diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs b/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
index 2d64cb2..15ab957 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/MatchManager.cs
@@ -162,6 +162,8 @@ public class MatchManager : MonoBehaviour
     private float _phaseDuration;
     private MatchMode _localMode = MatchMode.Classic; // mirror of the server's matchMode, carried in the phase message
 
+    private const string PreMatchTag = "PreMatch"; // scene props destroyed when seek starts
+
     /// <summary>True while a match sub-phase (Hide/Seek/Resolution) is running on this machine.</summary>
     public bool MatchActive => _subPhase != MatchSubPhase.None;
     /// <summary>This machine's current sub-phase (mirror of the server's broadcast).</summary>
@@ -566,7 +568,23 @@ public class MatchManager : MonoBehaviour
         _phaseDuration = duration;
         _phaseEndTime = Time.time + duration;
         _localMode = mode;
-        if (changed) SubPhaseChanged?.Invoke(phase);
+        if (changed)
+        {
+            SubPhaseChanged?.Invoke(phase);
+            // Props staged only for the hide phase are gone the instant seek begins.
+            if (phase == MatchSubPhase.Seek) DestroyPreMatchObjects();
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Scene props tagged "PreMatch" exist only while players hide; the moment seek starts they must be gone
+    // on every machine. ApplyPhaseLocal runs on all of them (server directly, clients via the phase message),
+    // so each destroys its own local copies -- these are plain scene geometry, not NetworkObjects, so there
+    // is nothing to replicate.
+    private static void DestroyPreMatchObjects()
+    {
+        var props = GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag(PreMatchTag);
+        for (int i = 0; i < props.Length; i++)
+            Destroy(props[i]);
     }
 
     // Sends a sub-phase (byte) + its remaining duration (float) + the match mode (byte) to one client, or to
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/PlayerCharacterController.cs b/Assets/Scripts/PlayerCharacterController.cs
index e846861..5b2da43 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/PlayerCharacterController.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/PlayerCharacterController.cs
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ public class PlayerCharacterController : MonoBehaviour
     private const float RunningSpeedThresholdSqr = 0.04f; // (0.2 m/s)^2
 
     private CharacterController _controller;
+    private NetworkPlayerSetup _setup;    // sibling role source; null on non-networked test instances
     private float _verticalVelocity;
     private Vector3 _horizontalVelocity;  // smoothed horizontal move velocity (accel/decel ramp)
     private bool _sprinting;              // sprint key state this frame (exposed via IsSprinting)
@@ -282,6 +283,7 @@ public class PlayerCharacterController : MonoBehaviour
     void Awake()
     {
         _controller = GetComponent<CharacterController>();
+        _setup = GetComponent<NetworkPlayerSetup>();
         BaseCapsuleCenterY = _controller.center.y;
         BaseCapsuleRadius = _controller.radius;
         BaseCapsuleHeight = _controller.height;
@@ -520,12 +522,21 @@ public class PlayerCharacterController : MonoBehaviour
     /// (not on mere contact). Leaving while climbing is handled in
     /// <see cref="ApplyWallClimbMovement"/>.
     /// </summary>
+    // Hunters may not grab a wall during the hide phase (they wait it out); every other role/phase climbs
+    // normally. The controller only runs for the local owner, so _setup is this avatar's own role.
+    private bool WallClimbBlockedNow()
+    {
+        var match = MatchManager.Instance;
+        return match && match.LocalSubPhase == MatchManager.MatchSubPhase.Hide
+               && _setup && _setup.Role == PlayerRole.Hunter;
+    }
+
     private void UpdateWallClimbState(Vector3 moveDir)
     {
         if (_reentryCooldown > 0f)
             _reentryCooldown -= Time.deltaTime;
 
-        if (!enableWallClimb)
+        if (!enableWallClimb || WallClimbBlockedNow())
         {
             if (_isWallClimbing)
                 ExitWallClimb();