Peeta Mellark at the camouflage station.
Camouflage is the practice of concealing oneself from view. Tributes used camouflage during the the Games to avoid being seen. The morphlings from District 6 were rather fond of this station in their training sessions, as they spent the whole time there. Peeta Mellark also used this skill, which he learned from frosting cakes at his family bakery.
Advantages and disadvantages[]
This tactic is usually employed by tributes who prefer survival over confronting their rivals directly in the arena. By blending in convincingly with their surroundings, tributes can hide in plain sight. This gives them the privilege of being able to ambush their targets without any warning; it is also ideal for concealing themselves whenever they sustained injuries.
The one flaw in this tactical approach lies in the fact that camouflage permits limited to no mobility. A camouflaged tribute who moves could run the risk of shedding their camouflage on accident, especially if it doesn't adhere to the tribute's body. They could also find themselves under attack if another tribute observes the moving piece of scenery and chooses to investigate.
74th Hunger Games[]
Peeta's arm camouflaged.
In the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta used mud to camouflage himself into rocks at the river bank when he was injured, as Cato stabbed his thigh to the bone and Peeta had no way of healing himself. Katniss Everdeen also used mud to camouflage her bright orange backpack with her surroundings. The Careers do not pay much attention to this tactic during training (or the games), due to their fighting style being limited to direct conflict as opposed to stealth.
75th Hunger Games[]
At the Training Center for the 75th Hunger Games, the District 6 tributes spend most of their time at the camouflage station. To the annoyance of Peeta, they left a big mess and not a lot of paint behind. It is mentioned that one time they painted themselves to look like a flowering meadow.
Known users[]
The female morphling painting Peeta's arm in the Training Center.
- Peeta Mellark - In both the Training Center and the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta showed skill in camouflage as he disguised himself to look like a rock.
- The morphlings - In the 75th Hunger Games training, the morphlings spent most of their time at the camouflage station painting each other. The female also used the tactic in the 75th Hunger Games. She only revealed herself during the monkey mutts' attack in order to sacrifice herself to save Peeta's life.
- Katniss Everdeen - In the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss smeared mud on her orange backpack, hoping to camouflage the bright color.