Category: Tag

Snow Pizza

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Grade level: K-6
Equipment: Snow (or sand or concrete pad & chalk)
Game Description: Here’s a fun game to play in the fresh snow (thanks to a friend of mine Richard Turenne)! If you don’t have snow, try using sand or a cement pad and sidwalk chalk! First, players need to follow the leader (the teacher) who makes a pizza shape in the fresh snow by trailblazing a path. Throughout the process, stop and ask math questions related to fractions as you create a pizza shape (full, halves, quarters, etc). Once it’s created, time to PLAY! One player starts as a tagger in the middle of the pizza. The rest of the players start along the pizza crust. The tagger, known as the big bad pizza man or woman, will go and try to tag someone. EVERYONE MUST STAY ON THE LINES/PATHWAY. When someone gets caught, that player becomes the new tagger. Vary the size of your pizza circle depending on your numbers. ENJOY!

Hawks & Doves

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Grade level: 2-6
Equipment: Benches, cones
Game Description: The 2 opposite corners of the court are cornered off with cones – those are the nests. The doves (runners) start from one nest and attempt to get all of them to end up in the other nest. Start with just 1 or 2 Hawks in the other nest (taggers). All the other students are doves. Between the nests, somewhere in the middle of the court is a bench – that is the cage.
The doves start from one of the nest, the hawks from the other. Once the hawks leave their nest, the game starts. Once the hawks leave the nest they cannot enter either nest anymore. The nests become safe areas for the doves. The Hawks tag as many doves as possible. The caught doves stand up on the bench (the cage). The free doves have to go to free them by running to them and tag (touch them). In rare cases all doves manage to end up all together in the opposite nest. Or all are in the cage. Usually some are in the cage, others leave the finish nest to save them and get caught themselves. After some time stop the game and chose another student to be a hawk! (Thanks to Dani Uzunova)

10 Second Tag

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Grade level: 1-6
Equipment: None
Game Description: This is a fast-moving tag game, where the tagger is constantly switching (every 10 seconds or sooner). The runners/flee’ers will start in a playing area (maybe within half of the gym) and the remaining players form a line waiting for their shift to tag. They don’t wait long though, as the teacher blows the whistle every 10 seconds or sooner for the next person in line to jump in to tag. Anyone who is tagged simply goes to the back of the line, and the game continues on as such. This is a great game for learning the names of new students. As the players are standing in line, the teacher can talk to them and learn their names. Try it out! To speed it up even more, try having 2 players go in to tag at a time. (Thanks Joel Sweetland for this idea)

Submarines & Mines

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Grade level: 2-8
Equipment: 3 hula hoops, 6 foam balls
Game Description: This game is similar to the British-bulldog type of game, except the tagger(s) in the middle area get foam balls. The main object of the game is that the runners will try to go from one end of the gym to the other end without being touched by the submarines’ torpedoes (soft balls) or the mines (participants who got tagged laying on the floor on their stomach).
– 3 hula hoops are placed in center of play area – middle of gym.
– 1 captain in each submarine (hula hoop) each with 2 balls.
– at the signal, runners must try to go across gym without being touched by ball (even if it touched the ground first); if they get touched, they become mines and lay on the floor on their stomach. The only way they can move is by pivoting on their stomach. They try to assist the submarines by touching the passing participants either with their feet or hands.
– the last 3 to survive become the submarines.
– the submarines’ captains must be in their submarine while throwing and can run to fetch their balls but must come back in subs to throw again.
– remember that with the ‘go’ signal, everyone is in play until they reach a safe zone at the other end of gym.
(Thanks to Bernard Boulerice)

The Border

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Grade level: K-4
Equipment: None
Game Description: The Border is a similar type warm-up or tag game to that of British Bulldog:
1) All players line up at one end of the gym (except tagger in the middle).
2) Gym is split into 2 sides with a line straight down the middle.
3) On side 1, you can never have your footsoles on the floor (must crawl, roll, seal walk, etc).
4) On side 2, you can move however you like (example: running).
5) If tagged, you join the taggers team.
6) You choose which side you move on when each round begins BUT you can switch ONE TIME EACH ROUND. This is also the case for the tagger.
(Thanks to Daniel Norrman)

Flag Tag 2

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Grade level: 4-8
Equipment: Flags, cones
Game Description: This is another action-filled flag tag game to try out in P.E. class (thanks to Lauren Venera, who has already submitted some great game ideas)! Start by making 4 coned areas in each corner of the gym. Then create 2 teams (usually yellow and red) since that’s what most of the flags for flag football are. Once you have your two teams, split them again and they go in corners diagonal to each other. On the go signal or whistle, players will enter the playing area and try to pull the flag of the opposite team. If a player gets their flag pulled off, they are “out”. However, out means they go to the starting area out of the main playing area and perform exercises. Best idea is to have a white board with a list of exercises up and players work their way through the list. Play continues until there is no one of a certain color left. Once the round is over, put up some new exercises, get players to the corners, and start again!

Gingerbread Man Tag

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Grade level: K-5
Equipment: 4 exercise mats
Game Description: Gingerbread Man Tag is a great stand-alone or Christmas tag game for players to enjoy.

– Set-up mats in the corners (or mats along each end of the gym, if you’d like to play British Bulldog style).
– All players lay down on one of the mats.
– The tagger (baker) stands in the middle and says, “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man.”
– The players then run to get to a different mat while trying not to get tagged by the baker. If they get tagged they help in the next round. Players that make it to a mat without getting caught just lay down on the mats to prepare for the next round.

This is an easy game and a great game as it involves running and jumping up to run which is always a blast in the gym. Teacher can even start as the baker which really gives the kids a kick. (Thanks to Shari Wenzel for this game idea).

Mystery Tag

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Grade level: 2-8
Equipment: Exercise mats
Game Description: Mystery Tag is a tag game with the familiar back-and-forth style used in games like British Bulldog…players must cross from one side of the gym to the other without being tagged. If they are tagged they become “It”. It works great for all grades 2-8.
To set up the game, folded gym mats are standing upright around the gym (maybe start with three mats standing in the middle of the gym). Designate start and finish lines on the gym (ex. you must run from green line closest to the wall, to the green line closest to the far wall). Use Pylons to mark safety lines if needed. To start a round the person who is “It” or teacher will say “face the wall”, to notify players to face the wall. When players face the wall, the teacher or “It” person will count back from 5 seconds allowing the “It” person to hide behind a mat. When the “It” or teacher says zero, the round starts and players are free to run across the gym. Who ever is tagged is instantly it and can tag other runners. When everyone makes it across safely, the round is done and the “It” people will now say “face the wall” once more. This process repeats until everyone is “It”.

– If players are tagged, they are it
– If players touch a mat, they are it
– If players peek, they are it

Modifications:
– Add more mats scattered around the gym for more places to hide
– Longer hide period

Hope you enjoy Mystery tag.
(Thanks to Kris Barchuk. This game is also played as “Hideout” found in “The Great Games Handbook” by Kevin Tiller found here: http://www.physedreview.weebly.com – check it out!)