Congratulations, you survived the end of the world. That means you’re very capable, pretty clever, or extremely lucky. Regardless of how you survived, not dying is just the beginning, and life after the apocalypse is not going to be easy. Be prepared for the end of the world as we know it and the post-apocalypse with Wasteland Hacks.  

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Are You in a Death Match?

As you explore the post-apocalyptic landscape, the odds are good that, sooner or later, you’re going to find yourself involved in a death match.   

Death matches are a popular form of entertainment and a common form of justice in the wasteland. In their most basic form, they’re kind of like an episode of Judge Judy, but if the defendants had flamethrowers and more teeth.

Of course, you could just be in a fight to the death. The two instances share a lot of similarities, but while all death matches are a fight to the death, not all fights to the death are death matches and it’s important to know the difference.

Here are 5 ways to tell if you’re in a death match.

Death Matches Have an Arena

While a fight to the death can happen anywhere, a death match takes place in a defined space. This could be a former sporting field, a boxing ring, or even a thunderdome. Many, many death matches happen in cages.

While the presence of an arena is a good indication you’re in a death match, it is still possible it’s just a fight to the death and some jerk has attacked you in a boxing ring.

If there is any confusion, look for traps. A death match arena will usually have many ways to kill you beyond your bloodthirsty opponent. These could include booby traps, spiked walls, or even the presence of wasteland monsters like giant mutant harmadillos. Never underestimate a harmadillo.

 

Death Matches Have Rules

Death matches have rules. The rules could be a simple as two men enter, one man leaves, but depending on the locale, there could be additional rules. Some death matches even have rounds where the stakes and potential for death escalate at every interval.

Now the rules are pretty flexible and rarely enforced, but they are a defining element of a death match and they can be manipulated to a contestant’s advantage. So, know the rules, be semantic, and look for the loopholes.

There are no rules in a fight to the death, so all bets are off.

 

Death Matches Have an Audience

These folks put the spectator in the sport. All sports need an audience. Without an audience, even wrestling is just two guys in tights fighting over a belt or a purse.

The audience is going to be against you at first. They will boo you, spit at you and chant for your death. This is just their nature. They are supposed to hate you. Chances are, they literally bet against you, and every breath you take separates them from their winnings.

The good news is, the longer you survive and the better you do in the game, the more they will come to love you. If you play things right, by the end of the match, they should be cheering for you despite the money they’ve put against you. And an audience full of bloodthirsty fans is something everybody could use.

Death Matches Have an Announcer

If it is a death match of any note, it’s going to have an announcer. Maybe two if they are able to divvy up the play-by-play and color commentary duties.

The death match announcer serves to get the crowd fired up, reveal devious twists in the rules, and let people in the cheap seats know what’s going on.

Announcers also play an important part in letting you know when you’ve won the crowd over.

 

Death Matches (Sometimes) Have Teams 

Death matches aren’t always one-on-one or one-on-one-on-harmadillo competitions. Oftentimes, wasteland warlords and local despots will devise a bigger game that pits entire teams against one another.

Unfortunately, this usually means it will be a team of visitors or prisoners against a home team with formal training and experience in the sport.

In cases such as these, it’s important to work as a team. Any division within your ranks will lead to immediate and severe consequences for any lone wolf. The other team is better trained, better equipped, and usually cheats. Teamwork is usually the only hope you have. 

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Remember, a death match is only a death sentence if you lose your head. Know the rules, exploit the crowd, and keep your wits about you and you’ll survive to wander the wasteland again.

Have a great apocalypse.

Ben