Siberian Manhunt is an asymmetrical hidden movement game for 2 players. Player One takes the role of a U-2 spy plane pilot ("The Fugitive") who has crashed behind enemy lines in Siberia and must escape across the border into China. The Fugitive must use their wits to navigate the dangerous landscape, survive encounters with predatory animals, and avoid starvation and hypothermia, all while being pursued by the KGB. Do they dare enter towns, risking detection by the local authorities, or will they strike out into the wilds and rely on their wilderness survival skills to stay alive?
Player Two is a Soviet General ("The Government") assigned to capture or kill The Fugitive. At their disposal is the full might of the USSR: KGB officers and Yakut trackers, the Red Army, aerial searches, road blocks, and propaganda campaigns. But the Soviet government is fickle and not all Russians are loyal communists — and sometimes the hunted is deadlier than the hunter.
The game is played over multiple rounds until one player wins. Each side spends energy - the currency of the game - to perform actions, but how they obtain energy is different.
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The Fugitive gains energy at the start of their turn: 1 if they are in the wilderness and maximum energy if they start in a town. They must also search for food to keep their energy up during their turn and chain together action combos. They spend their energy on various actions, including moving, crafting, searching for items, and interacting with local people and wildlife.
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Every move they take is secret, but how far they've travelled is recorded on the Hidden Movement Track. If they can make it to the end the track, The Government will give up the pursuit — a secondary win condition.
The Government's energy is equal to the number of agents they have on the board, incentivizing them to recruit new KGB officers as quickly as possible.
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The Soviets spend their energy on moving and searching, attacking or attempting to capture the fugitive, deploying the Red Army, upgrading their KGB officers to powerful Yakut Trackers, or leveraging a variety of government assistance cards.
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At the end of The Government's turn, the season tracker advances — in Siberia, winter is always coming!
Highly Thematic
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Every single mechanic in the game is directly connected to the theme. Seasons, weather, hypothermia and starvation, animal behavior, propaganda, ridiculous government bureaucracy - all represented
in the game.
Emergent narratives
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Each game produces a unique combination of epic events. Daring escapes? Check ✓. Deadly encounters with wildlife? Check ✓. Out of food, freezing to death, one bullet left in your gun, inches away from freedom, and a Yakut Tracker steps out of the woods for a final showdown? Check ✓.
Open World Decisions
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You always have the freedom to choose your path. A passing motorist offers you a ride to the nearest town; do you take her offer and risk being seen? Do you run for the woods and hope she doesn’t report you? Or do you attempt to kill her and steal her vehicle?
Realistic Consequences
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Your decisions will impact how the game reacts to you. Choose to carry a gun over a winter coat and you might find yourself freezing to death in the winter. Eat raw meat and risk getting a parasite. Kill an injured miner for his belongings and the locals will turn on you; or lead him to safety and become a hero.
The Game World is Watching
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The Manhunt Bag is the local population’s opinion of the fugitive and government. Actions of either player can add Silent Citizen or Loyal Communist tokens to the bag, influencing how the population will react when the Fugitive is sighted.