These are the rules Near uses. They're my take on the game, not a copy of the official rulebook.
The short version: you split into hiders and seekers inside a playable border you all agree on. During the active hunt, seekers aren't shown the hiders' live coordinates. They ask questions (Radar, Thermometer, Matching, Measuring, Tentacles, Photo), and Near shades the parts of the map each answer rules out.
Before you start
You need a group of friends, a public area everyone can get to, and a hiding time everyone agrees on. The host creates a private room, picks a small, medium or large game, and draws the playable border. The hiding period is 45 minutes for a small game, 60 for medium and 75 for large. Your group can agree on something shorter or longer before you start.
A good border should contain at least a few dozen stops. A small city may be a good starting point for a small map.
How a round goes
- Set the border. The host creates the room and draws the border, or picks one from Public Borders. Everyone agrees on the border, which transport is allowed (trains, buses, walking) and the hiding time.
- The hiders go. During the countdown, the hiders stay together, travel by transit or on foot and pick an outdoor spot within a quarter mile of a station, somewhere public they're allowed to be. Don't hide in a private home, ticketed indoor venue or moving vehicle.
- The seekers ask questions. Each answer narrows things down, and Near shades the areas that are ruled out on the seekers' map.
- The find. The seekers use walking and transit directions to close in. When they reach the hiders and tag them, the round ends. Whoever stays hidden longest wins the game.
The questions
Near works out most answers from the map, and the hiders confirm them before they're sent. A few, like Photo, are up to the hiders.
| Question | What it does |
|---|---|
| Radar | Are the hiders within a chosen distance of the seekers? Yes means they're inside the circle. No rules out the inside of the circle and shades it. |
| Thermometer | The seekers travel from one point to another and ask whether they got hotter or colder. Near draws the line halfway between the start and the end and shades the half that's ruled out. |
| Matching | Is the hiders' nearest place of some kind (a park, station or museum) the same as the seekers'? |
| Measuring | Are the hiders or the seekers closer to a chosen place or boundary? |
| Tentacles | Which of several nearby places are the hiders closest to? Small games don't have Tentacles, and which places and distances are available depends on the game size. |
| Photo | The hiders get a prompt (the sky, the ground, what's around them) and send the photo through the room's private Messages thread. |
Cards, repeats and fair play
The hiders can hold six cards unless a card says otherwise. Asking the same question again costs more to draw and keep, and more than one curse can be active at once. The card reference inside Near is the final word on the current deck. Settle house rules before the round.
Near Decisions
In the standard train-only setting, hiders can take buses to reach their area but must finish at a stop on an active rail line. Seekers can use buses, trains and walking.
If a question asks about a kind of place that doesn't exist inside the border, the answer is Cannot Answer. Under standard rules that counts as answered, and the hiders still draw cards.
You'll find more of my rule decisions in the Rules section of the app. For an overview of the app, read what Near is. For the Jet Lag connection, see the Why Use Near page. When your group is ready, open Near.