Capture the Flag has been a task on elementary playgrounds and fields for any long time. And while generally people know the basics, you may be surprised as to the history and official rules for that game.
Did you ever play capture the flag as a kid? The sport reminds me of recess and out of doors play time when I was in elementary school. For a lot of, capture the flag was learned on the playgrounds or ball fields of the elementary schools, or might even be the first sport they ever played.
On the surface it might look like a running bet on tag, but CTF has many benefits - teaching team performance and strategy. Running and being outdoors is a great activity for the whole family.
Where exactly did capture the flag originate from? Exist official rules for capture the flag? What are the variants?
In history capture the flag didn't start out as a game. During Medieval battles and wars, it was customary for the winning side from the battle to take items in the defeated party; this included the lands, treasures, and sometimes people as part of their spoils of war. And that also meant taking on the opponent's flag and raising their own in triumph.
Within the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers were capturing and guarding their respective flags in one another. When this act of demoralization against your enemy turned into a backyard game and activity is unknown, but the sport could be traced towards the Boy Scouts, first appearing within the 1947 Scout master's handbook, which outlines the actual game play.
Rules
The fundamentals of capture the flag are this - a group of people assemble on a field and therefore are divided up into two teams. Two flags are placed at either end from the field, each flag representing the teams. The goal is for the other team to capture their opponent's flag and bring it over to their side from the field or territory. While trying to get the other team's flag, both need to make sure that their flag isn't captured.
As an example, if you have twelve people on the small baseball field. The group breaks up into two groups of five, with the field divided in half for each team, and two judges that see the game from both sides chaussures de foot pas cher. Each team includes a flag which is placed on each side from the field, visible to all playing. The teams are split into guards and runners. Runners are those designated to get to another team's flag, while protection is there to 'guard' their team's flag.
The very first team to obtain the other's flag and return it to their side from the field wins.
While the game structure is pretty much the same, there are different variants. When an opposing team member is caught, they can either be put into a 'jail' for a few minutes after which released back into play, or pressed into the opponents. Some teachers might utilize freeze tag within the game, where caught opponents are 'frozen' for some minutes or before the teacher calls a reset, so that the teams can regroup. This is the game that I'm familiar with, and played in elementary school.
A very common variant is by using a 'hidden flag'; flags are hidden and teams must find them. This is a fairly popular game when playing paintball, that is one sport that has incorporated game basics into their gameplay.
Capture the flag finds its distance to technology as well. The hacker conference referred to as DEF CON annually host a type of war game called CTF, in which teams have to gain entry into the computer or computer network from the opponents. This is a strategy and hacking exercise by which groups avoid the invasion of the network, while trying to gain access to the opponent's network.
CTF has also found its distance to popular gaming. Many first person shooter games, like the Call of Duty or Halo series have mini games or levels that are much like those of capture the flag. MMOs also provide variations of the - the battleground referred to as Warsong Gulch in Wow, for instance, is really a CTF model.
This is actually the first battleground that players is going to be introduced to once they hit a certain level (usually 20); a typical compliant among Alliance members (such as myself) is always that members seemingly not to understand how or cannot remember how to take part in the basics of CTF. This is the response when nearly all grouped members elope to get the Horde team's flag, leaving our flag virtually unguarded and ripe for the taking.
Capture the flag is usually brought to children around the day of 6 to 7, either included in an elementary school activity or that of a little league sport. Rules could be changed based on the age of players; such as how to go about capturing opponents who are caught. In technology based CTF, the age of the player is dependent upon the rating of the game. In most cases, these games are for teens fifteen and up or adults eighteen or more.
Paintball features its own rules for how old players must be to be able to play, truly action is for kids 6 or more or according to parental discretion.
The location for any good bet on CTF is actually dependent on how big the group playing. For example, when I played growing up, we played around the basketball court as our classes were fairly small. A baseballor football field is usually a great spot for a game, though in some cases (like paintball or urban areas), a dirt field works too.
For paintball games, agencies that sponsor the game will usually cash larger fields in order to accommodate the large number of people who're playing. Kids who'll play paintball should dress appropriately, either in paintball gear or long pants and shirts, tennis shoes/sneakers magista pas cher or boots, along with a protective helmet. Paintball areas or those that offer the game will usually have equipment that may be rented or purchased in case you don't own your gear.
Paintball, while funt, is yet another dangerous sport. Take it from me - even with long sleeves, paintballs hurt and may leave bruises. It's important that folks and youngsters are aware of the danger (that is always explained before groups head out on the field the first time) and they are ready before going in. Parental discretion is essential; it may be better to wait until your son or daughter is older (pre-teen or teen) before letting them play.
Depending on the location and age of players, parents might want to bring along a small first aid kit for scrapes or bruises. This
can included ointment, gauze, and band aids.