While the lure of hunting “the most dangerous game” is obvious, local cops say “Fugitive,” a game spreading like wildfire across the West Coast, might be too dangerous.

According to Facebook posts, hundreds of teens from all over Washington County planned to take off Friday from Beaverton’s Southridge High School for a massive game, but it sort of fizzled after local law enforcement showed up to encourage safety.

However on Sunday, Hillsboro police received several calls of unidentified teens bounding through back yards, followed by cars speeding through a residential neighborhood, leading them to think “Fugitive” might be on the loose in the west county, as well.

Especially popular during the summer, the players — mostly teens — are divided into two teams. Each plays the parts of fugitives or police. Cops are divided into runners, drivers and riders.[

This isn’t like the old days, where nerds might gather together for hours or days on end to play “Dungeons and Dragons" or "Risk,” offered Hillsboro Police Lt. Mike Rouches. “It’s like tag, but on a much bigger scale,” he said.

The game, often spread through social media, causes concern because the “game pieces” are real. The driver’s use real cars to drive around town, chasing real people. The riders and drivers use cell phones to plan their pursuit, but there are no boundaries for the fugitives. They can cut through yards, run through businesses, jump over fences or climb on roofs. While they are supposed to obey the law, the allure is often too great to resist, Rouches said.

“Using cars and trespassing and running through yards is not a good practice,” Rouches said. “Like scavenger hunts, that’s fine too if you’re obeying the law.”

Riders try to “tag” fugitives with flashlights or by calling out. Fugitives often wear dark clothing to avoid detection, Rouches said, and inexperienced teens don’t need any more pitfalls.

“If you get hit by an inexperienced driver, or if people see you in the back yard, and they don’t know what you’re doing — that’s just a recipe for bad stuff,” Rouches said.

Cops are wary, but will not bust kids if what they’re doing isn’t illegal, Rouches said. Now that school is out, school officers will spend time on extra patrols to make sure that’s exactly what happens.

“I get the gist of the game. You are trying to find someone, and that’s exciting,” Rouches said. “We all played tag when we were kids, except we didn’t have cars to do it with.

“It’s not worth someone getting hurt, just to play a game,” he added.