Flag Tag

Focus Skills: Chasing · Fleeing

Flag Tag is a Standards-based Chasing and Fleeing game that is perfect for children of all ages. It focuses on skills related to Chasing and Fleeing. It can be played in the Gym or outdoors.

If you are looking for information on how I use this game in my teaching, be sure to check out the Chasing & Fleeing Games Teacher Pack!

Quick Rules

Players get into a scattered formation within the playing area.
Each player is given a pinnie which they must wear as a “tail” on the side of their body (with at least 75% of the pinnie being visible).
All players are IT.
On the teacher’s signal, players run around while simultaneously attempting to tag other players and avoid being tagged themselves.
Players tag other players by removing their “tail”.
If a player successfully removes the “tail” of another player, they give the pinnie back to that player.
If a player’s “tail” is removed, they must step outside the playing area and perform a pre-determined physically active movement for a certain number of repetitions or duration (e.g. dance for 10 seconds, do 5 jumping jacks). They may then return to the game.

Builds

Build One: Avoiding Opponents
Players get into a scattered formation. On the teacher’s signal, all players begin moving about the playing are while avoiding contact with other players. This build exists to help students understand the limits of the game while helping them develop dodging skills.
Build Two: Flag Tag
Players now play the game with the full version of the rules.
Build Three: Tail Thiefs
In this build, if a player successfully removes another player’s tail, the player who removed the “tail” now keeps it. If a player has no “tail” they must sit down. If a player has an extra pinnie in their hand and their “tail” is removed, they may replace their tail by the extra one they have. No player may have more than two extra pinnies at a time. To get a player who is sitting out back in the game, any player with an extra pinnie may give the player sitting out one of their extra pinnies.

Build Four: Swarm Tag
In this build, only one player starts as IT. The IT player does not have a “tail”. The IT player tries to turn another players into ITs by removing their “tail”. If a player’s “tail” is removed, they return it to the teacher and rejoin the game as an IT player. The goal of the game, if you are a runner, is to be the last player in the game who still has their “tail”. The goal of the game, if you are IT, is to turn all of the other players into IT players.