Section 7: Violations & Penalties
Common Violations
- Flag throwing: Throwing, kicking, or tossing the flag instead of carrying it by hand.
- Flag hiding: Concealing the flag inside clothing, under objects, or in any way that makes it invisible to opponents.
- Flag guarding (camping): A defender standing within the no-guard zone around the flag when no attacker is present. This prevents stalemates.
- Refusing jail: A tagged player who does not go to jail, argues excessively about a tag, or delays going to jail.
- Out of bounds: Leaving the designated playing area to gain a strategic advantage or avoid being tagged.
- Physical contact: Pushing, grabbing, holding, tackling, or any contact beyond a light tag.
- Flag relocation: Moving the flag from its original station without authorization.
- Illegal passing: Handing or tossing the flag to a teammate (unless a specific variant allows this).
Penalties
- Flag throwing/passing: The flag is returned to its original station. The offending player is sent to jail.
- Flag guarding: First offense results in a warning. Repeated offenses may result in the offending player being sent to their own jail for a set time (1-2 minutes).
- Refusing jail: The player is sent to jail with an additional time penalty (must remain in jail for one extra round of play even if a jailbreak occurs).
- Out of bounds: The player is immediately sent to the nearest jail.
- Physical contact: The offending player is removed from the current round. Repeated offenses result in ejection from the match.
- Flag relocation: The flag is returned to its station and the offending team receives a warning.
Dispute Resolution
- In casual play, disputes are resolved through honest discussion between the involved players.
- If a referee is present, their decision is final.
- The "do-over" rule may be invoked: if a tagging situation is unclear, the play is reset with the attacking player returning to the boundary line unpenalized.