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{{short description|Game of chasing and catching other people}}{{redirect|Not it|The Simpsons episode|Not It{{!}}“Not It“}}{{redirect|Tag, You’re It |the Melanie Martinez song|Cry Baby (Melanie Martinez album){{!}}Cry Baby (Melanie Martinez album)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

factoids

Tag (also called chase, tig, it, tiggy, tips, tick, and tip) is a playground game involving one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to “tag” and mark them out of play, typically by touching with a hand. There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually when a person is tagged, the tagger says, “It!” or “Tag, you’re ‘It’!” The last one tagged during tag is “It” for the next round. The game is known by other names in various parts of the world, including “running and catching” in India and “catch and cook” in the Middle East.

Origin of name

The game has different names in different parts of the UK: ‘tig’ in Yorkshire and Scotland, ‘tick’ in the North West of England, and ‘it’ in the South of England. In the United States of America, however, the game is usually called ‘tag’.In 2018, the popular internet meme “How old were you when you found out ____” began circulating, which stated that the origin of the word tag was an acronym meaning ‘touch and go’.WEB, 25 July 2018, What Does ‘Tag’ Really Mean?,chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/07/25/what-does-tag-really-mean, Investigation by snopes.com found this to be false.WEB, Emery, David, Etymology of Tag,www.snopes.com/fact-check/tag-acronym-touch-and-go/, 16 November 2020, Snopes.com, 19 July 2018, Snopes Media Group Inc., According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the origin of the name ‘tag’ is unknown,WEB, Tag,www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tag, 16 November 2020, Merriam-Webster, while the Oxford Dictionary of English speculates it to be a variant of ‘tig’,WEB, Tag,www.lexico.com/definition/tag, dead,web.archive.org/web/20200919122344/https://www.lexico.com/definition/tag, 19 September 2020, Lexico, which itself is possibly a variant of ‘tick’.WEB, Tick,www.lexico.com/definition/tig, dead,web.archive.org/web/20220529165913/https://www.lexico.com/definition/tig, 29 May 2022, Lexico,

History

Tag-like games have been played throughout history since as far back as the fourth century BC. The Greek poet Erinna, in her poem The Distaff, speaks of a tag-like game where one girl, the “tortoise”, chases other girls, and the tagged girl becomes the new “tortoise”.BOOK, Rayor, Diane J., Sappho’s Lyre: Archaic Lyric and Women Poets of Ancient Greece, 22 August 1991, University of California Press, 978-0520073364, 186, Ancient Greek boys also played the Ostrakinda.BOOK, Stephen E. Kidd,books.google.com/books?id=7iCmAwAAQBAJ, Nonsense and Meaning in Ancient Greek Comedy, Cambridge University Press, 2014, 978-1107050150, 49,

Indian variations of tag

{{See also|Traditional games of India#Variations of tag}}File:1-BISHNUPUR.jpg|thumb|234x234px|An atya-patya player (front right) attempts to cross the lane guarded by a tagger (right). Variations of atya-patya are played across South and Southeast Asia, such as the Malaysian galah panjanggalah panjang

• Kho-kho has been played since at least the fourth century BC.WEB, 2023-05-29, The Evolution of Kho Kho Mats in India: A Historical Overview,www.news18.com/sports/the-evolution-of-kho-kho-mats-in-india-a-historical-overview-7947775.html, 2023-08-06, News18, en, Certain aspects of kho-kho and kabaddi are believed to have been mentioned in the Mahabharata, around 300 AD or before.Kho Kho, a kabaddi-like sport linked with Indian epic Mahabharata - know all about it Olympics olympics.comWEB, kabaddi {{!, sport {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/kabaddi |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}
• Atya-patya, which goes by several other names (such as Klithatu), was also mentioned as early as 300 AD or before in the Naṟṟiṇai.WEB, Arasu, S. T., 2020-07-04, Galah Panjang and its Indian roots,www.gosports.com.my/news/galah-panjang-and-its-indian-roots/, 2022-10-21, On the sport. Be part of it, en,
• Langdi is believed to have been played in the Pandya dynasty, over a thousand years ago.WEB, Langdi,www.ultimatefunzone.com/langdi.html, 2022-10-21, ULTIMATE FUN ZONE, en,

Some Indian variations of tag are theorized to represent certain things from ancient Indian history; for example, there is evidence to suggest that the traditional Bengali game of gollachut, in which players attempt to run out of a circular field without being tagged by opponents, may represent escape attempts by agricultural slaves during the Indus Valley Civilization.A Historical Study of the Origin and Features of Some Selected Folk Games in North Bengal Badal Royir.nbu.ac.in/

Tag competitions

Major modern competitions for tag-like games (“major competitions” being those with at least 100 million views) include World Chase Tag,WEB, Morse, Ben, 2020-01-24, The children’s game that’s got professional athletes playing and millions watching online,www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/sport/world-chase-tag-spt-intl/index.html, 2023-02-08, CNN, en, “It has also gained a popular internet following, with the high-flying, high-octane action viewed over 350 million times on YouTube.”, Pro Kabaddi League,NEWS, Farooqui, Javed, 2022-12-14, Season 9: Kabaddi League viewership crosses 200-million mark, The Economic Times,economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/season-9-kabaddi-league-viewership-crosses-200-million-mark/articleshow/96207385.cms?from=mdr, 2023-02-08, 0013-0389, and Ultimate Kho Kho.WEB, 2023-01-17, Ultimate Kho Kho takes a giant leap in viewership with massive 164 million reach,www.deccanherald.com/sports/other-sports/ultimate-kho-kho-takes-a-giant-leap-in-viewership-with-massive-164-million-reach-1181877.html, 2023-02-08, Deccan Herald, en, As for tag variants being included in prestigious events, kabaddi has found its way into the Asian Games, and is also in the South Asian Games alongside kho-kho.WEB, OCA » Ancient tag game of kho kho catching on fast,ocasia.org/news/231-ancient-tag-game-of-kho-kho-catching-on-fast.html, 2023-02-08, ocasia.org,

Basic rules

(File:Children playing tag.jpg|thumb|Children playing a version of tag)Players (two or more) decide who is going to be “it”, often using a counting-out game such as eeny, meeny, miny, moe or rock paper scissors. The player selected to be “it” then chases the others, attempting to “tag” one of them (by touching them with a hand) as the others try to avoid being tagged.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/349881.stm, The games children play, 21 May 1999, BBC News, 15 October 2009, A tag makes the tagged player “it”. In some variations, the previous “it” is no longer “it” and the game can continue indefinitely, while in others, both players remain “it” and the game ends when all players have become “it”. This variation of the game is sometimes called “Family tip”.Many variants modify the rules for team play or place restrictions on tagged players’ behavior. A simple variation makes tag an elimination game, so that tagged players drop out of play.BOOK, Wise, Debra, Great big book of children’s games: over 450 indoor and outdoor games for kids, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003, 320, 0-07-142246-3,books.google.com/books?id=wTuZMWvmUisC&pg=PA186, Some variants have a rule preventing a player from tagging the person who has just tagged them (known as “no tag-backs”, “no catch-backs”, “no returns”, “can’t tag your master” or “can’t get the butcher back“).

Base and truce terms

Players may be safe from being tagged under certain circumstances: if they are within a pre-determined area, off the ground, or when touching a particular structure. Traditional variants are Wood tag (see knock on wood), Iron tag, and Stone tag, when a player is safe when touching the named material. Though in most cases you will be able to stay in that pre-determined area for however long you would like, such as “house rules” including that feature.BOOK, Beard, Daniel Carter, The Outdoor Handy Book: For Playground Field and Forest, 1900, Games of tag,books.google.com/books?id=m7KxyQ1lSy0C&pg=PA279, 978-0-89875-135-2, The Minerva Group, Inc., This safe zone has been called a “gool”, “ghoul”, or “Dell”,JOURNAL, Sanborn, Frank B.,archive.org/stream/granitemonthlyne37dove/granitemonthlyne37dove_djvu.txt, History and poetry from the life of F. B. Sanborn of Concord, Massachusetts, The Granite Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, History and State Progress, J. N. McClintock, 36–37, 1904, BOOK, Dictionary of American regional English, Volume 4, Frederic Gomes, Cassidy, Joan Houston Hall, Harvard University Press, 1985, 0-674-00884-7, registration,archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer0000unse_a4m8, probably a corruption of “goal”.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=vAr2T4Bh7nkC&pg=PA186, Dictionary of American Regional English: D–H, Volume 2, Cassidy, Frederic G., 1991, Harvard University Press, 0-674-20511-1, The term “gool” was first recorded in print in Massachusetts in the 1870s, and is common in the northern states of the US. Variants include gould, goul, and ghoul, and alternatives include base and home.WEB,www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990217, gool, The Mavens’ Word of the Day, 1999, Random House, Inc., In the United Kingdom, the base is frequently known as “den”. In much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, the state or home base of being immune from tagging is known as “times” or “T”, most likely as mutilation of “time out”.Players may also make themselves safe from being tagged by the use of a truce term. When playing the game tag, some may cross fingers to let others know that they, the player, cannot be it. Yet, this rule may come into play only if the crossing of fingers is shown; if the fingers are not shown to the person who is it, then the crossing does not count.BOOK, Wilkins, Sally,books.google.com/books?id=IyFHvy-SCIYC&pg=PA79, Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, 2002-04-30, Greenwood Publishing Group, 978-0-313-31711-8, en, If you tag the person who is currently ‘it’ you effectively make yourself it.

Alternate terminology

In Scotland, instead of saying “Tag, you’re ‘It’!”, the call is “You’re het (i.e., hot)!“In India, the player who is “it” is referred to as the “denner”.WEB, AK, Ananya, 2018-08-10, 10 Games You Played If You Were Born In The 90s India,www.campustimespune.com/10-90s-kids-games/, 2022-10-22, Campus Times Pune, en-US, WEB, 2017-09-06, Lock and Key to Pittu: 13 outdoor games every 90s kid would remember,www.inuth.com/trends/social-virals/lock-and-key-to-pittu-13-outdoor-games-every-90s-kid-would-remember/, 2023-08-06, InUth, en-US, {{Anchor|Choosing a tagger}}

Deciding who is “it”

In addition to games like rock paper scissors that can be used to decide who is “it”, some other methods are used in different parts of the world:

• In parts of Asia, variations of a game known as pugam pugai or Saa Boo Three in India are played;WEB, Twenties: Reminiscing the dying art of Indonesian traditional children’s games,www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2022/08/28/twenties-reminiscing-the-dying-art-of-indonesian-traditional-childrens-games.html, 2023-08-06, The Jakarta Post, en, WEB, Schauer, Annaliese, 2019-05-15, “Black and White” Chinese Children’s Game {{!, USC Digital Folklore Archives |url=http://folklore.usc.edu/black-and-white-chinese-childrens-game/ |access-date=2023-08-06 |language=en-US}} in one variation, a group of three players are asked to face one of their hands upward or downward, and if one of them faces their hand in the opposite direction of the other two players, then that player is eliminated. This process then repeats with other players until finally, the last player eliminated in the final group of three is made to be “it”.WEB, Gosain, Srishti, 2016-03-10, 12 Games Every 90s Kid Played And We Miss These,www.lifecrust.com/lifestyle/12-games-every-90s-kid-played-and-we-miss-these/, 2023-07-30, LifeCrust, en-US, WEB, Bandar Qilla (Baander killa) - Dost Pakistan,www.dostpakistan.pk/bandar-qilla/, 2023-07-30, en-US,
• All of the players put their foot in a circle, and the last player to withdraw their foot from the circle is “it”.BOOK, Jenks, Chris,books.google.com/books?id=1BtYHXLMBIkC&pg=PA191, Childhood: Critical Concepts in Sociology, 2004, Taylor & Francis, 978-0-415-34026-7, en,

Bans and restrictions

Tag and other chasing games have been banned in some schools in the United States due to concerns about injuries, complaints from children that it can lead to harassment and bullying, and that there is an aspect to the game that possesses an unhealthily predatory element to its nature.NEWS,www.nbcnews.com/id/15316912, Mass. grade school bans tag, other chase games, 19 October 2006, Associated Press, 14 October 2009, NEWS,www.nbcnews.com/id/20535154, Elementary school bans tag on its playground, 31 August 2007, Associated Press, 14 October 2009, In 2008, a 10-year-old boy in Omaha, Nebraska, died from brain injuries suffered from falling onto a metal pole while playing tag.NEWS,abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4656718, Nanny State of Play? Another Tag Ban, Schoetz, David, 16 April 2008, ABC News, 14 October 2009, A school dinner lady in Dorset was left partially paralyzed after a boy playing tag ran into her in 2004; her damage claim was rejected by three Court of Appeal judges, who ruled that the boy had not broken any school rules by playing the game.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7981652.stm, Dinner lady bid to sue boy fails, 3 April 2009, BBC News, 14 October 2009, In 2019, Joanne Smith, the headteacher of Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery, banned the game of tag because it was too rough.NEWS, Ellery, Ben, 2023-09-09, School bans tag for being too rough, The Times, en,www.thetimes.co.uk/article/school-bans-tag-for-being-too-rough-crsztnkmx, 2023-09-09, 0140-0460, A principal who banned tag in her school criticized the game for creating a “self-esteem issue” in nominating one child as a victim, and noted that the oldest and biggest children usually dominate the game.NEWS,abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91520&page=1&page=1, Is Tag Too Tough for Kids?, Sealey, Geraldine, 24 June 2002, ABC News, 15 October 2009, A dislike of elimination games is another reason for banning tag.NEWS,www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin498.shtml,www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin498.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20071014012846www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin498.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20071014012846www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin498.shtml, 14 October 2007, Is This “It” for Tag?, Bafile, Cara, 8 October 2007, Education World, 14 October 2009, In some schools only supervised tag is allowed, sometimes with a type of tagging called butterfly tagging—a light tap on the shoulders, arms or upper back.NEWS,www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=125252837589966900, Schools try to reduce playground conflicts, Anderson, Jennifer, 10 September 2009, Portland Tribune, 15 October 2009, The president of the US National Association for Sport and Physical Education said that “tag games are not inherently bad{{nbsp}}... teachers must modify rules, select appropriate boundaries and equipment, and make sure pupils are safe. Teachers should emphasize tag games that develop self-improvement, participation, fair play, and cooperation.”

Variants

{{See also|Category:Tag variants|Contact sport#Grades}}{{more citations needed section |date=December 2012}}

British bulldog

One (or two players) starts as “bulldog”, who stands in the middle of the playing area, while the other players stand at one end of the area. The aim is to run from one end of the area to the other without being caught by the bulldog. When a player is caught, he becomes a bulldog himself. The last player is the winner and starts as “bulldog” in the next game.WEB, McFarlane, Andy,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7592648.stm, The return of British Bulldog, BBC News, 2 September 2008, 14 July 2009,

Octopus tag

{{See also|British Bulldog (game)#Octopus}}In Octopus the playing field is known as ocean. The players, or “fishes”, line up along one side of the ocean. When the Octopus calls out, “Come fishies come!”, “Octopus!”, or a matching attribute of one or more fishes, they try to run to the other side without getting tagged. In a variation, once the fish run to the other side without getting tagged, the game pauses until the octopus starts it again. Upon getting tagged the fish become “seaweed” and must freeze or sit where they were tagged, but they can wave their arms around and assist the Octopus in tagging other fish within their reach. The last fish to be tagged becomes the next Octopus.

Cat and mouse

{{Excerpt|Cat and mouse (playground game)}}

Chaos tag

In chaos tag (also known as “ultimate tag” or “ultimate it“), any player may tag any other player. When a player is tagged he is declared “down” and must sit down where he was tagged. Any players that the “down” player tagged become “up” and begin tagging others. The game ends when all but one player is “down”. Since two players often tag each other at the same time, this variant is especially prone to dispute. One version allows a players to form alliances that dissolve once everyone but the allies are “down”. Another makes the players play rock paper scissors. The loser becomes “down” and the winner plays on.

Chhi-chhattar

One player, known as the “kite”, starts off inside a circle formed by all of the other players (“cocks“) holding hands, and then breaks free, with the first of the other players to tag the kite becoming the kite in the next round of play.Traditional Games, Sports & Amusements played in North Bengal and its Historical Backgroundir.nbu.ac.in/

Cross tag

In cross tag (also known as turn tag), if “it” is chasing somebody and then a third person runs in between, then “it” must chase the third person.JOURNAL, Brewster, Paul G., American nonsinging games,cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130000793974891008, (No Title), en, BOOK, Bronner, Simon J.,books.google.com/books?id=sHfVZFl4JTIC, American Children’s Folklore, 1988, august house, 978-0-87483-068-2, en,

Duck, duck, goose

(File:Duckduckgoose.gif|thumb|How duck, duck, goose is played)In this game, usually played by young children, the players sit in a circle facing inward. One player, the “picker” or “fox”, walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each of them a “duck”, until finally announcing one of their choosing to be the “goose”. The goose then rises and runs around the circle in the same direction as the picker, attempting to return to their seat before the “picker” can sit back down in the vacated spot. In Minnesota, this game is referred to as “Duck, duck, gray duck”.NEWS, Lileks, James, ‘Duck, duck’ apparently has no shades of gray; ‘Research shows that Minnesota is only state that flat-out refuses to say ‘goose’,www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html,www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121105202759www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121105202759www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62469147.html, dead, 5 November 2012, 4 September 2011, StarTribune, 19 February 1999,

Elbow tag

This variant is played on a circular field, with an inner circle and outer boundary being demarcated. At the start of the game, two of the players become a cat and mouse respectively, with all other players becoming pitchers. All of the pitchers pair off and stand around the perimeter of the inner circle, with each pair holding each other by the elbow. The cat’s goal is to tag the mouse; if the mouse links their elbow with one of the pitchers, then the pitcher who is not connected to the mouse disconnects from the pairing and swaps roles with the mouse. If the cat catches the mouse, then they swap roles.JOURNAL, Muñoz-Arroyave, Verónica, Pic, Miguel, Luchoro-Parrilla, Rafael, Serna, Jorge, Salas-Santandreu, Cristòfol, Damian-Silva, Sabrine, Machado, Leonardo, Rodríguez-Arregi, Rosa, Prat, Queralt, Duran-Delgado, Conxita, Lavega-Burgués, Pere, 2021, Promoting Interpersonal Relationships through Elbow Tag, a Traditional Sporting Game. A Multidimensional Approach, Sustainability, en, 13, 14, 7887, 10.3390/su13147887, 2071-1050, free, JOURNAL, Parlebas, Pierre, 2020, The Universals of Games and Sports, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.593877, 33192937, 1664-1078, free, 7609522, In one variation of elbow tag, when a mouse links their elbow with one of the pitchers, the pitcher who disconnects from the pairing becomes a cat, and the previous cat becomes a mouse.BOOK, Luvmour, Sambhava,books.google.com/books?id=OWlEAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA17, Win-Win Games for All Ages: Co-operative Activities for Building Social Skills, Luvmour, Josette, 2002-02-01, New Society Publishers, 978-0-86571-441-0, en, The same game is known as ‘standing kho-kho’ in South Asia, a variation of the Indian tag variant kho-kho.WEB, Doing it with ‘pao’ meet in Mumbai,www.thegoan.net/goa-news/doing-it-with-pao%E2%80%99-meet-in-mumbai/2460.html, 2024-01-26, The Goan EveryDay, en, In the ‘standing kho-kho’ variant, players simply stand in front of or behind each other as opposed to hooking their elbows together.WEB, Bharatiya Khel,bharatiyakhel.in/, 2024-01-26, en-US, BOOK, Satyam, Amitabh,books.google.com/books?id=AflmEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT100, The Games India Plays: Indian Sports Simplified, Goswami, Sangeeta, 2022-04-18, Bloomsbury Publishing, 978-93-5435-256-0, en,

Epidemiological tag

When first tagged each player tags two others. If tagged again they ignore the tag. The game ends when the tagging stops at which point there may be players who’ve never been tagged due to herd immunity.If the game is played by a number of players equal to a power of two minus one then it is easier to compare each generation to exponential growth. For 1 or 3 players it matches, divergence is expected for 7, 15, 31 and higher players. Plotting the number of tagged versus the generation typically produces a wave shape, summing the generations typically produces an S-shaped curve (Sigmoid function).Mason, Zebedee.zebm.substack.com/p/epidemiological-tag

Four corners

There are multiple variations of four corners; in one variation, four players stand at four corners of a square, and attempt to swap corners with each other without being tagged by “it”, who stands in the middle of the square.

Tiger

Players stand or sit in a circle and attempt to run to the other side. One person stands in the middle and is “it” or “tiger”. If the “tiger” catches you, you then become the new “tiger”.

Freeze tag

Freeze tag is a variation of classic tag. A player is deemed “it.” When a person is tagged by “it”, they are then “frozen” (staying still in the place where they were tagged). All “unfrozen” players still in play can then touch frozen players to “unfreeze” them, allowing them to be back in play. The game ends when “it” freezes all but one of the players who is then typically “it” during the next game. In some variations of the game, there may be multiple players who are “it” working together.WEB, Freeze Tag Basic Rules For Kids,www.rookieroad.com/games-for-kids/freeze-tag-basic-rules-for-2389997/, 2022-10-22, www.rookieroad.com, en, Similar games are played that are known as Vish Amrut/Vish AmritWEB, neeru, 2015-11-16, Vish Amrit,www.dsource.in/resource/indian-games/outdoor-games/vish-amrit, 2022-10-22, D’Source, en, (Poison-Antidote), Lock and Key, Ice and Water, Banana TagWEB, Banana Tag,fkhk.sportmanitoba.ca/node/166, Fit Kids Healthy Kids, WEB, Banana Tag,www.thegamegal.com/2019/01/03/banana-tag/, The Game Gal, and Stuck in the Mud.WEB, 2017-11-09, Top 10 Childhood Games We Played in the 90’s,firstmomsclub.in/top-10-childhood-games-we-played-in-the-90s/, 2022-10-22, First Moms Club - Community for Indian Mothers, en-US,

Squat tag

Players can make themselves safe from being tagged in squat tag by squatting down, though in order to stand back up again, a teammate has to tag the squatting player.{{Efn|Some similar games have players sit down rather than squat.}}JOURNAL, Brewster, Paul G., 1951, Four Games of Tag from India,www.jstor.org/stable/4317307, Midwest Folklore, 1, 4, 239–241, 0544-0750, 4317307, WEB, Definition of SQUAT TAG,www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squat+tag, 2023-08-28, www.merriam-webster.com, en,

Hang tag

In hang tag, players are safe from being tagged so long as they are hanging off the ground by holding onto something above them, such as a tree branch.JOURNAL, Schwartzman, Helen B., 1979, Transformations,link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4613-3938-0, SpringerLink, en, 10.1007/978-1-4613-3938-0,

Kiss chase

{{Category see also|Kissing games}}Kiss chase, also referred to as Catch and Kiss, is a tag variant in which tagging is performed by kissing. All members of one sex are “it” at once and chase players of the opposite sex until everyone is caught, then the roles are reversed.NEWS,www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/10/22/new-book-celebrates-games-which-were-playground-favourites-of-yesteryear-86908-20827082/, New book celebrates games which were playground favourites of yesteryear, McQueen, Craig, 22 October 2008, Daily Record, 15 October 2009, A variant is that the player chosen to be “it” will, with assistance from players of the same gender, chase all members of the opposite sex and kiss one of them.

Kumir danga

In this Indian game, all of the players stay in a designated area (“land“), while “it” (who is referred to as a “crocodile“) stands outside of that area in the “water”, and cannot step onto land. The players try to run between the water and the land without being tagged.NEWS, The games we played - Times of India,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/parenting/the-games-we-played/articleshow/45145248.cms, 2022-11-22, The Times of India, 18 November 2014, en, WEB, Maa Mati Manush :: M3 Leads - Traditional rural Bengali games,maamatimanush.tv/articles.php?aid=516, 2022-11-22, maamatimanush.tv,

Poison

In the game of Poison, play starts with players holding hands around a small “poison” circle marked on the ground. The first player to be pushed or pulled into the circle become “poisoned”, all hands are released and the poisoned player or players must chase the others.

River or mountain

{{See also|Oonch Neech}}In River or Mountain (also referred to as Nadi-Parvat in India), designated areas of the field are referred to as “river” or “mountain”. The player who is “it” shouts “river” or “mountain”, and the other players must go to the area called out. While outside of that area, the players can be tagged and eliminated.

Shadow tag

Instead of touching other players, “it” tries to step on their shadows to tag them.WEB, Korhnak, Sarah, How to Play Shadow Tag,www.backyardbrilliant.com/how-to-play-shadow-tag/, 2022-11-02, Backyard Brilliant, en-US,

The floor is lava

In one variation of “The floor is lava”, the players must avoid stepping on the floor by staying on raised platforms, while “it” (sometimes referred to as the “Lava Monster“) can walk across the floor and attempt to tag other players.WEB, The Floor Is Lava {{!, How to Play |url=https://fungameskidsplay.com/floor-is-lava-game.html |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=fungameskidsplay.com}}WEB, Peverley, Esther, 2020-11-27, 5 Creative Variations Of ‘The Floor Is Lava’ Game To Play With The Kids,www.moms.com/the-floor-is-lava-variations/, 2022-10-23, Moms, en-US,

Tilo-Express

Tilo-Express is a variant of hide-and-seek in which the seeker loses if they are tagged by an opponent that they have not spotted.WEB, Ahmed, Shaquib Tayeem, 2015-11-20, Lost Games Of Dhaka City,www.thedailystar.net/wide-angle/lost-games-dhaka-city-175360, 2022-11-23, The Daily Star, en,

Team tag

Chicken vs eagle

In this game, one player is the eagle, another player is the chicken, and the remaining players are chicks. The chicks form a line behind the chicken by holding each other’s waists, and the goal of the eagle is to tag the chicks, while the chicken tries to prevent this by holding their arms out and moving around. Throughout the game, the chicks must stay in the line formation, and if one of them is tagged, then they become the eagle.WEB, Children’s Day special: Do you remember these games?[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn,www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2014-05/29/content_17551775.htm, 2023-08-02, www.chinadaily.com.cn, WEB, 2021-06-21, How To Play Eagle Catch Chick: An Outdoor Game Of Tag For Groups,www.littledayout.com/how-to-play-eagle-and-chick-an-outdoor-game-of-tag-for-groups/, 2023-08-02, Little Day Out, en-GB,

Catch the dragon’s tail

All the players line up by holding each other’s waists, with the player in the front known as the “dragon”, and the player in the back known as the “tail”. The goal of the dragon is to tag the tail, while all other players aim to prevent this by moving around. The players must stay in the line formation throughout the game, and once the dragon tags the tail, the players all move up one spot, with the former dragon now at the back of the line.WEB, Chinese Historical & Cultural Project - Traditional Chinese Games,chcp.org/Games, 2023-08-02, chcp.org, WEB, 2014-08-22, Catching the dragon’s tail,www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/10403335/Catching-the-dragons-tail, 2023-08-02, Stuff, en,

Cops and robbers

{{See also|Chor Police (game)}}Cops and robbers, sometimes called “jail”, “jail tag”, “team tag”, “chase”, “cowboys and Indians”, “police and thief”, “prisoner’s base“WEB,www.databaseofgames.com/physical-games/chase-and-catch/377/prisoners-base, Prisoner’s base, “jailbreak”, “releaseo” or “manhunt”,BOOK, Miller, Claude H., Outdoor sports and games, Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, New York, 1911, The Library of Work and Play,www.gutenberg.org/files/16316/16316-h/16316-h.htm, has players split into two teams: cops and robbers.A. M. Burrage calls this version of the game “Smee” in his 1931 ghost story of the same name.The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories, OUP 1986. The cops, who are in pursuit of robbers (the team being chased), arrest the robbers by tagging the robbers and putting them in jail. Robbers can stage a jailbreak by tagging one of the prisoners in the jail without getting tagged themselves.BOOK, Wise, Debra, Great Big Book of Children’s Games,books.google.com/books?id=wTuZMWvmUisC&pg=PA160, 2003, New York, McGraw Hill Professional, 978-0-07-142246-8, 53838650, 160, The game ends if all the robbers are in jail. In a variant, the robbers have five minutes to hide before being hunted, and only one jailbreak may be allowed per robber. In the 2017 racing game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a variation of the game is used as a sub-mode for Battle Mode known as “Renegade Roundup”.WEB,mariokart8.nintendo.com/?section=battle&, Battle Mode, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,

Zombie tag

Humans vs. Zombies is a survival game of tag, where “human” players fight off increasingly large numbers of “zombies”; if a human is “turned” (i.e. tagged), then that player also becomes a zombie. At the game’s beginning, there are only one or two zombies; the zombies multiply by tagging humans, turning them into zombies after a period of one hour. Humans can defend themselves from zombies by using socks, marshmallows, Nerf Blasters or any other toys deemed safe and appropriate; if a zombie is hit by one of these, they are stunned (not allowed to interact with the game in any way) for 15 seconds. The goal of the zombies is to turn all the humans; the humans, meanwhile, must outlast all the zombies.

Manhunt

{{See also|Hide-and-seek}}Manhunt is a mixture of hide and seek and tag, often played during the night. One person is “it”, while the other players have to hide. Then, the person who is “it” tries to find and tag them. The game is over when all players are out. Manhunt is sometimes played in teams. In one variant there is a home base in which a player is safe. That version ends when all players who are not safe are out.

Prisoner’s base

In prisoner’s base, each team starts in a chain, holding hands, with one end of the chain touching the base. The end two players on each team break from the chain and try to tag each other, taking them to their base if they do. The end pair progressively break from the chain and join the tagging. As with Cops and Robbers, prisoners can be freed by tagging them in the base. The game is thought to date back to the Renaissance period, and may be inspired by the act of bride kidnapping. A game of prisoner’s base was played by members of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery against a group of Nez Perce.“Sunday 8th June 1806. the 2{{nbsp}}men returnd from the villages. a number of the natives visited us and gave Frazer a fine young horse a number of the natives joined and got out our canoe which was Sank. our party exercised themselves running and playing games called base in the evening danced after the fiddle as the Indians were anxious to See them.” WEB,lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/read/?_xmlsrc=1806-06-08.xml&_xslsrc=LCstyles.xsl#n35060803, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 14 May 2016, WEB,franceshunter.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/the-forgotten-games-of-the-corps-of-discovery/, The Forgotten Games of the Corps of Discovery, 16 February 2012,

Chain tag

In chain tag (also known in India as Jod Saakli or Saakli/Saakhli), one player is “it” and attempts to tag other players. Each tagged player becomes “it” as well, with all of the “it” players required to form and remain in a human chain by holding hands. Only the two players at either end of the chain can tag other players. The game ends once all players have been tagged, with the last person tagged being the winner.BOOK, Satyam, Amitabh,books.google.com/books?id=AflmEAAAQBAJ, The Games India Plays: Indian Sports Simplified, Goswami, Sangeeta, 2022-04-18, Bloomsbury Publishing, 978-93-5435-256-0, en, WEB, Gawankar, Vinayak, Top 7 Games that will remind you of your childhood {{!, India.com |url=https://www.india.com/viral/top-7-games-that-will-remind-you-of-your-childhood-73054/ |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=www.india.com |language=en}}

What’s the time, Mr. Wolf?

One player is chosen to be Mr. Wolf and stands facing away from the other players at the opposite end of the playing field. All players except Mr. Wolf chant in unison “What’s the time, Mr. Wolf?”, and Mr. Wolf will answer in one of two ways: Mr. Wolf may call a time – usually an hour ending in “o’clock”. The other players take that many steps towards Mr. Wolf. They then ask the question again. Alternatively Mr. Wolf may call “Dinner time!”, and turn and chase the other players back to their starting point. If Mr. Wolf tags a player, that player becomes Mr. Wolf for the next round.

Ringolevio

In Ringolevio, there are two teams. In one version, one team goes off and hides. The other team counts to a number such as 30 and then goes looking for them. Each team has its own “jail”, a park bench or other defendable area in another version. The game goes on until all of one team is in jail. In many ways, Ringolevio is similar to Prisoner’s Base.

Hens-Vipers-Foxes

There are three teams in this game: the hens, vipers, and foxes, with each team having its own designated area (“camp“). Each team can tag players of one of the other teams (i.e. hens can tag vipers, vipers tag foxes, and foxes tag hens) to imprison them within the tagging team’s camp, with the prisoners only able to be freed by a tag from the third team.

Gella-Chutt

{{Excerpt|Gella-Chutt}}

Gollachut

In Gollachut, one team starts off in the center of a circle, and each of its players attempts to reach an area at the edge of the circle without being tagged by the opponents.BOOK, Nasim, Md Abu,books.google.com/books?id=HHspEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT42, Stadiums in Calcutta: A New Genre of Sports Culture, 2021-04-17, Notion Press, 978-1-63806-579-1, en,

Surr

Surr is played by two teams of at least four players, in a field divided by two perpendicular “lines of defense” (lanes) into four quadrants. The attacking team gathers in one quadrant, and aims to advance around the other three quadrants without having all of its players tagged out by the defensive team’s players, who must remain within the lines of defense.

Variants requiring equipment

{{See also|List of dodgeball variations}}Some variants of tag use equipment such as balls, paintball guns, or even flashlights to replace tagging by hand.

Blind man’s bluff

(File:Blindfold (PSF).png|thumb|right|The “Blind man’s bluff” variant requires a blindfold to be played.)Blind man’s bluff, also known as Mr. Blind Man or Grounders, is a version of tag in which one player, designated as “it”, is blindfolded and attempts to tag the other players, while the other players try to avoid them.

Capture the flag

The field is divided into two halves, one for each team, and the goal of each team is to have its players go into enemy territory, grab the “flag” located in the back of their territory, and then make it back to friendly territory without being tagged.

Computer tag

Research students developed a version of tag played using handheld WiFi-enabled computers with GPS.NEWS,www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/pcs-bring-a-game-of-tag-to-the-urban-playground-555212.html, PCs bring a game of tag to the urban playground, Reichardt, Patricia, 3 August 2004, The Independent, 15 October 2009, dead,web.archive.org/web/20110418070751/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/pcs-bring-a-game-of-tag-to-the-urban-playground-555212.html, 18 April 2011, London, WEB,cnm.open.ac.uk/projects/cititag/, CitiTag, Centre for New Media, Open University, 15 October 2009, 16 October 2009,cnm.open.ac.uk/projects/cititag/," title="web.archive.org/web/20091016003724cnm.open.ac.uk/projects/cititag/,">web.archive.org/web/20091016003724cnm.open.ac.uk/projects/cititag/, dead,

Flashlight tag

Flashlight tag, also called “Army tag”, “Spotlight”, and “German Spotlight”,WEB,www.gameskidsplay.net/games/chasing_games/tag/tag_flashlight.htm, Flashlight Tag, Lori Donnahue, 16 August 2010, is played at night. Rather than physically tagging, the “it” player tags by shining a flashlight beam on other players.

Fox and geese

A traditional type of line tag, sometimes played in snow, is Fox and geese. The fox starts at the centre of a spoked wheel, and the geese flee from the fox along the spokes and around the wheel. Geese that are tagged become foxes. The intersections of the spokes with the wheel are safe zones.BOOK, Grover, Kathryn, Hard at play: leisure in America, 1840-1940, Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1992, 262, 0-87023-792-6,books.google.com/books?id=Yu2oPyz_cusC&pg=PA234,

Kick the can

One person is “it” and a can is placed in an open space. The other players run off and hide, then it tries to find and tag each of them. Tagged players are sent to jail. Any player who has not been caught can kick the can, setting the other players free from jail.MAGAZINE,books.google.com/books?id=dVAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA67, The Games Children Play, Newcombe, Jack, 6 March 1970, LIFE, 15 October 2009, The player who is “it” must replace the can on its designated spot before they can resume chasing and tagging other players.

Laser tag

Laser tag is similar to flashlight tag, but using special equipment to avoid the inevitable arguments that arise about whether one was actually tagged. Players carry guns that emit beams of light and wear electronic equipment that can detect the beams and register being hit. The equipment often has built-in scoring systems and various penalties for taking hits. Pay-per-game laser tag facilities are common in North America.

Marco Polo

An aquatic American variant of blind man’s bluff, most commonly played in a swimming pool, although it may also be played while swimming in shallow natural bodies of water (typically the areas near the shores of oceans, seas, and lakes). The players may be swimming, treading water, or walking on the bottom of the pool or body of water. The person designated “it” is required to close their eyes, and shouts “Marco!” at regular intervals; the other players must shout “Polo!” in response. “It” must use sound localization to find one of the other players and tag them. The tagged player then generally becomes “it,” and the process repeats. In some variants, if any of the players who are not “it” climb out of the water to ensure not being caught (depending on the variant, this may be cheating) and the player designated “it” suspects this, they are to shout “Fish out of water!” and can open their eyes briefly to confirm this. If their suspicions are correct, then the culprit must become “it” as the game starts over.

Muckle

Muckle (sometimes called “muckle the man with the ball”, “kill-the-guy-with-the-ball”, “smear the queer”,BOOK, Doll, Beth, Katherine Brehm, Resilient Playgrounds, CRC Press, 2009, School-based Practice in Action, 256, 978-0-415-96088-5,books.google.com/books?id=-LvUYjB0qLwC&pg=PA32, JOURNAL, Dundes, Alan, The American game of “Smear the Queer” and the homosexual component of male competitive sport and warfare, Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology, 8, 115–129,psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-15485-001, “kill the carrier”, among other names) is the reverse of regular tag; all the other players chase “it”. This player is denoted by carrying a ball (usually a gridiron football). When they are caught, they are tackled, or “muckled”. Whoever retrieves the ball first or whoever attacks the one who is it then becomes it. Sometimes the last player arriving to tackle the former ball carrier is the next person to be it; in other variations the player with the ball throws the ball up in the air, where it is caught by another player who becomes it.

Nalugu Rallu Aata

In Nalugu Rallu Aata (Four-stones game), four players stand in four quadrants of a square, with “it” restricted to moving in the borders between the quadrants. There are four stones in the middle of the square, and the objective is for each player on the team of four to get a stone and then return to their own quadrant without being tagged.

Paintball

Paintball is a sport in which players use compressed air guns (called paintball markers) to tag other players with paint-filled pellets. Games are usually played on commercial fields with a strict set of safety and gameplay rules.

Sock tag

A tube sock is filled with a small amount of flour in the toe of the sock; the sock is then gripped by the leg hole and wielded as a flail. Striking a player with any part of the sock counts as a tag. When the sock strikes the player, the impact releases enough flour to leave a mark which serves as proof that the player was tagged.BOOK, Michelle, Anthony, Dennis R., McLaughlin, The Gigantic Book of Games for Youth Ministry,books.google.com/books?id=gbdDYoxZnQ0C&pg=PA121, 1999, Group Pub., 978-0-7644-2113-6, 121, WEB,www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/flour-sock-tag.html, Flour Sock Tag - Ultimate Camp Resource, www.ultimatecampresource.com, 9 August 2019,

Steal the bacon

In Steal the bacon (also known as Dog and the Bone or Rumal Jhapatta in India, or steal the flingsock/handkerchief), there are two teams on opposite ends of the field, with an object placed in the center of the field. Once play begins, one player from each team attempts to grab the object and then run back to their own team’s end of the field to score a point. If a player is holding the object and is tagged by an opponent, then they fail and the other team scores a point.WEB, How to Play Rumal Jhapatta game {{!, Dog and the bone |url=https://fallinsports.com/local-games-and-sports/read-about-different-sports-in-english/how-to-play-rumal-jhapatta-game-dog-and-the-bone/ |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=Fall in Sports |language=en-US}}WEB, List of Top 15 Traditional (Desi) Games of India,parenting.firstcry.com/articles/magazine-15-traditional-games-of-india-that-probably-internet-generation-dont-know/, 2022-10-22, parenting.firstcry.com,

Tree-climbing monkey

There are several variations of and games related to “Tree climbing monkey” (such as Surparambya,BOOK, Chatterjee, Sukumar,books.google.com/books?id=buiFDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT139, Grandpa’s Tales of Ahmednagar – Part 1, 2016-11-18, Notion Press, 978-1-946280-21-3, en, WEB, www.wisdomlib.org, 2018-10-16, Suraparambi, SurapārambÄ«: 1 definition,www.wisdomlib.org/definition/suraparambi, 2023-07-25, www.wisdomlib.org, en, Importance of Play Aarti C Rajaratnam Marakothi and (Punjabi sports (India)#Dand parhangrha (Punjabi: ਡੰਡ ਪੜਾਂਗੜਾ)|Dand parhangrha)). A team of several players attempt to climb up trees, while “it” tries to tag all of them. There is a stick in a circle on the ground, and “it” has to ensure none of the opponents touch that stick.WEB, 2020-08-12, Tree Climbing Monkey {{!, Indian Traditional Games {{!}} How to Play |url=https://www.traditionalgames.in/tree-climbing-monkey |access-date=2022-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812031859www.traditionalgames.in/tree-climbing-monkey |archive-date=12 August 2020 }}An exploratory study of unsupervised mobile learning in rural India In some similar games, such as Siya Satkana, there is no tree-climbing component to the game.Designing digital games for rural children: a study of traditional village games in Indiawww.researchgate.net/

Tumbang preso

The player who is “it” guards a can placed on the ground, while one of the other players tries to throw their slipper at the can to knock it over. After throwing, players must recover their slippers and then return to the throwing area without being tagged. Before “it” can tag the players, “it” must first put the can back upright and in its original position.

Team tag sports

South Asian variations of tag

File:Ultimate kho kho logo.jpg|thumb|190x190px|The logo for Ultimate Kho KhoUltimate Kho KhoIn South Asia, several sports are variants of tag, played at the team level, sometimes internationally.

Kabaddi

(File:Iran men’s national kabaddi team 13970602000432636707284535394012 98208.jpg|thumb|238x238px|A Kabaddi raider trying to make it back over the midline while being tackled by the defensive team.)In {{GamesSport|Kabaddi|Events=|Format=m}}, raiders cross a dividing line to try to tag defenders, while continuously chanting “kabbadi” on one breath while over the line, and then attempt to make it back over the line without being stopped (tackled) by the defenders.BOOK, Leibs, Andrew, Sports and games of the Renaissance, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Sports and games through history, 199, 0-313-32772-6,books.google.com/books?id=6LQ4-wUOrlgC&pg=PA39, It is included in the Asian Games and even has a world championship, being played throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Iran, as well as by the South Asian diaspora in Canada, Great Britain, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. It was also demonstrated in 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Kho kho

{{GamesSport|Kho kho|Events=|Format=m}} involves an attacker trying to tag three defenders in a rectangular court. The attacker’s eight teammates sit in a central lane which divides the court into two halves, and which connects two poles at either end of the court. The attacker can not cross the central lane, and can not change direction once they start running towards either pole. The attacker has the option of switching roles with a teammate by touching their back, and can also run around either pole to enter the other half of the court. Kho kho’s first major professional franchise competition was the 2022 season of Ultimate Kho Kho.

Atya patya

{{See also|Galah panjang|Patintero}}Atya patya is played on a rectangular court, which is split into two halves by a central lane or “trench”, and which is further subdivided by nine trenches which are perpendicular to the central trench. The game is played in four 7-minute innings (turns), with teams alternating offense and defense in each inning. The goal of the attacking team is to have their players cross as many trenches as possible without being eliminated by a touch from any of the nine defensive players, each of whom stands in one of the trenches.

Langdi

Langdi is played in a small rectangular court, with the teams each having two 9-minute turns on offense and defense. The offensive team has one player in the court, while the defensive team sends in a batch of three players at a time. The offensive player is restricted to hopping around on one foot, and aims to tag as many defenders as possible.WEB, The Games India Plays by Amitabh Satyam and Sangeeta Goswami I An Excerpt,www.shethepeople.tv/books/the-games-india-plays-by-amitabh-satyam-and-sangeeta-goswami/, 2022-10-10, en-US,

World Chase Tag

(File:World Chase Tag logo.png|border|right|frameless|232x232px)World Chase Tag (WCT) is played between two teams of six players over 16 rounds of gameplay. The playing court is a {{Convert|12|m|abbr=on}}-square with various objects and obstacles placed within it. Parkour is a major component of how the players navigate the obstacles in the court. In each round, one player from the offensive team (the chaser) tries to tag a player from the defending team (the evader) within 20 seconds. The evader scores a point if they successfully avoid being tagged during the round.WEB, Rules {{!, World Chase Tag® |url=https://www.worldchasetag.com/rules |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.worldchasetag.com}}

Tag rugby

{{See also|Touch football (American)}}Tag or flag rugby is a non-contact variation in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it, or shorts with velcro patches. The mode of play is also similar to rugby league with attacking players attempting to dodge, evade and pass a rugby ball while defenders attempt to prevent them scoring by tagging – pulling a velcro attached tag from the ball carrier. Flag football has similar gameplay, and is a non-contact variation of American football, a game related to rugby. However, the “tag” in “tag rugby” is derived from the “tags” that the players wear and the children’s game of tag more closely resembles touch rugby whereby a touch replaces a tackle.

Games involving tagging

(File:20170718 Dodgers-WhiteSox Tim Anderson tagging out Chris Taylor.jpg|thumb|A defensive baseball player (left) tries to tag a baserunner with his glove before the runner can slide into the base.)Some sports involve tagging as a minor, but crucial component of gameplay.JOURNAL, Belka, David E., 1998, Strategies for Teaching Tag Games,www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07303084.1998.10605610, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, en, 69, 8, 40–43, 10.1080/07303084.1998.10605610, 0730-3084,

Baseball

In the bat-and-ball game of baseball, the offensive team’s players try to score by advancing around four bases without being put out (eliminated) by players on the defensive team. One way for a defender to put out an offensive player is to tag the offensive player (when they are not touching any of the bases) while holding the baseball.WEB, Baseball Tag Out Rules,www.rookieroad.com/baseball/rules-and-regulations/tag-out/, 2022-10-18, www.rookieroad.com, en, The same mechanic is present in several variations of baseball, such as softball and Baseball5.

Video game adaptations

{{See also|Maze chase games}}

Pac-Man

{{Excerpt|Pac-Man|paragraphs=1|files=0}}

See also

• Tackle (sports concept)
• List of children’s gamesTag games
• Traditional games of South AsiaVariations of tag
• Traditional games in the PhilippinesVariations of tag
• Assassin (game)

References

{{Reflist}}{{Notelist}}{{Outdoor games}}{{Team sports}}{{Authority control}}