Grand Theft Auto V - Homeward Bound
A great world for felonies
I would expect most folks to have at least a passing awareness of the Grand Theft Auto series, and the fifth instalment is the most recent one - it drives the reality, and potential for chaotic free-roaming fun, to new levels. If you haven't experienced a Grand Theft Auto entry yet then 5 is as good a time as ever to try, it's on just about every platform going and has one of the best single-player modes of all the series, but we aren't too concerned about that - we want that beautifully realised world in which to explore...
How this game works
The map of Grand Theft Auto V is sprawling, varied and full of opportunities to explore, ideally, you will have some experience with the map but this game mode can be tailored to experience levels as I will touch on later. The set-up and premise are fairly straightforward, while one player looks away the other player needs to pick a home, which can be any location on the map and make a note of it, it can be any combination of a picture or description of where they need to go e.g. Franklin's house, the Arena, the Pier etc. Try to tailor the destination to the player's knowledge of the map, making it challenging without making it impossible - that being said, you will need to give them a time limit, so that can be adjusted accordingly...
With the destination set, now it's time to pick the start line - just drive somewhere sufficiently far away from where you want them to go (although, I would recommend not simply driving out into the sticks every time, to keep it varied). You're nearly ready to hand the controls over and let them loose, but first, pick an appropriate time limit for the game. For reference: a pretty standard car can run from Paleto Bay in the north to the airport in around 5 minutes - 5-8 minutes would probably be a fair timer for experienced GTA players. Don't stick too rigidly to this of course, if you plan to start them at the top of a mountain with no vehicle then a little more time may be needed, alternatively, if you want a quick game then maybe stick within the city and give them a couple of minutes to find their goal - mix it up! Finally, I would recommend banning access to the map, but that depends on the knowledge of players...
Playing with less experienced players
Most players who have been in the world of GTA on and off since its initial launch (a whopping 10 years ago at this point) have a really good grasp of where to find just about everything, but what if you are just jumping in (or at the very least, one player has more knowledge than the other). You can still make the game fun, but remember to adjust to make the game as fair as possible: extend the time limit considerably, give ample clues and maybe even allow them access to the map to help bridge any skill differences.
Add Some Extra Challenge
What about the inverse, those people who have been playing for 10 years and know the Grand Theft Auto 5 map better than their own local city? Well, turn the difficulty up with a few extra tweaks:
- Turn off the HUD and mini-map - this would be my first recommendation, everyone is a little too reliant on the mini-map, so get rid of it
- A tighter deadline - obviously, this can make things trickier, just take care to not make it so tight it stops being fun!
- First-person mode - a great suggestion for anyone not familiar with first-person mode, the game feels different in this mode to the point where even an experienced player can get a little turned around
- Hand-drawn clues - self-explanatory, but instead of giving a specific location or screenshot, give them a rough sketch like a Red Dead Redemption-style treasure map
