Section 4: Players & Officials
Minimum and Maximum Players
- Minimum: 3 players (1 IT and at least 2 runners). While 2 players can technically play, the game is far more dynamic with 3 or more.
- Ideal group size: 5 to 15 players for classic tag
- Large groups: 15 to 40+ players can play team-based variants such as Blob Tag, Zombie Tag, or British Bulldog
- There is no upper limit on player count, though larger groups benefit from larger play areas and team-based variants
Selecting Who Is IT
Before the game begins, one player must be designated as IT. Common selection methods include:
- Volunteer: A player volunteers to be IT first
- Counting rhyme: Players stand in a circle while one person points to each player in turn while reciting a rhyme (e.g., "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"); the last player pointed to is IT (or is eliminated, with the final remaining player becoming IT)
- Last one to a spot: All players race to touch a designated object; the last player to arrive is IT
- Random selection: Drawing straws, flipping a coin, or using a random number
- Previous game: The last person tagged in the previous round starts as IT
- Nose goes: When someone calls "nose goes," the last player to touch their nose is IT
Roles
- IT (Chaser): The player whose goal is to tag another player. IT actively pursues runners. In some variants, there may be multiple ITs.
- Runners (Evaders): All other players. Their goal is to avoid being tagged by IT while staying within the boundaries.
- Freed players (variant-specific): In Freeze Tag, Tunnel Tag, and similar variants, runners who have been tagged take on a temporary "frozen" state until freed by another runner.
Officials and Self-Governance
Tag is a self-governed game. There are no referees, umpires, or officials in any standard form of tag.
- Players are expected to honestly acknowledge when they have been tagged
- Disputes are resolved by group consensus, re-doing the play, or "do-over" rules
- An adult supervisor may serve as a neutral arbiter for younger children but does not formally officiate
- In organized recreational or camp settings, a counselor or teacher may set the rules and settle disputes
Age and Ability Mixing
- Tag naturally accommodates mixed ages and abilities
- For groups with significant speed differences, consider handicaps such as requiring faster players to skip or hop
- Smaller children can be given a head start or a closer base
- Wheelchair users can participate with adapted boundaries and tagging rules (touching the chair counts as a tag)