Versions of Tag

I think pretty much everyone played tag when they were a kid. It's a very basic game that generally requires nothing more than a nice day and an open area to play it in. But like so many games, people like to customize and change stuff to make it a unique experience. Or maybe just because they like to change stuff. So I'm going to rate the different versions of tag that I recall playing as a kid. The rules I played by might be different than what you grew up with, or you might know of a particularly interesting variation, so email me if you want.

Simple, Basic, Plain Tag: As simple as a game can get, with the exception of the never-popular 52 pickup. One person is "it" and they must chase the other players, until catching one, who is the new "it" after being tagged. A common rule is the butcher/tag back rule, which states that you can't the person who just tagged you, generally with a time limit of like 10 seconds or so. The only requirements of this game are running. As such the game gets really monotonous really fast if you aren't into running. Also, can someone please explain the concept of "it" to me? Sure, "it" is very easy to say, but why the person who is "it" must be stripped of their gender identity to play a simple game? Freud would have a field day with this. That would be Bad.

Frozen Tag: I was going to start with "this has the same rules as basic tag, with some important additions," but after reflecting for a few moments, I don't think that's true. The run and chase thing is the same, but that's where the similarity ends. When the "it" tags someone, that person must freeze and remain motionless unless they are unfrozen. We usually played it so to unfreeze someone you had to duck under their arms, which when frozen were held out to either side to allow someone to go under and unfreeze the freezee. I don't remember how exactly the job of being "it" got passed to someone else, though, since it was all but impossible to get everyone frozen unless you were playing with only three people. This would ultimately lead to the poor "it" running until they collapsed from exhaustion. I'm starting to think this game was devised by parents to tire their children out. And as a parent, I can appreicate that, but if it's true, that's pretty Ugly.

TV Tag: This version of tag is possibly the lamest one I've ever played, but also the one I recall enjoying the most. Upon being tagged, the victim must call out the name of a TV show, or they become the new "it." You can't call out a name that's already been used, which only makes sense, because if I were "it" and everyone kept yelling "The Smurfs!" every time I tagged one of them I'd probably get really annoyed really fast and start tagging people with my fist, but I digress. Sure, it's lame, but when you think quickly and have a great memory for all sorts of random stuff, coming up with the names of TV shows is pretty easy. And how satisfying is it to cry out "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King!" just after being tagged after a long, futile chase? Lame, but Good.

Frisbee Tag: Now this is a creative variant on the whole tag genre. It does require a piece of hardware, namely a Frisbee, which pretty much everyone should have kicking around in their basement. The annoying thing is, I can't for the life of me remember the exact rules. I know that the person in possession of the Frisbee throws it and tries to hit any other player, but I don't remember what happens if some gets hit, aside from the humiliation of being hit with a plastic disc. I do remember that if the Frisbee doesn't hit anyone, everyone close to where it lands makes a scramble for it, and when it's picked up everyone has to freeze, but I'm pretty foggy on the rest of the details. I do remember it being a lot of fun, though. And fun is Good.

Taser Tag: Yes, I made this one up, but I can see this as being a perfectly viable extreme sport. All you need is a small stun-gun type taser, not one of those air taser that shoots probes 15 feet into the target, that's a bit excessive. And you don't need one of those huge 300,000 volt tasers, we're not trying to take down a PCP freak with a machete here. You can get a nice, little 100,000 volt or less taser that runs on a single 9 volt battery on the net for under $25 US. It might not be legal where you happen to live, but chances are if you actually want to play taser tag you don't care about the legalities. The rules are pretty simple. "It" has the taser, he runs around chasing everyone else until someone gets close enough to be tased. There is no question of whether or not you've been tagged. Once you get back up and regain your equilibrium, you get to be "it."
Since I haven't played this game, and since I doubt anyone anywhere has actually played it (but please tell me if you do) I'm going to forego giving this a rating. That's a first for Good/Bad/Ugly. I really have no idea how good, bad or ugly this game would actually be.