The runner in this example is learning to finish a night with banked money. The dollar amounts are illustrative. At each stop, the useful question is what the runner knows at that moment, before the result is clear.
Extraction games make the final journey part of the objective; Hunt's manual explicitly includes getting away with the bounty. BLACKOUT repeats a smaller version of that risk through the night. Each deposit reduces the cash exposed to the next mistake.
Opening: identify the return trip
The job opens. Before entering the vault, the runner locates the car and a route between it and the doorway. An unlocked box is available near that route. A richer-looking opportunity sits farther inside, but would require learning the room while carrying the first haul.
The runner chooses the nearer ordinary box. This is a sensible learning choice because it tests a complete loop with fewer unknowns. It isn't proof that the closest box is always the best one. A different police position or an empty nearby box would change the plan.
First haul: confirm the deposit
The crack completes and the bag holds $4K. The runner goes back to the car and holds the banking action. The bag empties and Take becomes $4K. Only now is that haul protected from an arrest.
The trip has also taught the route. The runner can return to the vault with less exposed cash and a clearer sense of the distance. An early modest deposit buys information as well as points.
Second visit: a rival changes the route
On the return, a rival is beside the preferred box. Rather than shove immediately, the runner takes an available box along a different approach. A contest would be possible, but no specific gain requires it here.
The new crack adds money and heat. The district meter is now noticeably higher. That change belongs in the next decision even though some of the heat came from other runners. The runner looks toward the exit before selecting a third box.
The call: abandon the old plan
The next job is announced. A last box remains, but opening it would leave the runner carrying cash through the transition. The runner banks what is already in the bag and starts toward the new destination.
This is the point where “I was going to get that box” stops being a useful reason. The job changed. Keeping the old plan would require fresh evidence that the route and timing still work. There isn't enough of that evidence in this example, so leaving is the defensible choice.
Middle of the night: use a tool with an endpoint
At the next job, the runner finds smoke. Later, a patrol threatens the return path. The runner uses the cloud to break sight and moves toward a clearer route. The item is spent, but it bought a change of position.
Had the runner remained in the cloud admiring the breathing room, the same item would have accomplished less. A defensive tool needs a next action. It doesn't freeze the night or reopen a closed district.
Final seconds: stop starting things
As dawn approaches, the runner has another small bag and sees a tempting box. This time the relevant task is completing the deposit before the night ends. Unbanked bags disappear at dawn, so an extra crack that prevents the bank can reduce the final Take.
The runner deposits and stays clear of the police. Surviving runners rank ahead of cuffed runners, so there is still a reason to protect the finish even after the money is banked. The example ends with a modest total and a clean night, not a promise of first place.
Three notes worth keeping
The early deposit confirmed a route. The next-job call changed the plan. The smoke was used to reach another position. Those are decisions you can repeat without reproducing the exact boxes, rivals or timing.
After your own run, pick one moment and describe both choices you had. That produces a useful lesson. “I should have played better” doesn't tell you what to do when the next vault opens.