#CAPTURE THE FLAG RULES FREE#

In some games, it is possible for the players to throw the flag to teammates. This latter variant makes offensive play easier, as the flag will tend, over the course of the game, to be moved closer to the dividing line between territories. In another variant, the flag is left in the location where the player was tagged. In one variant, after a player is tagged while carrying the flag, it is returned to its original place. The rules for the handling of the flag also vary from game to game and deal mostly with the disposition of the flag after a failed attempt at capturing it. Capturing the flagĪn ECyD member playing a variation of capture the flag, in which the 'flag' is a softball, at Camp River Ridge in Indiana

#CAPTURE THE FLAG RULES FREE#

If all players on one team are jailed (meaning no teammate can free them from jail), then the other team will have all the time they want to find the other team's flag. Simply leaving jail without being freed is considered poor sportsmanship and is severely frowned upon, often leading to expulsion from the game. Sometimes, players in jail form chains, so that if a teammate tags one person in the chain, everyone is free. The player performing the jail break, on the other hand, is neither safe, nor restricted from performing other actions such as attempting to grab the flag or generally moving about enemy territory. While they return to their own side, freed players usually acquire 'free walk-backs', in which they are safe from tagging until they reach their home territory. In general freed players are obligated to return directly to their own territory before attempting offensive action ( i.e., attempting to grab the flag). But in some variants, teammates who got tagged can be jailed only 3 times, or they are kicked from the game until the next round. Such action may, depending on the rules, free all jailed players or simply those who are physically touched by the one performing the jailbreak. Jailbreaks are accomplished by a player running from their own territory into the enemy's jail. However, players from their own team may free them from jail by means of a jailbreak. In this version, players who are tagged remain in jail indefinitely. While tagged players may be confined to jail for a limited, predetermined time, the most common form of the game involves the option for a 'jailbreak'. The jail is a predesignated area of the group's territory which exists for holding tagged players and is normally towards the back of the group's territory. A player who is tagged may be eliminated from the game entirely (out of the game), be forced to join the opposing team, sent back to their own territory, or be placed in 'jail' with or without a guard (according to the number of people in a team). Jailĭifferent versions of Capture the Flag have different rules, both for handling the flag and for what happens to tagged players. For example, the flag could be hidden in the leaves up in a tall tree, and the players have to see the flag, then knock it out and bring it to their base. It also might have some challenge involved. In a more difficult version, the flag is hidden in a place where it can only be seen from one angle. The flag is usually placed in a visibly obvious location at the rear of a team's territory. They also appeared in the 1920 Edition of 'The Official Handbook for Boys' published by the Boy Scouts of America. Rules for Capture the Flag appear in ' Scouting For Boys' written in 1908 by Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, under the title 'Flag Raiding'. Once they cross into the opposing team's territory they are vulnerable. Within their territory players are 'safe', meaning that they cannot be tagged by opposing players.

The flag is defended mainly by tagging opposing players who attempt to take it. The objective of the game is for players to venture into the opposing team's territory, grab the flag and return with it to their territory without being tagged. If one team has the opposing team's flag on their territory they may be tagged because they have the opposing team's flag. Sometimes teams wear dark colors at night to make it more difficult for their opponents to see them.

Each side has a 'flag' which is most often a piece of fabric, but can be any object small enough to be easily carried by a person (night time games might use flashlights, glowsticks or lanterns as the 'flags'). Players form two teams, one for each territory. In both indoor and outdoor versions, the field is divided into two clearly designated halves, known as territories. Capture the Flag requires a playing field of some sort.

Capture the flag rules