Tag Games

Tag Games	Kites
Fun Fitness	Water Games

You're It!

Ok, maybe I should have warned you the game was starting. It would be only fair, after all.

Tag games are a lot of fun and very active. They can be limited to the backyard for younger children or across half the block for older children. In our early teens, my sisters and I played tag games that ran across several blocks in a very quiet neighborhood. Yes, not many kids our age still played tag, but we found enough ways to add to the challenge to keep our own interest up.

Here are some rules for a variety of tag games. All are intended to be played outside.

Alligator Tag

This is one my sisters, friends and I made up to play in the front yard, so you might not be familiar with it. The It was called the Alligator and could not go on the grass. No one else was allowed to touch the sidewalk or they would become the Alligator. Players would jump across the sidewalk to the parking strip of grass and back again, trying not to get tagged or land on the sidewalk. The Alligator could walk on hoses or anything else that was on the grass, or they could jump to try and tag someone before they landed. If they hit the grass before tagging someone, they had to go back to the sidewalk and count to 5 before trying again.

One variation we played was to have the players be safe only if they were off the ground. This was good if we had to play in the backyard rather than the front. Ok, so we really should have given it a different name, but sometimes we weren't that creative about naming our games. No limits on where the Alligator or other players could go within the yard, of course.

Flashlight Tag

Played much like Hide and Go Seek below, but after dark. The It has a flashlight and if they catch someone in the light, that person becomes It.

Freeze Tag

One person is It. Whenever they tag someone, that person is frozen until another player unfreezes them. Play until everyone is frozen.

Hide and Go Seek

It counts to an appropriate number, depending on the age of the players (10 for younger children, 50-100 for most others), while hiding their eyes at the base. It shouts "Ready or not, here I come!" before looking around. If players are very young, you might want to allow them to call "Not ready" and have the count start over if they haven't hidden yet.

The hidden players try to sneak out of their hiding places and reach the base before the It tags them. If they reach the base, they call out "Home Free!" and are out of the game.

The first person the It catches is It the next time. If no players are caught they are It again.

Neighborhood Hide and Go Seek

This is the game I told you about that my sisters and I played. The It would count while everyone else runs and hides anywhere they want - no boundaries. The It is identified only by something they wear - a button, a hat, something that can be seen at a reasonable distance.

When the It catches someone, they are It. The new It cannot catch the old one for a period of time, to give them time to get away. The game does not stop when there is a new It. This game is timed instead, and everyone returns home at a predetermined time, so everyone has to wear a watch!

The fun part to us was never being certain who was It. We generally used a 3 inch button with a picture of a 4 leaf clover on it, so from behind you couldn't tell if someone was It. And of course, every player needs to be interested in running around and finding new places to hide or the game gets dull quickly.

Water Balloon Tag

Lots of fun on a hot summer day! The It carries a water balloon, and throws it at people. If they hit someone, they are now It. If the balloon breaks without hitting someone, the It has to go get a new water ballon.

Add to Your Social Bookmarks: Del.icio.us Furl Reddit Simpy Spurl Y! MyWeb

What's happening on the forum?

Hello from Alabama in Introduce Yourself - RobNJakesMom, Tue 19-Aug-08 (7 Replies)

Hello Everyone in Introduce Yourself - RobNJakesMom, Tue 19-Aug-08 (0 Replies)

Blue Quartz Pendant in General Chatter - Knight, Tue 19-Aug-08 (2 Replies)

Hi, from Texas! in Introduce Yourself - kristi23, Tue 19-Aug-08 (9 Replies)

The Rec Center in Getting fit - Audrey, Tue 19-Aug-08 (6 Replies)


	Web homewiththekids.com