Dr. Gaul makes the point that the Games are also different this year because, for the first time, the tributes have places to hide—this will naturally prolong the Games, as it’ll take time for the tributes to all find each other. And again, there’s symbolism here: the arena is like this because of the rebel bombs, so Dr. Gaul can essentially blame this year’s drawn-out Hunger Games on the rebels, rather than take responsibility herself.