USA / Canada (playground folk game) · North America / Australia (20th century schoolyard variant of tag and Red Rover)
Octopus Tag
Also known as Occy Tag, Squid Tag
The octopus tries to tag fish crossing the ocean; tagged fish become seaweed and grab from where they stand.
6+ playersAges 5-12OutdoorsHigh energyBig spaceNo kit
The rules
How to play
1
Define two parallel 'shore' lines across a large space, the area between is the ocean.
2
One player is the octopus in the middle.
3
All others (fish) line up on one shore.
4
The octopus calls 'Come fishies come!' and the fish try to run to the opposite shore without being tagged.
5
A tagged fish becomes seaweed, they freeze where tagged but can wave their arms to tag passing fish.
6
The octopus and seaweed work together.
7
Last fish uncaught wins and becomes the octopus.
Keep it fair
Seaweed may only tag with outstretched arms, they cannot step or shuffle. Agree on this to avoid seaweed players creeping closer to the main path.
Good for building
runningdodgingteamwork
What you need
Nothing at all, just the kids.
More to play
