In Hunt mode, restaurants with a live deal show a pennant with “Guarded by @handle”, or the resident Nomling if nobody guards it.

Tap the pennant and "Take over". You must be there (within 500 ft). Win the Nom-off against the guard and you took over.

You can guard 3 places to start, one more every 2 ranks, up to 6. Every full 24 hours you hold a place is a payday: 10 treats, and 10% of it goes to the place (its Treat jar if the owner claimed it, else a pot the next taker wins). Taken over sooner pays nothing. Up to 2 paydays a day; your places keep counting days after that. Guards get tired after battles; feed them to keep them strong. At your limit, you pick a place to let go before the battle. It only goes if you win.

Nearby places come in Blocks of 3, like "Central Ave strip". Guard all 3 and you own the block: guards there fight 10% stronger and each payday there pays 2 more treats. Lose one place and the bonus stops at once. Your profile keeps the Blocks you held.

A whole Block nobody challenges for 24 hours gets a bounty on the map, like "Take over Nob Hill strip: 10 Treats". It grows the longer it stays quiet, up to 40. The first takeover that breaks the Block wins it, on top of paydays. The owner hears who claimed it after the fact.

When someone battles for your place, the notice has a Defend button. It opens your guard with Feed: a snack you earned, or a guard food bought with treats (Fresh apple 15, Fruit basket 35, Feast 60). Up to 3 guard foods a day per place, from anywhere.

Friends can cheer a guarded place once a day to make its guard less tired. Everyone sees how many cheers, never who.

If someone beats your guard, you lose nothing: your Nomling just comes home. After a battle there’s a 2-hour cooldown before you can take over that place again. If you lost places yesterday, one short note in the morning says how many. Your profile shows who took your places most in the last 30 days. Only you see that list.

Paydays start when your account is 7 days old. Until then you can still take over and guard places, and your days held count. Accounts that share a phone or email can’t take places or pots from each other.