Guided
Linked and hidden
Link the waypoints and hide them. Each one stays off the map until a player verifies a waypoint that leads to it, so the hunt unrolls a step at a time, in the order you wrote it.
The map
One map, shaped waypoint by waypoint.
There's no map type to choose. You plot your waypoints, link the ones that should lead to each other, hide the ones that should be earned, and mark where players are allowed to start. A guided trail, a wide open sweep, or any mixture of the two falls out of those three decisions.
Open
Unlinked and open
Draw no links at all and every waypoint stands on its own. Mark them as places players may start from and the whole map is open from the off, to be worked through in any order.
Mixed
A bit of both
Nothing says a hunt has to be one or the other. Chain the middle act into a fixed sequence, leave the outskirts loose to be roamed, and keep the finale hidden, all on the same map.
How players move
Waypoints you link together form a cluster; a waypoint with no links is a cluster of one. Movement inside a cluster is a single step at a time: from a waypoint they have verified, a player can go on to the waypoints it links to, and no further ahead than that.
- Within a cluster: one step at a time, along the links you drew.
- Between clusters: freely, at any point, picking each one up where they left it.
- Into a cluster: through any waypoint you marked as a place players may start from.
Link directions
Every link you draw between two waypoints travels one of three ways:
- A → B: one-way. Verifying A opens B.
- A ← B: one-way reverse. Verifying B opens A.
- A ↔ B: two-way. Either side opens the other.
Links also decide what a hidden waypoint is waiting on: it surfaces when a player verifies a waypoint that leads to it.
Hidden waypoints
Any waypoint can be marked hidden. It stays off the player's map (no pin, no name, no hint that it exists) until they verify a waypoint that leads to it. Hide a whole chain and players discover it one stop at a time; hide a single stop and it lands as a surprise in an otherwise open hunt.
A waypoint that nothing links into can't be hidden (there would be nothing to reveal it), so it is always on the map.
Where players can start
Mark a waypoint as a place players may start from and it becomes a way into its cluster, open for the whole hunt, not just at the beginning. Give a cluster several and players choose their own door in; give it one and everybody walks the same opening.
Unlinked waypoints are clusters of one, so each needs its own way in.