From Fun to Anguish
In 2004, a school dinner lady in Dorset was partially paralyzed when a boy playing tag rammed into her. Unfortunately, her claim for damage was ruled out by 3 Court of Appeal judges.
Tag is a game that is enjoyed by the young and the old, the quiet and the noisy, the big and the small, and everyone in between. It has been played for as long as we can all remember, and whether you were in the U.S, in Britain, in France, China, or India, you have played some form of tag or the other. Because of its versatility, the rules, requirements, and end goal, it can be played around with and shifted about, and today we have over 20 different versions of this game, including the likes of Zombie Tag, Blind Man's Bluff, Laser Tag, Duck, Duck Goose, Flashlight Tag, Cops and Robbers, Chain Tag, Shipwrecked, Kick the Can, and Paintball - all exciting and colorful forms of the classic.
But by far, one of the most popular of them all is Freeze Tag, which back here was called "Ice and Water". We bring you the instructions on how to play freeze tag, which can turn out to be a delightful use of a lazy Sunday afternoon!
HOW TO PLAY FREEZE TAG: Step by Step Instructions
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What You'll Need
- A group of 4 or more people
- A large, open space
- Time on your hands
- And some stamina!
You caught us there, we were trying to be funny with the last bit!
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The Idea
Just like a basic tag game, freeze tag too has one player who is "It", who has to chase around and tag (touch) other players. In this version, the player who is tagged by "It" freezes in his/her place. They cannot move until another player tags them, which "de-freezes" them. The game continues till all the players are frozen. Have a pep talk about playing the game in true spirit without any rashness before you start.
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Step 1
Gather your posse and decide which member will be "It". He or she can take a count till 5, while the other players will disperse, and then begin to chase them.
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Step 2
When whoever is "It" tags a player, he freezes. Another player has to come to the rescue of the frozen one, tag them or give them a high-five, which acts as a "melter" or "de-freeze".
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Step 3
This goes on till all the players are frozen. Based on how you choose to play, either the first player caught, or the last player frozen becomes the new "It".
So how easy was that? To spruce things up, this game can be turned on its head and played in a couple of different ways.
ALTERNATE VERSIONS
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In your alternate version you can change a couple of things. If you're up for a serious game, you can allot a time limit. Within that time limit, if all players are frozen, then "It" wins. Alternately, the team wins, if "It" fails to complete his task.
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If there is a large group, you can have two players acting as "It", this will make the game more challenging, and thus more interesting.
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You can also give the person who is "It" a fair chance to win the game by setting the rules such that the player who is frozen cannot be rescued by their teammates.
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You can also have a person who is tagged/frozen thrice in a row to be the new "It"
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Another fun version, sometimes called Tunnel Freeze Tag is a form where to rescue a frozen player, a teammate has to crawl between their legs and tap them, which releases them from the freeze position.
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In a version called Chain Freeze Tag, freeze tag is merged with its counterpart, the Chain Tag. In this mode, a player can be rescued by tagging him, and the latter links hands, thus forming a chain. They run together, rescuing other frozen teammates on the way. If "It" tags one person in the link, everyone else simultaneously freezes, until they get lucky with a free player who will "melt" them.
Tag is a fun game where age or occupation never acts as a barrier, and you can enjoy this game with friends and family any time of the month, and through any season! Go tag!
