Retusch game modes

Shared hunt

The default mode, and the one to start with.

Everyone draws on the same painting, each in their own square. Once the patches are in, the artwork comes back whole and the hunt opens for everyone at once. A patch can only be found once, by whoever spots it first: it then appears for the whole table and leaves the game. You never find your own, and a hiding place nobody sees earns its author the maximum.

Best for a large group: there is no downtime, everyone searches at the same time, and every discovery shows up on everybody’s screen.

Recommended: 3 to 10 players.

Stream

The mirror image of “one draws”, built for live shows.

Every player draws on the same painting except the host. Then the host is the only one hunting, while their audience watches them struggle. They score no points and do not appear in the standings: the game is played between those who hide, the host runs the show. They can be wrong as often as they like, since the one-mistake rule does not apply to them.

Best for a live show, and for one specific reason: because the host does not draw, the audience never watches their hiding place being built. In the other modes, they watch the streamer paint their square, and the hunt holds no secret for them.

Recommended: 4 to 10 players. Free, and staying that way.

One painting each

Every player gets their own artwork and hides their patch in it. At hunt time, you are handed one other player’s painting, and you have a single click to point at the repainted square. No race, no competition: just you, a painting, and a decision.

Best as a duo, or when you want a calm game where everyone takes their time.

Recommended: 2 to 10 players.

One draws

One round, one artist, everyone else chasing.

Each round, a single person receives a painting. The others wait, then hunt for their patch, each scored on their own time. The artist is scored on the fastest hunter, and watches their frozen hiding place while it is being tracked. The role rotates: the round setting counts full cycles here, because a game is only fair if everyone has drawn the same number of times.

Best for a small group that wants to be judged on equal footing, one drawing at a time.

Recommended: 3 to 6 players, beyond that the waiting gets long.

Battle royale

The shared hunt, with one player leaving every round.

Same shared painting, same simultaneous hunt. But no points are counted here: the only question is who stays. The player whose patch is uncovered first leaves the game. The others keep hunting to the end of the round, which no longer eliminates anyone but gives each of them a rank, shown on their square. If nobody is found, nobody leaves.

Best for closing an evening: the tension rises as the table empties, and the last round is a duel.

Recommended: 4 to 10 players.

Contest

The only mode where nobody searches.

Everyone repaints the same square of the same painting. Then each player browses the others’ patches at their own pace and votes for the one they find best. A vote received earns its author one point. During the vote the authors are anonymous, and you cannot vote for yourself: names and votes only come out at the reveal.

Best when the group is mixed, or when some players would rather draw without the pressure of the hunt clock.

Recommended: 3 to 10 players.

At a glance