Witch-hunt is a playground game involving two or more players chasing other players in an attempt to mark them out of play. The game is named after the Salem witch-hunt that led to the magicians fleeing to New Salem. The non-magician equivalent of this game is called tag.
Players are divided into two teams: witches and hunters. At the start of the game, witches escape from the hunters while the hunters pursue them. When a hunter touches a witch, they are marked out of play. The game continues until only one witch remains, who wins and becames a hunter for the next round.
In this variant, all players are riding broomsticks or staves.
In this variant, players are allowed to use spells. If any witch is hit by a spell, they are marked out of play. The game can be customized by specifying which spells are allowed.
Because this variant is potentially dangerous, it has been banned from some schools.
In Last Witch Standing, there is only one hunter. The goal of the game is to be the last witch standing, or the last witch not marked out of play. The last witch will then become the sole hunter for the next round.
In Fugitive, there is only one witch, and she must escape from all the other hunters. The witch’s goal is to survive until a time limit.