Anti-tag

One runs, everyone chases.

A running game for a few people, adults and children together, when everyone needs to get properly moving. It came about on a beach, as a way to warm up after coming out of a cold sea. It is ordinary tag with one change: the roles of chaser and runners are swapped.

Rules

• One player is the anti-it and runs away. Everyone else chases them.
• Whoever touches the anti-it becomes the anti-it, and now they are the one running.
• Play for as long as it is fun.

Isn't that ganging up?

At first sight the reversal looks worse than the original: everyone against one, a runner hemmed in from all sides. If the role were permanent, it would indeed be unpleasant. But the only way to become the anti-it is to catch the anti-it. Being chased is a reward for one's own move, not a punishment, and it never lasts long. Nobody chooses whom to chase, either: the chase is always after whoever happens to be running.

Why it works

In ordinary tag the heaviest load falls on the weakest players. The slowest one is the easiest to catch, and as “it” they cannot catch anyone themselves. So they stay “it” for a long time, get more and more tired, and find it harder and harder to get out of the role.

In anti-tag it is the other way round. Faster players win the anti-it role more often, but it is the most demanding role in the game: one person running from everybody. Even the strongest eventually tire and naturally make room for others. The game evens the odds by itself, with no handicaps and no extra rules.

Anyone who needs a breather can ease off for a moment. There are several chasers, so the game goes on without them. In ordinary tag that is not possible: a runner who stops gets caught, and an “it” who stops brings the whole game to a halt. Adults can also pace themselves so the children get their chances, without it looking like anyone is going easy on them.

Ordinary tag looks harmless and weighs on the weakest. Anti-tag looks harsh and spreads the load on its own.

In practice

At the moment of the catch the new anti-it stands right among the chasers, so it might seem they would be caught straight back. In practice this was never a problem. The previous anti-it usually had no energy for an immediate rematch and enjoyed a moment of relief, and the others needed a moment to regroup before going after the new target. A “no tag-backs” rule turned out to be unnecessary.

A bigger group

The game has worked well with a few people. I have not had a chance to try it with a larger group, and I suspect it would work worse: with such an advantage for the chasers, running away in any meaningful way may become impossible. The simplest fix is to split into several separate games.