Capture the Flag
Large Group (10 and up)
Grades 1-2
Cones
10 minutes or more
Development Goal
To develop teamwork, cooperation, strategic thinking and verbal communication
Before You Start
- Divide into two teams.
- Make sure everyone understand all rules and know where the boundaries are located.
- Demonstrate safe tagging: light touch, like a butterfly wings, on the back or shoulder. Unsafe tags: hard contact that might cause the person being tagged to fall.
Set Up
Divide the playing field in half and designate two small “zones” on both sides to hold people who are tagged. There can also be a designated circle on each side where the flag is placed.
How to Play
- Each team tries to take the other team’s flag and return across the center line without being tagged.
- When guarding the flag zone or the holding zone, a defender must be at least 2’ away from the zone boundaries.
- If a player is tagged while on their opponent’s side they are must go to the holding zone on their opponent’s side.
- If a player who has stolen the flag is tagged, the flag is returned to the flag zone, and the player goes to the zone.
- A player can be freed from the holding zone when a teammate crosses the center line and tags the player; both players then receive a free walk back to their side.
- A player can only free one teammate at a time.
- If an opposing player can get both feet into the flag zone without being tagged, they can remain there without safely (without getting tagged) before attempting to cross the center line.
Variations
- Limit the number of players allowed in the circle at one time.
- Allow a player in the circle to throw the flag to a teammate. The flag must still be carried over the center line however.
- The players in the tagged zone can join hands and reach out of the zone to make it easier to be freed.
- Similarly, all players in the holding zone are freed when a player makes it across to rescue them.
- For extended games, allow players to hide their flags in plain sight in a designated area.