Halloween: The Game Glossary — Priority Targets, Bloodlust, Environmental Kills & Terms

Haddonfield has its own vocabulary, and the game explains almost none of it. Here is every term new players ask about, answered straight — with links to the deep-dive pages where one exists.

What is a priority target in Halloween: The Game?

A priority target — the game's special civilians, shown as yellow circles on the map — is one of the three high-value NPC civilians your side must protect. As a survivor, your first job every match is finding them and ordering them to hide; as Michael, they are the golden dots worth hunting first. Killing all three specials is the fastest way for Michael to win; hiding all three is the backbone of the survivor win condition (full strategy).

What is bloodlust in Halloween: The Game?

Bloodlust (the three-tier meter also called Bloodthirst) is Michael's in-match momentum meter. Stalking, killing, executing and admiring bodies fill it; standing in light, taking damage or getting knocked down drains it. Higher tiers mean more damage dealt, less taken, and access to weapon executions (Michael's full kit).

What is an environmental kill?

An environmental kill — the game's context execution — is a kill performed with a highlighted piece of the environment instead of a plain swing: kitchen counters, toilets, poles, graves, fire pits, windows. They pay more bloodthirst and XP than plain attacks, and the best props are gated by your stalk level — normal ones from level 1, rarer ones from level 2, the best ones at level 3.

What is resourcefulness?

"Resourcefulness" is not a stat name the game uses. Halloween: The Game's four survivor stats are Melee, Athleticism, Composure and Ingenuity — and Ingenuity is the engineer stat covering repairs, driving and gun handling. Community stat sheets sometimes rename stats on their own labels, so if a guide says "resourcefulness," it almost always means that repair-and-tools stat; the game itself never explains stat names in-game (stats page).

What does the joint do?

Smoking the joint briefly turns you into a radar: nearby movement sources show as blue, Michael's movement shows as orange or red, and key items get marked on the map — at the cost of an enhanced-contrast visual effect while it lasts. It is the loudest information item in a survivor's pocket, so use it somewhere hidden, not mid-street.

What does the road flare do?

A road flare blinds Michael if he stares at it — you can hold it up or throw it to control when and where the blind happens. It is a chase-buster, not a weapon: pair it with a door slam or a window dive (all items).

What does the repair kit do?

The repair kit fixes the map's machines: car engines, phone lines, fuse boxes and the C.B. radio that powers Loomis respawns. It stacks up to three and is consumed per repair — the sedan escape needs it alongside gas and keys (escape matrix).

Other terms you will see

• Shape Jump — Michael's shadow form, usable only in darkness and out of line of sight; it passes through unlit doors.
• Stalk levels (1–3) — Michael's mark on a victim; level 3 weakens them, marks them longer and makes kills easier.
• Wounded / Terrified — a near-death civilian moves very slow (Wounded) and freezes under jump-scare (Terrified); together they enable Michael's finisher execution.
• Context execution — see environmental kill above.
• Purple items — the three epic spawns (talisman, lantern, hourglass) with game-swinging effects, covered in the purple items guide.

Keep reading:

• Beginner's Guide — HUD, loops and systems
• Beginner FAQ — quick answers
• Items Guide — every item explained