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Why did the gamemakers shoot fireballs at Katniss and was it cheating? I thought that the fight was between the players not the organizers.

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It's effectively impossible for the Gamemakers to "cheat", since they make up the rules as they go along anyway. – Michael Edenfield Feb 21 at 23:20

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The books explain it. It's not cheating, it's a way to ensure the games are interesting for the viewers. When a tribute is too far away from the "action" the game controllers force them back towards the others.

From http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Weapons

The Gamemakers use fireballs to force the tributes closer together in the arena. During the 74th Hunger Games, the Gamemakers injured Katniss's leg with a fireball. The Gamemakers planned to use the fireballs to decrease the distance between Katniss and the Career Pack, or kill her if necessary.

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Additionally, in both the book and the movie, the instructors make it clear that environment hazards kill many tributes. At least some of these were folks who tried to escape their fate by fleeing the battlefield and had to be contained to make sure that only one victor survived. – sarge_smith Sep 25 '12 at 6:22

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