Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag

An uncaptured flag
Players	Large group, more than 6 players in a team
Skill(s) required	endurance, observation, strategy

Capture the flag, commonly abbreviated as CTF, is a traditional outdoor game where two teams each have a flag (or other marker) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base. Enemy players can be "tagged" by players in their home territory; these players are then, depending on the agreed rules, out of the game, members of the opposite team, sent back to their own territory, frozen in place until freed by a member of their own team, or "in jail."

Capture the Flag requires a playing field of some sort. Whether indoor or outdoor, the field is divided into two clearly designated halves, known as territories. Players form two teams, one for each territory. Each side has a "flag" which is most often a piece of fabric, but can be any object small enough to be easily carried by a person (night time games might use flashlights, glowsticks or lanterns as the "flags"). It is also suggested that teams wear dark colors at night to make it more difficult for their opponents to see them. If one team has the opposing team's flag on their territory they may be tagged because they have the opposing team's flag.

The objective of the game is for players to make their way into the opposing team's territory, grab the flag and return with it to their own territory without being tagged. The flag is defended mainly by tagging opposing players who attempt to take it. Within their own territory players are "safe", meaning that they cannot be tagged by opposing players. Once they cross into the opposing team's territory they are vulnerable.

The flags are generally placed in a visibly obvious location (but in some variations the flag is hidden) at the rear of a team's territory. In a more difficult version, the flag is hidden in a place where it can only be seen from one angle. It also might have some challenge involved. For example, the flag could be hidden in the leaves up in a tall tree, and the players have to see the flag, then knock it out and bring it to their base.

Different versions of Capture the Flag have different rules, both for handling the flag and for what happens to tagged players. A player who is tagged may be eliminated from the game entirely (out of the game), be forced to join the opposing team, sent back to their own territory, or be placed in "jail" with/without guard (according to the number of people in a team). The jail is a predesignated area of the group's territory which exists for holding tagged players and is normally towards the back of the group's territory.

While tagged players may be confined to jail for a limited, predetermined time, the most common form of the game involves the option for a "jailbreak". In this version, players who are tagged remain in jail indefinitely. However, players from their own team may free them from jail by means of a jailbreak. Jailbreaks are accomplished by a player running from their own territory into the enemy's jail. Such action may, depending on the rules, free all jailed players or simply those who are physically touched by the one performing the jailbreak. In general freed players are obligated to return directly to their own territory before attempting offensive action (i.e., attempting to grab the flag).

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Wikipedia