Marco!

THE NOISECHASER CAN'T SEE YOU. THEY CAN SEE YOUR NOISE.

Welcome to MARCO, a game of hide-and-seek where keeping your mouth shut might be the hardest part.

It's the old game of Marco Polo, with a few changes. For one, the person who's it is completely blindfolded. They can't see you, but they can see the noise you make.

And unfortunately for you, your microphone is part of the game.

MARCO! POLO!

The rules are simple enough.

One player is chosen to be the Noisechaser. Everyone else becomes a Noisemaker.

If you're a Noisemaker, your job is to hide, stay out of reach, and survive until the timer runs out.

If you're the Noisechaser, you have to catch everyone before time runs out. There's only one small problem.

You can't see anybody.

Your world is almost entirely grey. Instead of seeing other players, you see the sounds they make. Footsteps, voices, laughter, and anything else loud enough to give away their position appear as splashes of colour.

Someone laughing around a corner? You might have found them.

Someone sprinting across the floor? Follow the noise.

Someone sitting perfectly still and not making a sound? Well, good luck with that one. Though they will trigger a timer, which may make them fart, sneeze, or a mix of the two.

And if you get caught, you're not out of the game. You become a Noisechaser yourself.

The longer the round goes on, the fewer places there are to hide.

YOUR MICROPHONE IS PART OF THE GAME.

Talking to your friends is usually a pretty normal part of playing games together.

In MARCO, it might get you killed. Well, caught.

Your microphone picks up the sounds you make and gives the Noisechaser a chance to find you. You can whisper, but you might still be heard. You can try not to laugh, although that usually makes things worse.

And every so often, the Noisechaser can shout "MARCO!"

When that happens, every Noisemaker has to answer.

"POLO!"

Unless, of course, you hold your breath.

You can cover your mouth to keep yourself quiet during a call, but you can only do it for so long. Eventually, you're going to need some air.

Hopefully the Noisechaser has found somebody else by then.

MAKE SOME NOISE. PREFERABLY SOMEWHERE ELSE.

There's nothing saying you have to play fair with your friends.

In fact, sometimes getting somebody else caught is the best way to save yourself.

Different surfaces make different amounts of noise. You might sneak across carpet without much trouble, but running across tile or a wet floor is another story.

And there's plenty of stuff lying around to make things worse.

Throw a basketball across the gym. Push a rattling shopping cart through Marco Market. Find something that squeaks, rolls, crashes, or makes enough noise to send the Noisechaser in the wrong direction.

There are even ways to mess with your voice, including helium effects that make it a little harder to take anybody seriously.

Of course, the Noisechaser isn't completely helpless.

They can sneak up on unsuspecting players for a close-range tag or throw themselves forward in a diving attempt to catch someone escaping.

Just make sure you don't miss.

Your friends will probably remember.

BRING YOUR FRIENDS. TRY NOT TO LOSE THEM.

Marco is made for groups of 4–10 players, with quick rounds lasting around 2–4 minutes.

Play a few rounds, switch roles, learn the maps, and eventually figure out which of your friends cannot be trusted.

Explore the Marco Rec Center and Marco Market, mess around with the interactive objects, and see how long you can last without giving yourself away.

You can play carefully and try to stay hidden the entire round.

Or you can spend your time making everybody else's life miserable.

I imagine most people will end up doing a bit of both.

Stay quiet. Make trouble. Try not to laugh.

Microphone required. Your voice is part of the game.