

[Mystery]

It looked like the FL airgun people packed some food supplies. I wonder if you can do that, or if you could pack water purification tablets and spend $100 on packable food. 

[Skyfall]

On 2/4/2017 at 11:49 AM, wings707 said:

That would mean you would have to live for 28 days on your initial withdrawal of $100.  Since you are not allowed to tell anyone you are on a reality TV show, it would be difficult to convince someone to feed you.  I would like to know how they explain the camera.  I have no doubt they have been told what to say. 

The camera often films them getting into a car so there is some staging involved.  There has to be a sound guy, too.  Does this mean they have their own car or the fugitives have to get rides from vehicles large enough to accommodate them. 

Cameras are on all buses.  I assume they could check this given all their ridiculous means of tracking, most of which I question.  

I'm hiking a mountain so I don't need the money or would have the money as a friend would have the card. We would be off the grid with no trail.

[Wings]

26 minutes ago, Skyfall said:

I'm hiking a mountain so I don't need the money or would have the money as a friend would have the card. We would be off the grid with no trail.

$100 wouldn't go very far for food. Dehydrated food is pricey and you would need some of that.  You would have to be able to pack all you needed in 2 backpacks as well.  What about sleeping bags, a tarp in case it rains, a pot to cook in etc.  

How would your friend get more money to you?  You would need the friend to get you supplies and take them to your mountain location without being followed by the hunters.  

[Skyfall]

2 minutes ago, wings707 said:

$100 wouldn't go very far for food. Dehydrated food is pricey and you would need some of that.  You would have to be able to pack all you needed in 2 backpacks as well.  What about sleeping bags, a tarp in case it rains, a pot to cook in etc.  

How would your friend get more money to you?  You would need the friend to get you supplies and take them to your mountain location without being followed by the hunters.  

The friend with the card would keep the money. Hiking bags have the sleeping bag on the top usually and a tarp doesn't take up too much room. You can also have hammocks wich are compact. The rest would be food and water bottles. Plan smartly and your route will be near a fresh water source like a creek or river.

[Lakebum]

OK, in the latest episode, a scenario popped up which offered some more good possibilities for evasion. The couple who got the car from the guy named Blaze also spent some time at his isolated cabin (before being tracked there by some of that so-amazing-it-can-only-be-scripted "detective" work. The runners had left by the time the hunters got there, but they talked to Blaze, who wouldn't let them search the house, which he claimed belonged to his boss.

So... pre-set a similar scenario. Find a friend who will be out of the country, and borrow his house. Have a friend he trusts act as caretaker. When the hunters miraculously find their way to the house, deny them access on the grounds of "It's not my house." But of course tell them that if they can get the owner's permission, of course they can come in. But good luck finding him, since "he's currently thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail."

[loki567]

Something they do on the UK version, which I'm not positive is legal on the USA, is several of the teams split up. In fact, one team used the wife as a diversion when they were cornered, figuring the husband had a better chance to outrun the hunters. 

I like the idea of sneaking back into your house or apartment. The hunters likely don't have the resources to keep a constant monitor at your place and they'd probably figure nobody would be crazy enough to camp out under the hunters' noses. 

[teo47]

I like the splitting up aspect of the game if there is a Season 2 of this show - maybe if you choose to split up and only one member of the team makes it to the end or the team doesn't reunite before the end of the 28 days, the team would win a reduced prize amount.

It appears to me as though the key to success in this game is to never ever ask for help from someone the hunters expect you to ask - so no social media connections, no family, nobody the hunters can find out about in advance.  Stick to friends of friends, or acquaintances with whom you have no connection online.  Spend as much time as you can 'off the grid' in the woods/hiking/camping, and when driving stay off interstate highways and main roads that will have license plate readers.

[MarkHB]

28 minutes ago, teo47 said:

It appears to me as though the key to success in this game is to never ever ask for help from someone the hunters expect you to ask - so no social media connections, no family, nobody the hunters can find out about in advance.  Stick to friends of friends, or acquaintances with whom you have no connection online.  Spend as much time as you can 'off the grid' in the woods/hiking/camping, and when driving stay off interstate highways and main roads that will have license plate readers.

That's pretty much what the frat boys did, and it worked well until the sister ratted them out for the reward.

Personally, I'm wondering if Season 2 will feature a team that leaves a red-herring desk calendar behind as a diversion.

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, teo47 said:

It appears to me as though the key to success in this game is to never ever ask for help from someone the hunters expect you to ask - so no social media connections, no family, nobody the hunters can find out about in advance.  Stick to friends of friends, or acquaintances with whom you have no connection online.  Spend as much time as you can 'off the grid' in the woods/hiking/camping, and when driving stay off interstate highways and main roads that will have license plate readers.

...or if you ARE going to solicit aid from family/close acquaintances, get all the aid you can in the very beginning- before the hunters can get their surveillance apparatus up and running on your people.

[Wings]

On 2/7/2017 at 8:08 AM, Skyfall said:

The friend with the card would keep the money. Hiking bags have the sleeping bag on the top usually and a tarp doesn't take up too much room. You can also have hammocks wich are compact. The rest would be food and water bottles. Plan smartly and your route will be near a fresh water source like a creek or river.

Anyone with whom you have had contact (ie, store clerk) could mention you were carrying sleeping bags  signaling you were headed off the grid.  Doesn't really matter though, they have dogs so hiding in the woods is the least safe place to go from where I sit.

 Heavily populated areas are probably best.  Until we know the rules it is impossible to form a strategy.  And the question is, will we know them in season 2?  

[Nashville]

8 hours ago, wings707 said:

Anyone with whom you have had contact (ie, store clerk) could mention you were carrying sleeping bags  signaling you were headed off the grid.  Doesn't really matter though, they have dogs so hiding in the woods is the least safe place to go from where I sit.

Could be a handy bit of misdirection, though.  Nothing says you can't unroll your sleeping bag in an abandoned warehouse downtown, and you're nice and dry while the hunters and their dogs are out in the rain beating the bushes in the nearest national park.  :)

[Wings]

11 hours ago, Nashville said:

Could be a handy bit of misdirection, though.  Nothing says you can't unroll your sleeping bag in an abandoned warehouse downtown, and you're nice and dry while the hunters and their dogs are out in the rain beating the bushes in the nearest national park.  :)

Ha! A 'Florida or Bust' sign on your back pack would work too, if your plan is to stay in your home town.  :^)

Edited February 22, 2017 by wings707