At Wawenock we have many opportunities for tag games. Whether it’s warming up before getting in the lake, or hanging out after a Tribe Meeting, we often play Tag Games to keep children moving and engaged. Below are a few of our favorites that can be played with a small group.
Option 1: Partner Tag
Materials Required: Outdoor space or a room with furniture pushed aside.
How to Play Partner Tag: Each player gets paired with another player. Within each pair, players determine who will be “It.” When the game begins, each pair is only trying to tag or move away from their own partner. So if you have 4 players, there are 2 people who are “It” and 2 people who are not. In order to keep it safe if you have a bigger group, ask players to only speed walk and to put up their “bumpers” (hands up in front of their chest), to avoid running into someone else. If your group is small enough, and you have enough space, you can just run. When the person who is “It” tags their partner, the person who was tagged closes their eyes and counts to 10 before switching roles and becoming “It.” This becomes silly as people run in between, around, and behind each other trying to hide from their partner!
Option 2: Shadow Tag
Materials Required: Outdoor space
How to Play Shadow Tag: In this altered version of the classic game of Tag, there is one player who is “It” and they can only tag people by tagging their shadows! The closer you play to noon, the more difficult it will be!
Option 3: Flashlight Tag
Materials Required: One flashlight or headlight, outdoor space at night or a dark room
How to Play Flashlight Tag: As an alternative to Shadow Tag which needs sunlight, this game is really fun at night (or in a dark room with the lights off). The player who is “It” has a flashlight, and can only get other players out by “tagging” them with the beam of light. This one is extra fun because you can be sneaky by moving around in the dark like a ninja!
*Counselor Hack: Children can sometimes lose interest or patience with tag games if you play the same one for too long. You can make each one last a bit longer by adding in new components like playing a crab walking round, a walking backwards round, or a slow motion running round!
Tag, you’re it!