Tag 101

Tag 101

Played throughout the world and since ancient Egypt, if not earlier, tag is inherently simple. Tag is an informal sport or game that usually involves one or more players attempting to "tag" other players by touching them with their hands. Most forms require neither teams, nor scores, nor sports equipment such as balls, but it may be made more complex with various rule modifications. Both of these aspects make tag a popular game amongst children (even the occasional college student like myself), and it is often played in informal areas such as playgrounds or back yards.

In its most basic form, tag involves at least two players. One player is "it"; a position that is determined by volunteering or by another selection method such as rock, paper, siccors or drawing straws.After "it" is chosen, the other players scatter. "It" must chase them down and tag them. A tagged player becomes "it," and the former "it" joins the others in trying to avoid being tagged. This process repeats.In a typical game of tag, no score is kept, nor is a winner selected. Those who can avoid being tagged or who can stay "it" for the least amount of time are generally regarded as the best players. There is no time limit; the end of the game is chosen arbitrarily, perhaps when the players tire of the game, when recess ends, or when players get called home for dinner.

An anomalous property of tag is that although being "it" gives a player the most influence upon the game and thus could be considered the best role to play, the position is stigmatized and avoided. While most agree that the temporary stigma associated with being "it" is harmless, some have criticized tag because, they allege, a player who is often pursued to be made "it" or who is physically slow can be singled out and embarrassed. Because of this, tag and dodgeball were banned from New Jersey schools on November 18th, 2002.

There are many variants on the basic game of tag. The following should by no means be viewed as complete or authoritative. These are just some of my favorite forms of the game. Most of these come from my personal

experience as an enthusiastic tag player.

In Borders and Bases; to keep the action fast and fun, a game of tag often has arbitrary borders that the players cannot step beyond (e.g., a fenced-in back yard, a school yard or the end of a street). This prevents players from running far beyond the area where the game started to avoid being tagged, a game of tag may also have one or more "bases", usually a landmark such as a school yard bench, tree trunk or patch of dirt. When a base is touched or stood upon, it grants a player invulnerability from being tagged. It is usually considered cowardly to spend so much time on the base that becoming tagged is impossible, so prideful players usually resort to the safe haven of "base" only in emergencies.

Freeze tag varies from normal tag in that once a player is tagged, he does not become "it"; rather, he is "frozen" and must stand in place without moving while "it" continues to tag and "freeze" the other players. Whoever is the last to be tagged is the winner. Freeze tag often includes some mechanism for freeing frozen players and thus forcing "it" to re-tag them. For example, if two frozen players can extend their arms far enough to touch each other (without moving their feet), they may shout "electricity!" and become un-frozen. In another variant, sometimes known as "stick in the mud", "Chinese freeze tag" or "Scarecrow Chasey", players may be un-frozen when someone crawls between their legs. Such an action helps prevent "it" from winning, but puts the person crawling in a position where he can be easily tagged and frozen as well. "Scarecrow Tag" frozen players can also be unfrozen by a player running under either of the arms in variants of the game.

In Marco Polo, named for the 13th century traveler, "it" is either blindfolded or made to keep his eyes shut firmly. The game then progresses as per normal tag, but "it" may shout out "Marco!" at any time. The other players must then reply "Polo!", thus giving the blinded "it" an audial clue to their locations. Marco Polo is most often played in swimming pools due to their small size and the difficulty of trying to escape "it" without making noise. If "it" suspects that someone has exited the pool, they can shout "fish out of water," and